The following 15 counties in Eastern North Carolina are affected by this bulletin:

Beaufort, Carteret, Craven, Duplin, Edgecombe, Greene, Jones, Lenoir, Martin, Onslow, Pamlico, Pitt, Washington, Wayne, Wilson

The Water Use Act of 1967 (General Statute 143-215.11 - .22) allows for designation of capacity use areas for regulation of water use. Over-pumping of important aquifers in the coastal plain has led to the creation of the Central Coastal Plain Capacity Use Area (CCPCUA) and associated rules. The CCPCUA rules became effective on August 1, 2002 and affect a 15-county region (Beaufort, Carteret, Craven, Duplin, Edgecombe, Greene, Jones, Lenoir, Martin, Onslow, Pamlico, Pitt, Washington, Wayne, Wilson). The CCPCUA rules require registration and reporting of water use for those persons using more than 10,000 gallons of ground water and/or surface water per day. A permit is required for persons who withdraw more than 100,000 gallons per day of ground water.

Beginning on or before January 28, 2003, NCDOT will apply for CCPCUA permits for all proposed TIP projects requiring sizeable earthwork quantities in the affected fifteen county area. A copy of the CCPCUA permit will be included in contract proposal.

Each contractor that utilizes a pump to dewater a borrow pit or utilizes a pump to withdraw surface water in the counties mentioned above will be required to record the volume of water pumped from each site daily and submit this information on a monthly basis to the Resident Engineer.

The contractor shall assume all liability for impacts to wells or surface water bodies resulting from dewatering operations.

The contractor shall submit one additional copy of the development, use and reclamation plan and environmental assessment to the Resident Engineer. Once approved, the Resident Engineer will furnish a copy of the approved plan to the Division of Water Resources. In addition to the current required information, the reclamation plan submittal shall include:

1. The average daily pump discharge (in MGD),
2. The estimated maximum number of days of pumping during the anticipated life of the pit,
3. The GPS coordinates of all wells within 1500 feet of the pit boundaries,
4. A determination as to whether adjoining dwellings are served by a county/municipal water system.

The Resident Engineer will forward the approved package to the Capacity Use Administrator at the following address: