6.5 State Conservation Partners
NCDCM is preparing a Living Shorelines Strategy to advance alternatives to vertical ero- sion control structures to minimize erosion, improve water quality, and provide wildlife habitat. Te Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control Program seeks to improve coordination between state coastal zone managers and water quality experts to reduce polluted runof in the coastal zone. Tese are just a few of the several programs designed to protect and conserve North Carolina’s coastal resources. Programs and resources that support NCDMF conservation priorities are summarized in Appendix M (page 1252). 6.5.6 NC Division of Water Resources (NCDWR) In August 2013, the NCDENR Division of Water Quality (NCDWQ) merged programs with the Division of Water Resources (NCDWR) and responsibilities of the NCDWQ Stormwater Section were merged into the Division of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources (NCDEMLR). Te resulting NCDWR is the agency responsible for statewide regulatory programs in surface water and groundwater protection. Te mission of NCDWR is imple- mented through water quality monitoring programs, efcient permitting, responsible management, fair and efective enforcement, and excellence in public service. NCDWR accomplishes these goals by collaborating with other agencies to develop appropriate man- agement strategies, assuring equitable distribution of waste assimilative capacity, evaluat- ing the cumulative efects of pollution, and improving public awareness and involvement. Te new integrated NCDWR planning group is responsible for producing an integrated basinwide water quality and water quantity plan, which is a nonregulatory, basin- and watershed-based approach to identifying, quantifying, restoring, and protecting North Carolina’s water resources. Basinwide water resource plans will be prepared for each of the 17 major river basins and are proposed to be presented in a dynamic online format. Implementation of the plan protection and restoration recommendations requires the coordinated eforts of many agencies, local governments, and stakeholder groups in the state. Tese cooperative eforts help achieve the goals of basinwide planning, which are to:
• identify and quantify the state’s water resources,
• evaluate the current, near-term (20 years into the future), and long-term (50 years into the future) basinwide water use needs,
• identify sites where ecological integrity for planning purposes may not be met,
• identify water quality problems and restore full use to impaired waters,
• identify and protect high value resource waters, and
• protect unimpaired waters while allowing for reasonable economic growth.
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2015 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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