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BK:00027 PG -0893 <br />ORDINANCE OF THE LEE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />INSTITUTING A TEMPORARY MORATORIUM ON OIL AND GAS DEVELOPMENT <br />WITHIN LEE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA <br />WHEREAS, the Lee County Board of Commissioners at its regular meeting, in <br />order to provide all interested persons an opportunity to express their views on the question of whether <br />a moratorium should be imposed on oil and gas development activities (as hereinafter defined) in Lee <br />County, after due advertisement as required by law, conducted a public hearing for the purpose of <br />hearing the views of the public, gathering information, and taking appropriate action pursuant to <br />authority conferred in Article 18, Chapter 153A of the North Carolina General Statutes, the Lee County <br />Moratorium Ordinance, and other relevant law regarding the imposition of a moratorium on oil and gas <br />development in Lee County; and <br />WHEREAS, the Board of Commissioners makes the following findings of fact with respect to a <br />temporary moratorium on oil and gas development within Lee County: <br />(1) Oil or gas development is a unique industrial use and thus can best be regulated in Lee <br />County as a conditional use, subject to regulation based on each individual circumstance and <br />situation; and, <br />(2) Lee County is both urban and rural in character and depends, in part, on agricultural and <br />agribusiness industries and activities for income; and, <br />(3) Lee County is a prime location for residential developments with residents employed in <br />surrounding urban areas who seek to live in a rural environment, and the County is dependent <br />upon the property taxes from these developments; and, <br />(4) Lee County is home to the Deep River and Cape Fear River which provide critical habitats for <br />endangered and protected species, including the Bald Eagle, Redcockaded woodpecker, and <br />Cape Fear Shiner; and, <br />(5) Lee County is also home to numerous parks and outdoor recreations areas, including Deep <br />River Park, Santee Park, and Endor Paddle, a company that makes its income from the area's <br />environmental attributes; and, <br />(6) Such parks and recreational areas provide opportunities for environmental education and <br />activities for the citizens of Lee County; and, <br />(7) Lee County is located in the Triassic Basin, a shale rock basin with high quality streams, <br />diabase seepage bogs, and other essential geological and ecological resources; and, <br />(8) Lee County is dependent upon water from the Haw, Deep and Rocky Rivers which converge <br />into the Cape Fear River, from where the City of Sanford and the surrounding areas draw their <br />drinking water and all of which are likely water resources from which oil and gas operators <br />would draw millions of gallons of water to use for oil and gas development; and, <br />(9) Many Lee County citizens depend upon well water for private use; and, <br />