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097 <br />ORDINANCE OF THE LEE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />INSTITUTING A TEMPORARY MORATORIUM ON OIL AND GAS DEVELOPMENT AND MINING <br />WITHIN LEE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA <br />WHEREAS, the Lee County Board of Commissioners at its , 2015 regular <br />meeting, in order to provide all interested persons an opportunity to express their views on the question <br />of whether a moratorium should be imposed on oil and gas development activities (as hereinafter <br />defined) in Lee County, after due advertisement as required by law, conducted a public hearing for the <br />purpose of hearing the views of the public, gathering information, and taking appropriate action <br />pursuant to authority conferred in Article 18, Chapter 153A of the North Carolina General Statutes, the <br />Lee County Moratorium Ordinance, and other relevant law regare imposition of a moratorium on <br />oil and as development and mining in Lee Count • and <br />g p g � Y, <br />anpgg <br />WHEREAS, the Board of Commissioners makes the4ollo'Wiri Ings of fact with respect to a <br />temporary moratorium on oil and gas development antlinining withm�County: <br />(1) Oil or gas development is a unique industrial use and thus caulated in Lee <br />County as a conditional use, subject to reg0l4tizan based on each indivicf ircumstance and <br />situation; and, ''i! <br />(2) lee County is both urbanardZ11pal in character and depends, in part, on agricultural and <br />agribusiness industries and activit y f6-'�pme; and, <br />� <br />(3) Lee County is a prime location for residential developments with residents employed in <br />surrounding urban, areas who seek to live tin a rural environment, and the County is dependent <br />upon the property taxes froth these deve" ""' its; and, <br />(4) Lee County is hame,to the;Deep River an&,;,Cape Fear River which provide critical habitats for <br />endangered and protected species, including the Bald Eagle, Redcockaded woodpecker, and <br />Casae Fear`5hmer; and, <br />(5)�; e County is also home to numerous parks and outdoor recreations areas, including Deep <br />%iii/ ,„ <br />Rivef Park, Santee Park"a"nd Endor Paddle, a company that makes its income from the area's <br />enviroFimental attributes; and, <br />(6) Such parks an(� recreatic pal areas provide opportunities for environmental education and <br />activities for thea,Yens;e County; and, <br />i <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 />