ORDINANCE - Extending a Temporary Moratorium on Oil and Gas Development and Mining within Lee County, NC 11-13-17

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ORDINANCE OF THE LEE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS EXTENDING A TEMPORARY MORATORIUM ON OIL AND GAS DEVELOPMENT AND MINING WITHIN LEE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA WHEREAS, the Lee County Board of Commissioners at its October 16, 2017 regular meeting, in order to provide all interested persons a full and ample opportunity to express their views on the question of whether the Ordinance Instituting A Temporary Moratorium on Oil and Gas Development and Mining Within Lee County, North Carolina, adopted on December 7, 2015 (the "Ordinance") and an amendment adopted on July 18, 2106 should be extended for twenty-four (24) months, after due advertisement as by law required, conducted a public hearing for the purpose of hearing the views of the public, gathering information, and taking appropriate action pursuant to authority conferred in Article 18, Chapter 153A of the North Carolina General Statutes, the Lee County Moratorium Ordinance, and other relevant law regarding the imposition and extension of a moratorium on oil and gas development activities and mining in Lee County; and, WHEREAS, the Board of Commissioners of Lee County has considered certain actions as stated in the Ordinance to address the problems or conditions set forth above and continues to find them inadequate; and, WHEREAS, the County has taken all reasonable and feasible steps proposed to be taken in the Ordinance to address the problems or conditions leading to imposition of the moratorium, and has found new facts and conditions that warrant the extension, and has determined that further study is necessary because hydraulic fracturing (fracking) is a relatively new method of extracting subsurface oil and gas and its impacts in locations where it is taking place are still unclear, therefore County staff is not sufficiently informed as to the potential dangers to the public of this method and how to best regulate the same within the limited authority granted to local governments by the North Carolina General Assembly; and, WHEREAS, the County is in the process of updating its Land Use Plan to address and study the impacts of traditional mining so zoning reflects the proper areas in which industry should operate and once completed, the County needs time to update its Unified Development Ordinance to reflect any changes regarding the location of the oil or gas reserves; and, WHEREAS, the Chatham County Board of Commissioners has also instituted a Moratorium on Oil and Gas Development Activities Within Chatham County, North Carolina, and has completed a study, Natural Gas Development Impacts Study in Chatham County, prepared by Charles Yuill, which implicates that Lee County will be impacted by hydraulic fracturing due to its rock formations. Lee County was waiting for Dr. Yuill's report to be completed before hiring him to study more specifically Lee County. Dr. Yuill's report was given to the Chatham County Board of Commissioners on June 13, 2017; and, WHEREAS, now that Charles Yuill has prepared a study for Chatham County, Lee County has hired him to conduct a similar study, and as such, more time is needed to complete such study and formulate conclusions and recommendations based on the findings; and,