chapter on natural and historic resources is now

included as part of Fayette County's land use

plan, and new environmental regulations will soon

follow.

County

Commissioners have unanimously approved the new

environmental chapter to the land use plan, which

identifies sensitive areas of the county.

"This

is a good document, an excellent step in the

right direction," said Commissioner Glen

Gosa, who has been an advocate for environmental

concerns during his term on the board. "This

will serve as the basis on which to build for the

future," he added.

Much

of the information in the chapter already was in

the land use plan, said Chris Venice, county

planning director. But the new chapter has

additional information and puts all the

environmental and historic information in one

chapter for easier reference, she said.

The

county Planning Commission recently got its first

look at three sets of regulations to address the

environmental concerns.

The

laws address wetlands, watershed protection and

ground water recharge area protection.

Under

the wetlands ordinance, county engineers would

determine whether a development is likely to have

an impact on a wetland area, and involve the U.S.

Army Corps of Engineers if that's the case.

The

ordinance is nothing new, said senior planner

Pete Frisina - the Engineering Department

already is doing what the law calls for, he said.

The

second ordinance identifies the county's large

and small watersheds and includes an official

watershed map of the county.

Also,

the law requires buffers between developments and

areas defined as watershed, and defines the types

of uses allowed within those buffers.

Experts

in the county Environmental Health Department

will administer the ground water recharge

protection ordinance, which restricts the

intensity of development allowed in recharge

areas. Recharge areas are those in which rain

water seeps into the ground to resupply the water

table.

The

group will discuss the regulations again May 18

with tentative plans to vote on them June 1.

If

the regulations are approved by the planning

panel, the County Commission could act on them

June 22.

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