By DAVE HAMRICK
dhamrick@thecitizennews.com

Fayette's Planning Commission will discuss three proposed environmental protection laws at least one more time before voting on whether to recommend the new regulations.

Commissioners got their first look at the laws during a work session last week.

The laws, which provide regulations to go along with the recently enacted environmental chapter of the county's land use plan, 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.

Planning Commission members will study the proposed new laws over the next few weeks and discuss them at their next work session, May 18, with tentative plans to act on the laws at their June 1 business meeting.

If the Planning Commission approves the laws, the county Board of Commissioners will decide whether to implement them at its June 22 meeting.