GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1997

H	1 

HOUSE BILL 262*

Short Title:  Nitrogen Limit for Certain Waters.	(Public)

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Sponsors: Representatives Nichols; and Culp.

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Referred to:  Environment, if favorable, Appropriations.

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February 17, 1997

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO IMPROVE THE WATER QUALITY OF THE SURFACE WATERS OF THIS STATE BY FURTHER LIMITING THE AMOUNT OF NITROGEN THAT CERTAIN LARGE FACILITIES DISCHARGE TO NUTRIENT SENSITIVE WATERS WHERE NITROGEN IS A NUTRIENT OF CONCERN AND TO AUTHORIZE THE USE OF UP TO TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT OF THE FUNDS IN THE CLEAN WATER MANAGEMENT TRUST FUND FOR A PORTION OF THE COSTS TO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS OF MODIFYING EXISTING FACILITIES TO SATISFY THIS STRICTER LIMIT, AS RECOMMENDED BY THE ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW COMMISSION.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  G.S. 143-215.1 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
"( c1)	Any person who is required to obtain a permit under this section for a facility discharging to surface waters of the State that have been classified as nutrient sensitive waters under rules adopted by the Commission and where nitrogen is determined by the Commission to be a nutrient of concern shall not discharge more nitrogen, on a permitted annual average basis expressed as pounds per day, than would result from a discharge having a concentration of three and one-half milligrams of nitrogen per liter (3.5 mg/l) times the volume of discharge that the permit for that facility allows that person to discharge during the year that ended 31 December 1995.  Any person subject to this subsection shall monitor the facility's discharge for nitrogen at least weekly.  This subsection does not apply to facilities that have a design capacity to discharge less than five hundred thousand gallons per day (500,000 gal./day).  The Commission may adopt rules to implement this subsection."
Section 2.  G.S. 143-215.6A(a) is amended by adding a new subdivision to read:
"(10)	Violates G.S. 143-215.1(c1) or a rule adopted pursuant to G.S. 143-215.1(c1).”
Section 3.  G.S. 113-145.3(c) is amended by adding a new subdivision to read:
"(10)	To modify an existing permitted wastewater treatment facility that is owned or operated by a unit of local government and that is subject to G.S. 143-215.1(c1) to enable the unit of local government to comply with G.S. 143-215.1(c1).”
Section 4.  G.S. 113-145.3(d) reads as rewritten:
"(d)	Limitations on Uses of Fund. – No more than two percent (2%) of the annual balance of the Fund on July 1 or a total sum of eight hundred fifty thousand dollars ($850,000), whichever is less, may be used each fiscal year for administrative and operating expenses of the Board of Trustees and its staff.  No more than twenty-five percent (25%) of the amount credited to the Fund during the year ending 30 June shall be used as provided by subdivision (10) of subsection (c) of this section."
Section 5.  G.S. 113-145.4(b) reads as rewritten:
"(b)	Grant Matching Requirement. – The Board of Trustees shall establish matching requirements for grants awarded under this Article. For all eligible projects or activities other than projects eligible under G.S. 113-145.3(c)(10), the Board of Trustees may require a match of up to twenty percent (20%) of the amount of the grant awarded.  For projects eligible under G.S. 113-145.3(c)(10), the Board of Trustees may require a match of up to fifty percent (50%) of the amount of the grant awarded.  This requirement may be satisfied by the donation of land to a public or private nonprofit conservation organization as approved by the Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees may also waive the requirement to match a grant pursuant to guidelines adopted by the Board of Trustees."
Section 6.  By November 1, 1997, the Environmental Management Commission shall develop a schedule of dates between November 1, 1997, and January 1, 2005, by which existing facilities must comply with G.S. 143-215.1(c1), as enacted by Section 1 of this act.  The schedule of compliance dates shall follow as closely as possible the dates on which permits for existing facilities must be renewed.  New facilities and expansions of existing facilities for which an application for a permit is received by the Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources on behalf of the Environmental Management Commission prior to the date this act becomes effective shall be treated as existing facilities.
Section 7.  This act is effective when it becomes law.