GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2001
H	4
HOUSE BILL 1019
 Committee Substitute Favorable 4/19/01
Committee Substitute #2 Favorable 6/5/01
 Senate Agriculture/Environment/Natural Resources Committee Substitute Adopted 7/10/01 

Short Title:	Amend Septage Management Program.	()	
Sponsors:	     	
Referred to:	     	
April 9, 2001

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO AMEND THE SEPTAGE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM AND TO increase CERTAIN PERMIT FEES UNDER THAT PROGRAM.   

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 130A‑291.1 reads as rewritten:
"§ 130A‑291.1. Septage management program; permit fees.
(a)	The Department shall establish and administer a septage management program in accordance with the provisions of this section.
(b)	For the protection of the public health, the Commission shall adopt rules governing the management of septage. The rules shall include, but are not limited to, criteria for the sanitary management of septage, including standards for the transportation, storage,  treatment, and disposal of septage; operator registration and training; the issuance, suspension, and revocation of permits; and procedures for the payment of annual fees.
(c)	No septage management firm shall commence or continue operation that does not have a permit issued by the Department. The permit shall be issued only when the septage management firm satisfies all of the requirements of the rules adopted by the Commission. A septage management firm that commences operation without first having obtained a permit shall cease to operate until the firm obtains a permit under this section and shall pay an initial annual fee equal to twice the amount of the annual fee that would otherwise be applicable under subsection (e) of this section.
(d)	Septage shall be treated and disposed only at a wastewater system that has been approved by the Department under rules adopted by the Commission or by the Environmental Management Commission or at a site that is permitted by the Department under this section. A permit shall be issued only if the site satisfies all of the requirements of the rules adopted by the Commission.
(e)	A septage management firm that operates one pumper truck shall pay an annual fee of  five hundred fifty dollars ($550.00) to the Department. A septage management firm that operates two or more pumper trucks shall pay an annual fee of  eight hundred dollars ($800.00) to the Department.
(e1)	An individual who operates a septage treatment or disposal facility but who does not engage in the business of pumping, transporting, or disposing of septage shall pay an annual fee of two hundred dollars ($200.00).
(e2)	 A properly completed permit application and the annual fee under this section are due by January 1 of each year. Annual fee notices shall be mailed prior to November 1 of each calendar year. A late fee in the amount equal to fifty percent (50%) of the annual permit fee under this section shall be submitted when a properly completed application and annual permit fee are not submitted by January 1 following the November 1 notice.
(e3)	The Septage Management Account is established as a nonreverting account within the Department. Fees collected under this section shall be placed in the Septage Management Account and shall be applied only to the costs of the septage management program.
(e4)	Permits for new septage management firm operators and permits for septage management firm operators that have not operated a septage management firm in the 24 months immediately preceding the submittal of an application shall be considered probationary for 12 months. The Department may revoke any probationary permit of a firm or an individual that violates any provision of this section, G.S. 130A-291.2, G.S. 130A-291.3, or any rule adopted under these sections. If the Department revokes a probationary permit issued to a firm or individual, the Department shall not issue another permit to that firm or individual, and the firm or individual may not engage in any septage management activity for a period of 12 months.
(e5)	Departmental staff who are responsible for administering the septage management permitting program shall provide technical and regulatory assistance to permit applicants and permit holders. Assistance may include, but is not limited to, taking soil samples on proposed and permitted septage land application sites and providing required training to permit applicants and permit holders.
(f)	All wastewater systems designed to discharge effluent to the surface waters may accept, treat, and dispose septage from permitted septage management firms, unless acceptance of the septage would constitute a violation of the permit conditions of the wastewater system. The wastewater system may charge a reasonable fee for acceptance, treatment, and disposal of septage based on a fee schedule that takes into account septage composition and quantity and that is consistent with other charges for use of that system.
(g)	Production of a crop in accordance with an approved nutrient management plan on land that is permitted as a septage land application site is a bona fide farm purpose under G.S. 153A‑340.
(h)	The Department shall inspect each septage land application site at least twice a year and shall inspect the records associated with each septage land application site at least annually. The Department shall inspect each pump truck used for septage management at least once every two years.
(i)	The Department shall approve innovative or alternative septage treatment or storage methods that are demonstrated to protect the public health and the environment."
SECTION 2.  Part 2 of Article 9 of Chapter 130A of the General Statutes is amended by adding two new sections to read:
"§ 130A-291.2. Temporary domestic wastewater holding tanks.
When a permanent domestic wastewater collection and treatment system is not available at a construction site or a temporary special event, a temporary wastewater holding tank of adequate capacity to prevent overflow may be used under a mobile or modular office to accommodate domestic wastewater from a commode and sink. The wastewater shall be removed often enough to prevent the temporary domestic wastewater holding tank from overflowing. The owner or lessee of a temporary construction trailer shall contract with a registered septage management firm or registered portable toilet sanitation firm for the removal of domestic waste. The wastewater shall be removed from the temporary domestic wastewater holding tank by a septage management firm holding a current permit to operate a septage management firm.
"§ 130A-291.3.  Septage operator training required.
(a)	Each septage management firm operator shall attend a training course of no less than four hours of instruction per year. New septage management firm operators and those that have not operated a septage management firm in the 24 months preceding the submittal of an application shall complete the training before commencing operation.
(b)	Each septage land application site operator shall attend a training course of no less than three hours of instruction per year. New septage land application site operators and those that have not operated a septage land application site in the 24 months preceding the submittal of an application shall complete the training before commencing operation.
(c)	Upon the completion of the permit requirements under G.S. 130A-291.1 and the training requirements under this section, the Department shall issue the septage management firm a certificate to operate as a registered portable sanitation firm or a registered septage management firm, or both.
(d)	The Department shall establish educational committees to develop and approve a training curriculum to satisfy the training requirements under this section. A training committee shall be established to develop a training program for portable sanitation waste, and a training committee shall be established to develop a training program for septic tank waste and grease septage. Each committee shall consist of four industry members, one public health member, two employees of the Department, and one representative of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service."
SECTION 3.  The Commission for Health Services shall adopt temporary and permanent rules to implement this act.  The Commission for Health Services and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources shall initiate temporary rule-making proceedings within 30 days of the date this act becomes effective. Temporary rules to implement the provisions of this act become effective 1 January 2002.
SECTION 4.  Sections 1 and 2 of this act become effective 1 January 2002.  Sections 3 and 4 of this act become effective when this act becomes law.