A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to delineate the nolichucky river basin and to require that the environmental management commission develop and implement a separate basinwide water quality management plan for the nolichucky river basin, as recommended by the environmental review commission.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 143‑215.8B is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
"(f)	All land in this State that lies in the counties of Avery, Mitchell, or Yancey; that is located west of the eastern continental divide; and that drains into the Cane River, the North Toe River, the South Toe River, the Nolichucky River, or any tributary of any of those rivers is hereby designated the Nolichucky River Basin. Notwithstanding G.S. 143‑215.22G and subsection (a) of this section, the Nolichucky River Basin shall be considered a major river basin for purposes of this section. The Commission shall develop and implement a separate basinwide water quality management plan for the Nolichucky River Basin and shall not include the Nolichucky River Basin in any basinwide water quality management plan that is developed for the French Broad River Basin."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 143‑215.8B(c) reads as rewritten:
"(c)	The Commission shall review and revise its basinwide water quality management plans at least every five years to reflect changes in water quality, improvements in modeling methods, improvements in wastewater treatment technology, and advances in scientific knowledge and, as need to support designated uses of water, modifications to management strategies."
SECTION 3.  This act is effective when it becomes law.