GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
1989 SESSION
CHAPTER 135
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1. G.S. 143-211 reads as rewritten:
"§ 143-211. Declaration of public policy.
It is hereby declared to be the public policy of this State
to provide for the conservation of its water and air resources. Furthermore, it
is the intent of the General Assembly, within the context of this Article, Article
and Articles 21A and 21B of this Chapter, to achieve and to maintain for
the citizens of the State a total environment of superior quality. Recognizing
that the water and air resources of the State belong to the people, the General
Assembly affirms the State's ultimate responsibility for the preservation and
development of these resources in the best interest of all its citizens and
declares the prudent utilization of these resources to be essential to the
general welfare. It is the purpose of this Article to create an agency which
shall administer a program of water and air pollution control and water
resource management. It is the intent of the General Assembly, through the duties
and powers defined herein, to confer such authority upon the Department of
Natural Resources and Community Development as shall be necessary to administer
a complete program of water and air conservation, pollution abatement and
control and to achieve a coordinated effort of pollution abatement and control
with other jurisdictions. Standards of water and air purity shall be designed
to protect human health, to prevent injury to plant and animal life, to prevent
damage to public and private property, to insure the continued enjoyment of the
natural attractions of the State, to encourage the expansion of employment
opportunities, to provide a permanent foundation for healthy industrial
development and to secure for the people of North Carolina, now and in the
future, the beneficial uses of these great natural resources. It is the intent
of the General Assembly that the powers and duties of the Environmental
Management Commission and the Department of Natural Resources and Community
Development be construed so as to enable the Department and the Commission to
qualify to administer federally mandated programs of environmental management
and to qualify to accept and administer funds from the federal government for
such programs."
Sec. 2. G.S. 143-213 reads as rewritten:
"§
143-213. Definitions applicable to Part Article.
Unless the context otherwise requires, the following terms as
used in this Part Article and Articles 21A and 21B of this Chapter are
defined as follows:
(1) The term 'air cleaning device' means any method, process or equipment which removes, reduces, or renders less noxious air contaminants discharged into the atmosphere.
(2) The term 'air contaminant' means particulate matter, dust, fumes, gas, mist, smoke, or vapor or any combination thereof.
(3) The term 'air contamination' means the presence in the outdoor atmosphere of one or more air contaminants which contribute to a condition of air pollution.
(4) The term 'air contamination source' means any source at, from, or by reason of which there is emitted into the atmosphere any air contaminant.
(5) The term 'air pollution' shall mean the presence in the outdoor atmosphere of one or more air contaminants in such quantities and duration as is or tends to be injurious to human health or welfare, to animal or plant life or to property or that interferes with the enjoyment of life or property.
(9) Whenever reference is made in this Article to the 'discharge of waste,' it shall be interpreted to include the discharge of waste into any unified sewerage system or arrangement for sewage disposal, which system or arrangement in turn discharges the waste into the waters of the State.
(10) The term 'disposal system' means a system for disposing of waste, and including sewer systems and treatment works.
(12) The term 'emission' means a release into the outdoor atmosphere of air contaminants.
(13) The term 'outlet' means the terminus of a sewer system, or the point of emergence of any waste or the effluent therefrom, into the waters of the State.
(15) The term 'sewer system' means pipelines or conduits, pumping stations, and force mains, and all other construction, devices, and appliances appurtenant thereto, used for conducting wastes to a point of ultimate disposal.
(16) The term 'standard' or 'standards' means such measure or measures of the quality of water and air as are established by the Commission pursuant to G.S. 143-214.1 and G.S. 143-215.
(17) The term 'treatment works' means any plant, septic tank disposal field, lagoon, pumping station, constructed drainage ditch or surface water intercepting ditch, incinerator, area devoted to sanitary landfill, or other works not specifically mentioned herein, installed for the purpose of treating, equalizing, neutralizing, stabilizing or disposing of waste.
(18) 'Waste' shall mean and include the following:
a. 'Sewage,' which shall mean water-carried human waste discharged, transmitted, and collected from residences, buildings, industrial establishments, or other places into a unified sewerage system or an arrangement for sewage disposal or a group of such sewerage arrangements or systems, together with such ground, surface, storm, or other water as may be present.
b. 'Industrial waste' shall mean any liquid, solid, gaseous, or other waste substance or a combination thereof resulting from any process of industry, manufacture, trade or business, or from the development of any natural resource.
c. 'Other waste' means sawdust, shavings, lime, refuse, offal, oil, tar chemicals, and all other substances, except industrial waste and sewage, which may be discharged into or placed in such proximity to the water that drainage therefrom may reach the water.
d. 'Toxic waste' means that waste, or combinations of wastes, including disease-causing agents, which after discharge and upon exposure, ingestion, inhalation, or assimilation into any organism, either directly from the environment or indirectly by ingestion through food chains, will cause death, disease, behavioral abnormalities, cancer, genetic mutations, physiological malfunctions (including malfunctions in reproduction) or physical deformities, in such organisms or their offspring.
(19) The term 'water pollution' means the man-made or man-induced alteration of the chemical, physical, biological, or radiological integrity of the waters of the State, including, but specifically not limited to, alterations resulting from the concentration or increase of natural pollutants caused by man-related activities.
(21) The term 'watershed' means a natural area of drainage, including all tributaries contributing to the supply of at least one major waterway within the State, the specific limits of each separate watershed to be designated by the Commission.
(22) The term 'complex sources' means any facility which is or may be an air pollution source or which will induce or tend to induce development or activities which will or may be air pollution sources, and which shall include, but not be limited to, shopping centers; sports complexes; drive-in theaters; parking lots and garages; residential, commercial, industrial or institutional developments; amusement parks and recreation areas; highways; and any other facilities which will result in increased emissions from motor vehicles or stationary sources.
(23) The term 'effluent standards' or 'effluent limitations' means any restrictions established pursuant to this Article on quantities, rates, characteristics and concentrations of chemical, physical, biological and other constituents of wastes which are discharged from any pretreatment facility or from any outlet or point source to the waters of the State.
(24) The term 'point source' means any discernible, confined, and discrete conveyance, including, but specifically not limited to, any pipe, ditch, channel, tunnel, conduit, well, discrete fissure, container, rolling stock, or concentrated animal-feeding operation from which wastes are or may be discharged to the waters of the State.
(25) The term 'pretreatment facility' means any treatment works installed for the purpose of treating, equalizing, neutralizing or stabilizing waste from any source prior to discharge to any disposal system subject to effluent standards or limitations.
(26) The term 'pretreatment standards' means effluent standards or limitations applicable to waste discharged from a pretreatment facility.
(27) The term 'Federal Clean Air Act' refers to the Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
(28) The term 'nonattainment area' refers to an area which is shown to exceed any national ambient air quality standard for such pollutant.
(29) The term 'prevention of significant deterioration' refers to the statutory and regulatory requirements arising from the Federal Clean Air Act designed to prevent the significant deterioration of air quality in areas with air quality better than required by the national ambient air quality standards.
(30) The term 'waste treatment management practice' means any method, measure or practice to control plant site runoff, spillage or leaks, sludge or waste disposal and drainage from raw material storage which are associated with, or ancillary to the industrial manufacturing or treatment process of the class or category of point sources to which the management practice is applied. Waste treatment management practices may only be imposed, supplemental to effluent limitations, for a class or category of point sources, for any specific pollutant which has been designated as toxic or hazardous pursuant to sections 307(a)(1) or 311 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act."
Sec. 3. G.S. 143-215.64 reads as rewritten:
"§ 143-215.64. Purpose.
The purpose of this Part Article is to require
all persons who are subject to the provisions of G.S. 143-215.1 G.S.
143-215.1, 143-215.108, or 143-215.109 to file reports with the Commission
covering the discharge of waste and air contaminants to the waters and outdoor
atmosphere of the State and to establish and maintain approved systems for
monitoring the quantity and quality of such discharges and their effects upon
the water and air resources of the State."
Sec. 4. G.S. 143-215.65 reads as rewritten:
"§ 143-215.65. Reports required.
All persons subject to the provisions of G.S. 143-215.1 G.S.
143-215.1, 143-215.108, or 143-215.109 who discharge wastes to the waters
or emit air contaminants to the outdoor atmosphere of this State shall file at
such frequencies as the Commission may specify and at least quarterly reports
with the Commission setting forth the volume and characteristics of wastes
discharged or air contaminants emitted daily or such other period of time as
may be specified by the Commission in its rules. Such reports shall be filed on
forms provided by the Department and approved by the Commission and shall
include such pertinent data with reference to the total and average volume of
wastes or air contaminants discharged, the strength and amount of each waste
substance or air contaminant discharged, the type and degree of treatment such
wastes or air contaminants received prior to discharge and such other
information as may be specified by the Commission in its rules. The information
shall be used by the Commission only for the purpose of air and water pollution
control. The Department shall provide proper and adequate facilities and
procedures and the Commission shall adopt rules to safeguard the
confidentiality of proprietary manufacturing processes except that confidentiality
shall not extend to wastes discharged or air contaminants emitted."
Sec. 5. G.S. 143-215.66 reads as rewritten:
"§ 143-215.66. Monitoring required.
In order to provide for adequately monitoring the discharge
of wastes to the waters and the emission of contaminants to the outdoor
atmosphere and their effects upon the quality of the environment, all persons
subject to the provisions of G.S. 143-215.1 G.S. 143-215.1,
143-215.108, or 143-215.109 who cause such discharges or emissions shall
establish and maintain adequate water and air quality monitoring systems and
report the data obtained therefrom to the Commission. Each monitoring system
shall include the collection of water or air quality data as appropriate from
such locations, in such detail, and with such frequency as required by rule of
the Commission for evaluating the efficiency of treatment facilities or
air-cleaning devices and the effects of the discharges or emissions upon the
waters and air resources of the State."
Sec. 6. G.S. 143-215.67(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a) No person subject to
the provisions of G.S. 143-215.1 G.S. 143-215.1, 143-215.108, or
143-215.109 shall willfully cause or allow the discharge of any wastes or
air contaminants to a waste-disposal system or air-cleaning device in excess of
the capacity of the disposal system or cleaning device or any wastes or air
contaminants which the disposal system or cleaning device cannot adequately
treat.
(b) The Commission may authorize a unit of government subject to the provisions of G.S. 143-215.67(a) to accept additional wastes to its waste-disposal system upon a finding by the Commission (i) that the unit of government has secured a grant or has otherwise secured financing for planning, design, or construction of a new or improved waste disposal system which will adequately treat the additional waste, and (ii) the additional waste will not result in any significant degradation in the quality of the waters ultimately receiving such discharge. The Commission may impose such conditions on permits issued under G.S. 143-215.1 as it deems necessary to implement the provisions of this subsection, including conditions on the size, character, and number of additional dischargers. Nothing in this subsection shall be deemed to authorize a unit of government to violate water quality standards, effluent limitations or the terms of any order or permit issued under Part 1 of this Article nor does anything herein preclude the Commission from enforcing by appropriate means the provisions of Part 1 of this Article."
Sec. 7. G.S. 143-215.112(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a) The Commission is
authorized and directed to review and have general oversight and supervision
over all existing or proposed local air pollution control programs and
to this end shall review and certify such programs as being adequate to meet
the requirements of this Article and Article 21 of this Chapter and
any applicable standards and rules adopted pursuant thereto. The Commission
shall certify any local program which:
(1) Provides by ordinance
or local law for requirements compatible with those imposed by the provisions
of this Article and Article 21, 21 of this Chapter, and the
standards and rules issued pursuant thereto; provided, however, the Commission
upon request of a municipality or other local unit may grant special permission
for the governing body of such unit to adopt a particular class of air
contaminant regulations which would result in more effective air pollution
control than applicable standards or rules promulgated by the Commission;
(2) Provides for the adequate enforcement of such requirements by appropriate administrative and judicial process;
(3) Provides for an adequate administrative organization, staff, financial and other resources necessary to effectively and efficiently carry out its programs; and
(4) Is approved by the Commission as adequate to meet the requirements of this Article and any applicable rules pursuant thereto."
Sec. 8. G.S. 143-215.114 reads as rewritten:
"§ 143-215.114. Enforcement procedures.
(a) Civil Penalties.
(1) A civil penalty of not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) may be assessed against any person who:
a. Violates any classification, standard or limitation established pursuant to G.S. 143-215.107;
b. Is required but fails to apply for or to secure a permit required by G.S. 143-215.108 or who violates or fails to act in accordance with the terms, conditions, or requirements of such permit;
c. Violates or fails to act in accordance with the terms, conditions, or requirements of any special order or other appropriate document issued pursuant to G.S. 143-215.110;
d. Fails to
file, submit, or make available, as the case may be, any documents, data or
reports required by this Article; Article or Article 21 of this
Chapter;
f. Violates a rule of the Commission or a local governing body implementing this Article.
(2) Each day of continuing violation after written notification from the Commission shall be considered a separate offense.
(3) In determining the amount of the penalty the Commission shall consider the degree and extent of harm caused by the violation, the cost of rectifying the damage, and the amount of money the violator saved by not having made the necessary expenditures to comply with the appropriate pollution control requirements.
(4) The Commission, or, if authorized by the Commission, the Department, may assess the penalties provided for in this subsection. Any person assessed shall be notified of the assessment by registered or certified mail, and the notice shall specify the reasons for the assessment. If the person assessed fails to pay the amount of the assessment to the Department within 30 days after receipt of notice, or such longer period, not to exceed 180 days, as the Commission may specify, the Commission may institute a civil action in the Superior Court of Wake County to recover the amount of the assessment.
(b) Criminal Penalties.
(1) Any person who willfully or negligently violates any classification, standard or limitation established pursuant to G.S. 143-215.107; any term, condition, or requirement of a permit issued pursuant to G.S. 143-215.108 or of a special order or other appropriate document issued pursuant to G.S. 143-215.110 or any rule of the Commission implementing any of the said section, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) per day of violation, provided that such fine shall not exceed a cumulative total of two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000) for each period of 30 days during which a violation continues, or by imprisonment not to exceed six months, or by both.
(2) Any person who
knowingly makes any false statement, representation, or certification in any
application, record, report, plan, or other document filed or required to be
maintained under this Article and or Article 21, or a rule
implementing this Article and or Article 21, or who falsifies,
tampers with, or knowingly renders inaccurate any recording or monitoring
device or method required to be operated or maintained under this Article and
or Article 21 or regulations of the Commission implementing this
Article and or Article 21, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor
punishable by a fine not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by
imprisonment not to exceed six months, or by both.
(3) Any person convicted of an offense under either subdivision (1) or subdivision (2) of this subsection following a previous conviction under such subdivision shall be subject to a fine, or imprisonment, or both, not exceeding twice the amount of the fine or twice the term of imprisonment provided in the subdivision under which the second or subsequent conviction occurs.
(4) For purposes of this subsection, the term 'person' shall mean, in addition to the definition contained in G.S. 143-213, any responsible corporate or public officer or employee; provided, however, that where a vote of the people is required to effectuate the intent and purpose of this Article by a county, city, town, or other political subdivision of the State, and the vote on the referendum is against the means or machinery for carrying said intent and purpose into effect, then, and only then, this subsection shall not apply to elected officials or to any responsible appointed officials or employees of such county, city, town, or political subdivision.
(c) Injunctive Relief. -
Whenever the Department has reasonable cause to believe that any person has
violated or is threatening to violate any of the provisions of this Article or
Article 21 of this Chapter or a rule implementing this Article, Article
or Article 21 of this Chapter, the Department, either before or after the
institution of any other action or proceeding authorized by this Article and
or Article 21, 21 of this Chapter, may request
the Attorney General to institute a civil action in the name of the State upon
the relation of the Department for injunctive relief to restrain the violation
or threatened violation and for such other and further relief in the premises
as the court shall deem proper. The Attorney General may institute such action
in the Superior Court of Wake County, or, in his discretion, in the superior
court of the county in which the violation occurred or may occur. Upon a
determination by the court that the alleged violation of the provisions of this
Article and or Article 21 of this Chapter or the
regulation of the Commission has occurred or is threatened, the court shall
grant the relief necessary to prevent or abate the violation or threatened
violation. Neither the institution of the action nor any of the proceedings
thereon shall relieve any party to such proceedings from any penalty prescribed
for violation of this Article. Article or Article 21 of this Chapter."
Sec. 9. This act is effective upon ratification.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 25th day of May, 1989.