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--- version:Edition 1+++ version:Filed@@ -1,18 +1,16 @@GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINASESSION 2025-H 1-HOUSE BILL 873+H D+HOUSE BILL DRH10383-MHf-83AShort Title: DEQ Agency Bill.-AB (Public)Sponsors: Representative K. Hall.-For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.-Referred to: Agriculture and Environment, if favorable, Finance, if favorable, Rules, Calendar,-and Operations of the House-April 10, 2025-*H873-v-1*+Referred to:++*DRH10383-MHf-83A*A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-AN ACT TO MAKE VARIO US CHANGES TO THE ST ATUTES GOVERNING THE 2-DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRO NMENTAL QUALITY, AS RECOMMENDED BY THE 3+AN ACT TO MAKE VARIOUS CHANGES TO THE STATUTES GOVERNING THE 2+DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY, AS RECOMMENDED BY THE 3DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY. 4The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 56@@ -20,7 +18,7 @@SECTION 1.(a) Article 7 of Chapter 143B of the General Statutes is amended by 8adding a new section to read: 9"§ 143B-279.21. Use of schools and other public buildings for public hearings. 10-(a) The governing authority having c ontrol over (i) public buildings or (ii) schools 11+(a) The governing authority having control over (i) public buildings or (ii) schools 11governed by the governing body of a public school unit which have facilities for group meetings 12is hereby authorized and directed to permit the use of such buildings without charge, except 13custodial and utility fees, by the Department for public hearings. Provided, that the use of such 14@@ -36,335 +34,338 @@purposes without the express consent of the individual church involved for the purpose of 24conducting public hearings." 25SECTION 1.(b) G.S. 115C-47 is amended by adding a new subdivision to read: 26-"(70) To Provide Access to Scho ol Facilities to the Department of Envi ronmental 27+"(70) To Provide Access to School Facilities to the Department of Envi ronmental 27Quality. – A local board of education shall adopt policies to allow the 28Department of Environmental Quality to have access to facilities that can 29facilitate group meetings on school property of a school governed by the local 30school board pursuant to G.S. 143B-279.21(a)." 31SECTION 1.(c) Part 2 of Article 14A of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes is 32amended by adding a new section to read: 33-General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025-Page 2 House Bill 873-First Edition-"§ 115C-238.35A. Provide access to school facilities to the Depa rtment of Environmental 1-Quality. 2-A charter school shall adopt policies to allow the Department of Environmental Quality to 3-have access to facilities that can facilitate group meetings on charter school property consistent 4-with G.S. 143B-279.21(a)." 5-SECTION 1.(d) Subsections (a), (b), and (c) of this section are effective when they 6-become law and apply beginning with the 2025-2026 school year. 7- 8-CLARIFY INACTIVE HAZARDOUS SITES RESPONSIBLE PARTY 9-SECTION 2. G.S. 130A-310.7(a) reads as rewritten: 10-"(a) Notwithstanding any other provision or rule of law, and subject only to the defenses 11-set forth in this subsection, any person who: 12-(1) Discharges or deposits; or 13-(2) Contracts or arranges for any discharge or deposit; or 14-(3) Accepts for discharge or deposit; or 15-(4) Transports or arranges for transport for the purpose of discharge or deposit 16-any hazardous substance, the result of which discharge or deposit is the existence of an inactive 17-hazardous substance or waste disposal site, shall be considered a responsible party. Neither an 18-innocent landowner who is a bona fide purchaser of the inactive hazardous substance or waste 19-disposal site without knowledge or without a reasonable basis for knowing that hazardous 20-substance or waste disposal had occurred nor a person whose interest or ownership in the inactive 21-hazardous substance or waste disposal site is based on or derived from a security interest in the 22-property shall be considered a responsible party. A landowner who purchases (i) with knowledge 23-that disposal of hazardous substances or waste occurred on the property or (ii) with a reasonable 24-basis for knowing disposal of hazardous substance s or waste occurred on the property shall be 25-considered a responsible party if they conduct any activity that causes exposure to or migration 26-of the existing contamination. A responsible party shall be directly liable to the State for any or 27-all of the reasonably necessary expenses of developing and implementing a remedial action 28-program for such site. The S ecretary shall bring an action for reimbursement of the Inactive 29-Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund in the name of the State in the superior court of the county in 30-which the site is located to recover such sum and the cost of bringing the action. The State must 31-show that a danger to the public health or the environment existed and that the State complied 32-with the provisions of this Part." 33- 34-CLARIFY REQUIREMENTS FOR HAZARDOUS WASTE RECYCLING 35-SECTION 3. Article 9 of Chapter 130A of the General Statutes is amended by 36-adding a new section to read: 37-"§ 130A-295.07. Requirements for hazardous waste recycling. 38-(a) For purposes of this section, "off-site recycling facility" means any facility receiving 39-shipments of hazardous waste from off-site to be recycled or processed for recycling through any 40-process conducted at the facility. A facility owned or operated by a generator of hazardous waste 41-to recycle their own waste is not an off-site recycling facility. 42-(b) An off-site recycling facility shall comply with the requirements of this Article and 43-with 15A NCAC 13A .0113. 44-(c) A hazardous waste facility that (i) accepts hazardous waste from off-site for recycling 45-and (ii) meets the definition of "commercial" in G.S. 130A-290 is subject to the requirements of 46-this Article and rules adopted by the Commission applicable to commercial hazar dous waste 47-facilities." 48- 49-MODIFY PAYMENT OF BROWNFIELDS PROPERTY REUSE ACT FEES 50-SECTION 4.(a) G.S. 130A-310.39 reads as rewritten: 51-General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025-House Bill 873-First Edition Page 3-"§ 130A-310.39. Fees. 1-(a) The Department shall collect the following fees: 2-(1) A prospective developer who submits an application for a proposed 3-brownfields agreement for review by the Department shall pay an initial fee 4-of two thousand dollars ($2,000). 5-(2) A prospective developer who enters into a brownfields agreement with the 6-Department shall pay pay, on a schedule that the Department may specify, a 7-fee in an amount equal to the full cost to the Department and the Department 8-of Justice of all activities related to the brownfields agreement, including but 9-not limited to negotiation of the brownfields agreement, public notice and 10-community involvement, and monitoring the implementation of and 11-compliance with the brownfields agreement. agreement and requirements of 12-this Part regarding the Notice of Brownfields Property. The procedure by 13-which the amount of this fee is determined shall be established by agreement 14-between the prospective developer and the Department and shall be set out as 15-a part of the brownfields agreement. The fee imposed by this subdivision shall 16-be paid in two installments. The first installment shall be due at the time the 17-prospective developer and the Department enter into the brownfields 18-agreement and shall equal all costs that have been incurred by the Department 19-and the Department of Justice at that time less the amount of the initial fee 20-paid pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection. The Department shall not 21-enter into the brownfields agreement unless the first installment is paid in full 22-when due. The second installment shall be due at the time the prospective 23-developer submits a final report certifying completion of remediation under 24-the brownfields agreement and shall include any additio nal costs that have 25-been incurred by the Department and the Department of Justice, including all 26-costs of monitoring the implementation of the brownfields agreement. 27-(3) Any prospective developer or owner of properties subject to a recorded Notice 28-of Brownfields Property who is out of compliance with the requirements of 29-this Part regarding the Notice shall pay a fee to the Department and the 30-Department of Justice sufficient to cover the costs to the State to enforce or 31-otherwise seek to correct the noncompliance. 32-(b) Fees and interest imposed under this section shall be credited to the Brownfields 33-Property Reuse Act Implementation Account. 34-(c) If a prospective developer fails to pay the full amount of any fee due under this 35-section, interest on the unpaid portion of the fee shall accrue from the time the fee is due until 36-paid at the rate established by the Secretary of Revenue pursuant to G.S. 105-241.21. A lien for 37-the amount of the unpaid fee plus interest shall attach to the real and personal prop erty of the 38-prospective developer and to the brownfields property until the fee and interest is paid. The 39-Department may collect unpaid fees and interest in any manner that a unit of local government 40-may collect delinquent taxes." 41-SECTION 4.(b) G.S. 105-277.13 reads as rewritten: 42-"§ 105-277.13. Taxation of improvements on brownfields. 43-(a) Qualifying improvements on brownfields properties are designated a special class of 44-property under Article V, Sec. 2(2) of the North Carolina Constitution and shall be a ppraised, 45-assessed, and taxed in accordance with this section. An owner of land subject to a recorded Notice 46-of Brownfields Property under G.S. 130A-310.35 is entitled to the partial exclusion provided by 47-this section for the first five taxable years beginning after completion of qualifying improvements 48-made after the later of July 1, 2000, or the date of the upon which the Department of 49-Environmental Quality provides written confirmation that the prospective developer of that land 50-and the proposed improvements are eligible to receive a brownfields agreement. After property 51-General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025-Page 4 House Bill 873-First Edition-has qualified for the exclusion provided by this section, the assessor for the county in which the 1-property is located shall annually appraise the improvements made to the propert y during the 2-period of time that the owner is entitled to the exclusion. 3-(b) For the purposes of this section, the terms "qualifying improvements on brownfields 4-properties" and "qualifying improvements" mean improvements made to real property that is 5-subject to as prescribed in a brownfields agreement entered into by the Department of 6-Environmental Quality and the owner recorded Notice of Brownfields Property pursuant to G.S. 7-130A-310.32.The Brownfields Property Reuse Act of 1997, Part 5 of Article 9 of Chapter 130A 8-of the General Statutes, as amended. 9-(c) The following table establishes the percentage of the appraised value of the qualified 10-improvements that is excluded based on the taxable year: 11-Year Percent of Appraised Value Excluded 12-Year 1 90% 13-Year 2 75% 14-Year 3 50% 15-Year 4 30% 16-Year 5 10%." 17-SECTION 4.(c) Subsection (a) of this section becomes effective January 1, 2026. 18-Subsection (b) of this section is effective for taxes imposed for taxable years beginning on or 19-after July 1, 2025. 20- 21-SOLID WASTE BENEFICIAL REUSE CLARIFICATION 22-SECTION 5.(a) G.S. 130A-309.05 reads as rewritten: 23-"§ 130A-309.05. Regulated wastes; certain exclusions. 24-(a) Certain Wastes Regulated as Nonhazardous. – Notwithstanding other provisions of 25-this Article, the following waste shall be regulated pursuant to this Part: 26-(1) Medical waste; and 27-(2) Ash generated by a solid waste management facility from the burning of solid 28-waste. 29-(b) Management of Ash Generated from Burning of Solid Waste. – Ash generated by a 30-solid waste management facility from the burning of solid waste shall be disposed of in a properly 31-designed solid waste disposal area that complies with standards developed by the Department for 32-the disposal of the ash. The Department shall work with solid waste management facilitie s that 33-burn solid waste to identify and develop methods for recycling and reusing incinerator ash or 34-treated ash. 35-(c) Recovered Material. – Recovered material is not subject to regulation as permitting 36-requirements for solid waste under this Article. In order for a material that would otherwise be 37-regulated as solid waste to qualify as a recovered material, the The Department may require any 38-person who owns or has control over the material to demonstrate that the material meets the 39-requirements of this subsection. In order to protect public health and the environment, the 40-Commission subsection or may require the person to obtain a beneficial use determination from 41-the Department in accordance with subsection (d) of this secti on. The Department may adopt 42-rules to implement this subsection. Materials that are accumulated speculatively, as that term is 43-defined under 40 Code of Federal Regulations § 261 (July 1, 2014 Edition), shall not qualify as 44-a recovered material, and shall be subject to regula tion as solid waste. In order to qualify as a 45-recovered material, the material. The material shall be managed as a valuable commodity in a 46-manner consistent with the desired use or end use, and all of the following conditions shall be 47-met: 48-(1) Seventy-five percent (75%), by weight or volume, of the recovered material 49-stored at a facility at the beginning of a calendar year commencing January 1, 50-General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025-House Bill 873-First Edition Page 5-shall be removed from the facility through sale, use, or reuse by December 31 1-of the same year. 2-(2) The recove red material or the products or by -products of operations that 3-process recovered material shall not be discharged, deposited, injected, 4-dumped, spilled, leaked, or placed into or upon any land or water so that the 5-products or by-products or any constituent thereof may enter other lands or be 6-emitted into the air or discharged into any waters including groundwaters, or 7-otherwise enter the environment or pose a threat to public health and safety. 8-Facilities that process recovered material shall be operated in a manner to 9-ensure compliance with this subdivision. 10-(3) The recovered material shall not be a hazardous waste or have been recovered 11-from a hazardous waste. 12-(4) The recovered material shall not contain significant concentrations of foreign 13-constituents that render it unserviceable or inadequate for sale, or its intended 14-use or reuse. 15-(d) Beneficial Use Determination. – For the purposes of preservation of landfill capacity, 16-economic development, energy savings, and reduction of greenhouse emissions, the Department 17-may determine whether nonhazardous solid waste may be used or reused for a particular site or 18-application as an alterna tive to disposal at a permitted solid waste management facility as set 19-forth in this subsection. 20-(1) A person seeking a beneficial use determination shall submit an application to 21-the Department. The Department, after a review of an application submitted 22-under this subsection, may take any of the following actions: 23-a. Authorize management of a specified type of nonhazardous solid 24-waste at a site other than a permitted solid waste management facility. 25-b. Issue a beneficial use determination with appropriate conditions for 26-use of specific types of solid waste in construction, land application, 27-or other projects and applications. 28-(2) An applicant for a determination under this subsection shall submit 29-information on forms prescribed by the Department and any additional 30-information required by the Department necessary for a determination under 31-this subsection. In its review of the application and additional information, the 32-Department shall also consider internal research or information submitted by 33-any person or entity concerning the potential hazard to public health or the 34-environment of any type of solid waste. 35-(3) The Department may require submittal of a demonstration that the solid waste 36-is being managed in a manner to protect public health or the environment and 37-may include any of the following as a part of an authorization under 38-subdivision (1) of this subsection: 39-a. Requirements for periodic testing of solid wastes. 40-b. Conditions to ensure that the products or by -products of a material 41-recovered or diverted for beneficial use shall not be discharged, 42-deposited, injected, dumped, spilled, leaked, or placed into or upon 43-any land or water so that the products or by -products or any 44-constituents thereof may enter other lands or be emitted into the air, or 45-discharged into any waters, including groundwaters, or otherwise enter 46-the environment or pose a threat to public health and safety. 47-(4) Approvals granted under this subsection are valid for no longer than five 48-years. Requests for renewal shall be made at least 60 days in advance of the 49-expiration date of the approval. 50-General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025-Page 6 House Bill 873-First Edition-(5) The applicant for a determination unde r this sub section shall submit to the 1-Department on an annual basis a report detailing the usage of material under 2-the approval and certifying compliance with this Article and any applicable 3-rules adopted under this Article. 4-(6) The Department may suspend or revoke an authorization and may modify an 5-authorization if it is determined that the activity is not in compliance with the 6-requirements of applicable laws or rules or if new information is provided to 7-the Department that impacts the determination of protection of public health 8-or the environment. 9-(7) The Department shall provide notice on its website of approved beneficial use 10-determinations. 11-(8) Facilities that manage source separated materials for the purpose of recycling 12-as defined in G.S. 130A-290 are not subject to the provisions of this 13-subsection. 14-(9) The Department may adopt rules implementing this subsection and 15-establishing application fees for a reuse determination under this subsection. 16-All fees collected under this subdivision shall be credited to the Solid Waste 17-Management Account established under G.S. 130A-295.8(a). In determining 18-the amount of the total application fee in rule, the Department shall have the 19-authority to establish separate fee amounts for annual fees for each year based 20-on the length of time for which the approval will be valid as requested by the 21-applicant." 22-SECTION 5.(b) This section becomes effective January 1, 2026. 23- 24-EXPAND ELIGIBILITY F OR TARGETED INTEREST RATES ON WATER AND 25-WASTEWATER PROJECTS 26-SECTION 6. G.S. 159G-20(21) reads as rewritten: 27-"(21) Targeted interest rate project. – Either of the following types of projects: 28-a. A project that is awarded a loan from the Drinking Water Reserve or 29-the Wastewater Reserve based on affordability. 30-b. A project that is awarded a loan from the CWSRF or the DWSRF and 31-is in a category for which the Department or federal law encourages a 32-special focus." 33- 34-REVISE STEWARDSHIP LAWS 35-SECTION 7. G.S. 143-214.15 reads as rewritten: 36-"§ 143-214.15. Compensatory mitigation for diverse habitats. 37-(a) The Department of Environmental Quality shall seek more net gains of aquatic 38-resources through compensatory mitigation by increasing wetland establishment of diverse 39-habitats, including emer gent marsh habitat, shallow open water, and other forested and 40-non-forested wetland habitats. 41-(b) The Department of Environmental Quality shall further establish with the district 42-engineer of the Wilmington District of the United States Army Corps of Engineers compensatory 43-mitigation credit ratios that incentivize the creation or establishment of diverse wetland habitats 44-to support waterfowl and other wildlife. 45-(c) The Department of Environmental Quality shall work in cooperation with the Wildlife 46-Resources Commission to ensure that all purchased mitigation lands or conservation easements 47-on these lands maximize opportunities for public recreation, including hunting, and promote 48-wildlife and biological diversity . prioritize management practices that promote wildlife and 49-biological diversity and, where feasible, provide opportunities for public recrea tion, including 50-hunting by property owners and lessees. The Department and the Commission shall pursue the 51-General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025-House Bill 873-First Edition Page 7-voluntary involvement of third -party groups to leverage resources and ensure that there is no 1-additional cost to private mitigation bankers or the taxpayers in achieving these mitigation 2-credits. 3-(d) The Stewardship Program of the Department of Environmental Quality shall maintain 4-an inventory of all its land holdings and determine how many of those holdings are potential 5-wildlife habitats, either as currently held or with some modification. The Stewardship Program 6-shall maximize use of these mitigation land holdings as ecological research sites and for hunting 7-leases when the Stewardship Program determines it is feasible to do so. 8-(e) If private individuals, corporations, or other nongovernmental entities wish to 9-purchase any of the inventory of land suitable for wildlife habitat, then the Stewardship Program 10-of the Department of Environmental Quality shall issue a request for proposal to all interested 11-respondents for the purchase of the land. The State shall accept a proposal and proceed to dispose 12-of the land only if the Department determines that the proposal meets both of the following 13-requirements: 14-(1) The proposal provides for the maintenance in perpetuity of management 15-measures listed in the original mitigation instrument or otherwise needed on 16-an ongoing or periodic basis to maintain the functions of the mitigation site. 17-(2) Where the functions of the mitigation site include provision of recreation or 18-hunting opportunities to members of the general public, the proposal includes 19-measures needed to continue that level of access. 20-The instrument conveying a property interest in a mitigation site shall be executed in the 21-manner required by Article 16 of Chapter 146 of the General Statutes, and shall reflect the 22-requirements of this subsection. 23-(f) The Department of Environmental Quality shall report to the Environmental Review 24-Commission by March 1 of each year in which there are changes in inventory during the 25-preceding year under the provisions of this section regarding the changes." 26- 27-IMPROVEMENT OF CONSERVATION AGREEMENT PROTECTIONS 28-SECTION 8.(a) G.S. 14-130 reads as rewritten: 29-"§ 14-130. Trespass on public lands. 30-If any person shall erect a building on any state -owned lands, or cultivate or remove timber 31-from any such lands, without the permission of the State, he shall be guilty of a Class 1 32-misdemeanor. Moreover, the State can recover from any person cutting timber on its land three 33-times the value of the timber which is cut. For purposes of this section, "state-owned lands " 34-includes lands subject to a conservation agreement where the holder of the agreement is the State 35-or any State agency." 36-SECTION 8.(b) G.S. 1-539.1 reads as rewritten: 37-"§ 1-539.1. Damages for unlawful cutting, removal or burning of timber; misrepresentation 38-of property lines. 39-(a) Any person, firm or corporation not being the bona fide owner thereof or agent of the 40-owner who shall who, without the consent and permission of the bona fide owner enter enters 41-upon the land of another and injure, cut or remove injures, cuts, or removes any valuable wood, 42-timber, shrub or tree therefrom, shall be from that land is liable to the owner of said the land for 43-triple the value of such wood, timber, shrubs or trees so injured, cut or removed. 44-(b) If any person, firm or corporation shall willfully and intentionally set sets on fire, or 45-cause causes to be set on fire, in any manner whatever, any valuable wood, timber or trees on the 46-lands of another, such person, firm or corporation shall be is liable to the owner of said the lands 47-for triple the value of such wood, timber or trees damaged or destroyed thereby. 48-(c) Any person, firm or corporation cutting timber under contract and incurring damages 49-as provided in subsection (a) of this section as a res ult of a misrepresentation of property lines 50-General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025-Page 8 House Bill 873-First Edition-by the party letting the contract shall be entitled to reimbursement from the party letting the 1-contract for damages incurred. 2-(d) For purposes of this section, "owner" includes the holder, as defined in G.S. 121-35, 3-of any conservation agreement which includes the right to cut or prohibit the cutting of timber." 4- 5-EFFECTIVE DATE 6-SECTION 9. Except as otherwise provided, this act is effective when it becomes 7-law. 8+"§ 115C-238.35A. Provide access to school facilities to the Department of Environmental 34+Quality. 35+H.B. 873+Apr 9, 2025+HOUSE PRINCIPAL CLERK+General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025+Page 2 DRH10383-MHf-83A+A charter school shall adopt policies to allow the Department of Environmental Quality to 1+have access to facilities that can facilitate group meetings on charter school property consistent 2+with G.S. 143B-279.21(a)." 3+SECTION 1.(d) Subsections (a), (b), and (c) of this section are effective when they 4+become law and apply beginning with the 2025-2026 school year. 5+ 6+CLARIFY INACTIVE HAZARDOUS SITES RESPONSIBLE PARTY 7+SECTION 2. G.S. 130A-310.7(a) reads as rewritten: 8+"(a) Notwithstanding any other provision or rule of law, and subject only to the defenses 9+set forth in this subsection, any person who: 10+(1) Discharges or deposits; or 11+(2) Contracts or arranges for any discharge or deposit; or 12+(3) Accepts for discharge or deposit; or 13+(4) Transports or arranges for transport for the purpose of discharge or deposit 14+any hazardous substance, the result of which discharge or deposit is the existence of an inactive 15+hazardous substance or waste disposal site, shall be considered a responsible party. Neither an 16+innocent landowner who is a bona fide purchaser of the inactive hazardous substance or waste 17+disposal site without knowledge or without a reasonable basis for knowing that hazardous 18+substance or waste disposal had occurred nor a person whose interest or ownership in the inactive 19+hazardous substance or waste disposal site is based on or derived from a security interest in the 20+property shall be considered a responsible party. A landowner who purchases (i) with knowledge 21+that disposal of hazardous substances or waste occurred on the property or (ii) with a reasonable 22+basis for knowing disposal of hazardous substance s or waste occurred on the property shall be 23+considered a responsible party if they conduct any activity that causes exposure to or migration 24+of the existing contamination. A responsible party shall be directly liable to the State for any or 25+all of the reasonably necessary expenses of developing and implementing a remedial action 26+program for such site. The Secretary shall bring an action for reimbursement of the Inactive 27+Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund in the name of the State in the superior court of the county in 28+which the site is located to recover such sum and the cost of bringing the action. The State must 29+show that a danger to the public health or the environment existed and that the State complied 30+with the provisions of this Part." 31+ 32+CLARIFY REQUIREMENTS FOR HAZARDOUS WASTE RECYCLING 33+SECTION 3. Article 9 of Chapter 130A of the General Statutes is amended by 34+adding a new section to read: 35+"§ 130A-295.07. Requirements for hazardous waste recycling. 36+(a) For purposes of this section, "off-site recycling facility" means any facility receiving 37+shipments of hazardous waste from off-site to be recycled or processed for recycling through any 38+process conducted at the facility. A facility owned or operated by a generator of hazardous waste 39+to recycle their own waste is not an off-site recycling facility. 40+(b) An off-site recycling facility shall comply with the requirements of this Article and 41+with 15A NCAC 13A .0113. 42+(c) A hazardous waste facility that (i) accepts hazardous waste from off-site for recycling 43+and (ii) meets the definition of "commercial" in G.S. 130A-290 is subject to the requirements of 44+this Article and rules adopted by the Commission applicable to commercial hazar dous waste 45+facilities." 46+ 47+MODIFY PAYMENT OF BROWNFIELDS PROPERTY REUSE ACT FEES 48+SECTION 4.(a) G.S. 130A-310.39 reads as rewritten: 49+"§ 130A-310.39. Fees. 50+(a) The Department shall collect the following fees: 51+General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025+DRH10383-MHf-83A Page 3+(1) A prospective developer who submits an application for a proposed 1+brownfields agreement for review by the Department shall pay an initial fee 2+of two thousand dollars ($2,000). 3+(2) A prospective developer who enters into a brownfields agreement with the 4+Department shall pay pay, on a schedule that the Department may specify, a 5+fee in an amount equal to the full cost to the Department and the Department 6+of Justice of all activities related to the brownfields agreement, including but 7+not limited to negotiation of the brownfields agreement, public notice and 8+community involvement, and monitoring the implementation of and 9+compliance with the brownfields agreement. agreement and requirements of 10+this Part regarding the Notice of Brownfields Property. The procedure by 11+which the amount of this fee is determined shall be established by agreement 12+between the prospective developer and the Department and shall be set out as 13+a part of the brownfields agreement. The fee imposed by this subdivision shall 14+be paid in two installments. The first installment shall be due at the time the 15+prospective developer and the Department enter into the brownfields 16+agreement and shall equal all costs that have been incurred by the Department 17+and the Department of Justice at that time less the amount of the initial fee 18+paid pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection. The Department shall not 19+enter into the brownfields agreement unless the first installment is paid in full 20+when due. The second installment shall be due at the time the prospective 21+developer submits a final report certifying completion of remediation under 22+the brownfields agreement and shall include any additional costs that have 23+been incurred by the Department and the Department of Justice, including all 24+costs of monitoring the implementation of the brownfields agreement. 25+(3) Any prospective developer or owner of properties subject to a recorded Notice 26+of Brownfields Property who is out of compliance with the requirements of 27+this Part regarding the Notice shall pay a fee to the Department and the 28+Department of Justice sufficient to cover the costs to the State to enforce or 29+otherwise seek to correct the noncompliance. 30+(b) Fees and interest imposed under this section shall be credited to the Brownfields 31+Property Reuse Act Implementation Account. 32+(c) If a prospective developer fails to pay the full amount of any fee due under this 33+section, interest on the unpaid portion of the fee shall accrue from the time the fee is due until 34+paid at the rate established by the Secretary of Revenue pursuant to G.S. 105-241.21. A lien for 35+the amount of the unpaid fee plus interest shall attach to the real and personal property of the 36+prospective developer and to the brownfields property until the fee and interest is paid. The 37+Department may collect unpaid fees and interest in any manner that a unit of local government 38+may collect delinquent taxes." 39+SECTION 4.(b) G.S. 105-277.13 reads as rewritten: 40+"§ 105-277.13. Taxation of improvements on brownfields. 41+(a) Qualifying improvements on brownfields properties are designated a special class of 42+property under Article V, Sec. 2(2) of the North Carolina Constitution and shall be appraised, 43+assessed, and taxed in accordance with this section. An owner of land subject to a recorded Notice 44+of Brownfields Property under G.S. 130A-310.35 is entitled to the partial exclusion provided by 45+this section for the first five taxable years beginning after completion of qualifying improvements 46+made after the later of July 1, 2000, or the date of the upon which the Department of 47+Environmental Quality provides written confirmation that the prospective developer of that land 48+and the proposed improvements are eligible to receive a brownfields agreement. After property 49+has qualified for the exclusion provided by this section, the assessor for the county in which the 50+General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025+Page 4 DRH10383-MHf-83A+property is located shall annually appraise the improvements made to the property during the 1+period of time that the owner is entitled to the exclusion. 2+(b) For the purposes of this section, the terms "qualifying improvements on brownfields 3+properties" and "qualifying improvements" mean improvements made to real property that is 4+subject to as prescribed in a brownfields agreement entered into by the Department of 5+Environmental Quality and the owner recorded Notice of Brownfields Property pursuant to G.S. 6+130A-310.32.The Brownfields Property Reuse Act of 1997, Part 5 of Article 9 of Chapter 130A 7+of the General Statutes, as amended. 8+(c) The following table establishes the percentage of the appraised value of the qualified 9+improvements that is excluded based on the taxable year: 10+Year Percent of Appraised Value Excluded 11+Year 1 90% 12+Year 2 75% 13+Year 3 50% 14+Year 4 30% 15+Year 5 10%." 16+SECTION 4.(c) Subsection (a) of this section becomes effective January 1, 2026. 17+Subsection (b) of this section is effective for taxes imposed for taxable years beginning on or 18+after July 1, 2025. 19+ 20+SOLID WASTE BENEFICIAL REUSE CLARIFICATION 21+SECTION 5.(a) G.S. 130A-309.05 reads as rewritten: 22+"§ 130A-309.05. Regulated wastes; certain exclusions. 23+(a) Certain Wastes Regulated as Nonhazardous. – Notwithstanding other provisions of 24+this Article, the following waste shall be regulated pursuant to this Part: 25+(1) Medical waste; and 26+(2) Ash generated by a solid waste management facility from the burning of solid 27+waste. 28+(b) Management of Ash Generated from Burning of Solid Waste. – Ash generated by a 29+solid waste management facility from the burning of solid waste shall be disposed of in a properly 30+designed solid waste disposal area that complies with standards developed by the Department for 31+the disposal of the ash. The Department shall work with solid waste management facilities that 32+burn solid waste to identify and develop methods for recycling and reusing incinerator ash or 33+treated ash. 34+(c) Recovered Material. – Recovered material is not subject to regulation as permitting 35+requirements for solid waste under this Article. In order for a material that would otherwise be 36+regulated as solid waste to qualify as a recovered material, the The Department may require any 37+person who owns or has control over the material to demonstrate that the material meets the 38+requirements of this subsection. In order to protect public health and the environment, the 39+Commission subsection or may require the person to obtain a beneficial use determination from 40+the Department in accordance with subsection (d) of this secti on. The Department may adopt 41+rules to implement this subsection. Materials that are accumulated speculatively, as that term is 42+defined under 40 Code of Federal Regulations § 261 (July 1, 2014 Edition), shall not qualify as 43+a recovered material, and shall be subject to regulation as solid waste. In order to qualify as a 44+recovered material, the material. The material shall be managed as a valuable commodity in a 45+manner consistent with the desired use or end use, and all of the following conditions shall be 46+met: 47+(1) Seventy-five percent (75%), by weight or volume, of the recovered material 48+stored at a facility at the beginning of a calendar year commencing January 1, 49+shall be removed from the facility through sale, use, or reuse by December 31 50+of the same year. 51+General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025+DRH10383-MHf-83A Page 5+(2) The recovered material or the products or by -products of operations that 1+process recovered material shall not be discharged, deposited, injected, 2+dumped, spilled, leaked, or placed into or upon any land or water so that the 3+products or by-products or any constituent thereof may enter other lands or be 4+emitted into the air or discharged into any waters including groundwaters, or 5+otherwise enter the environment or pose a threat to public health and safety. 6+Facilities that process recovered material shall be operated in a manner to 7+ensure compliance with this subdivision. 8+(3) The recovered material shall not be a hazardous waste or have been recovered 9+from a hazardous waste. 10+(4) The recovered material shall not contain significant concentrations of foreign 11+constituents that render it unserviceable or inadequate for sale, or its intended 12+use or reuse. 13+(d) Beneficial Use Determination. – For the purposes of preservation of landfill capacity, 14+economic development, energy savings, and reduction of greenhouse emissions, the Department 15+may determine whether nonhazardous solid waste may be used or reused for a particular site or 16+application as an alterna tive to disposal at a permitted solid waste management facility as set 17+forth in this subsection. 18+(1) A person seeking a beneficial use determination shall submit an application to 19+the Department. The Department, after a review of an application submitted 20+under this subsection, may take any of the following actions: 21+a. Authorize management of a specified type of nonhazardous solid 22+waste at a site other than a permitted solid waste management facility. 23+b. Issue a beneficial use determination with appropriate conditions for 24+use of specific types of solid waste in construction, land application, 25+or other projects and applications. 26+(2) An applicant for a determination under this subsection shall submit 27+information on forms prescribed by the Department and any additional 28+information required by the Department necessary for a determination under 29+this subsection. In its review of the application and additional information, the 30+Department shall also consider internal research or information submitted by 31+any person or entity concerning the potential hazard to public health or the 32+environment of any type of solid waste. 33+(3) The Department may require submittal of a demonstration that the solid waste 34+is being managed in a manner to protect public health or the environment and 35+may include any of the following as a part of an authorization under 36+subdivision (1) of this subsection: 37+a. Requirements for periodic testing of solid wastes. 38+b. Conditions to ensure that the products or by -products of a material 39+recovered or diverted for beneficial use shall not be discharged, 40+deposited, injected, dumped, spilled, leaked, or placed into or upon 41+any land or water so that the products or by -products or any 42+constituents thereof may enter other lands or be emitted into the air, or 43+discharged into any waters, including groundwaters, or otherwise enter 44+the environment or pose a threat to public health and safety. 45+(4) Approvals granted under this subsection are valid for no longer than five 46+years. Requests for renewal shall be made at least 60 days in advance of the 47+expiration date of the approval. 48+(5) The applicant for a determination under this sub section shall submit to the 49+Department on an annual basis a report detailing the usage of material under 50+General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025+Page 6 DRH10383-MHf-83A+the approval and certifying compliance with this Article and any applicable 1+rules adopted under this Article. 2+(6) The Department may suspend or revoke an authorization and may modify an 3+authorization if it is determined that the activity is not in compliance with the 4+requirements of applicable laws or rules or if new information is provided to 5+the Department that impacts the determination of protection of public health 6+or the environment. 7+(7) The Department shall provide notice on its website of approved beneficial use 8+determinations. 9+(8) Facilities that manage source separated materials for the purpose of recycling 10+as defined in G.S. 130A-290 are not subject to the provisions of this 11+subsection. 12+(9) The Department may adopt rules implementing this subsection and 13+establishing application fees for a reuse determination under this subsection. 14+All fees collected under this subdivision shall be credited to the Solid Waste 15+Management Account established under G.S. 130A-295.8(a). In determining 16+the amount of the total application fee in rule, the Department shall have the 17+authority to establish separate fee amounts for annual fees for each year based 18+on the length of time for which the approval will be valid as requested by the 19+applicant." 20+SECTION 5.(b) This section becomes effective January 1, 2026. 21+ 22+EXPAND ELIGIBILITY FOR TARGETED INTEREST RATES ON WATER AND 23+WASTEWATER PROJECTS 24+SECTION 6. G.S. 159G-20(21) reads as rewritten: 25+"(21) Targeted interest rate project. – Either of the following types of projects: 26+a. A project that is awarded a loan from the Drinking Water Reserve or 27+the Wastewater Reserve based on affordability. 28+b. A project that is awarded a loan from the CWSRF or the DWSRF and 29+is in a category for which the Department or federal law encourages a 30+special focus." 31+ 32+REVISE STEWARDSHIP LAWS 33+SECTION 7. G.S. 143-214.15 reads as rewritten: 34+"§ 143-214.15. Compensatory mitigation for diverse habitats. 35+(a) The Department of Environmental Quality shall seek more net gains of aquatic 36+resources through compensatory mitigation by increasing wetland establishment of diverse 37+habitats, including emergent marsh habitat, shallow open water, and other forested and 38+non-forested wetland habitats. 39+(b) The Department of Environmental Quality shall further establish with the district 40+engineer of the Wilmington District of the United States Army Corps of Engineers compensatory 41+mitigation credit ratios that incentivize the creation or establishment of diverse wetland habitats 42+to support waterfowl and other wildlife. 43+(c) The Department of Environmental Quality shall work in cooperation with the Wildlife 44+Resources Commission to ensure that all purchased mitigation lands or conservation easements 45+on these lands maximize opportunities for public recreation, including hunting, and promote 46+wildlife and biological diversity . prioritize management practices that promote wildlife and 47+biological diversity and, where feasible, provide opportunities for public recrea tion, including 48+hunting by property owners and lessees. The Department and the Commission shall pursue the 49+voluntary involvement of third -party groups to leverage resources and ensure that there is no 50+General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025+DRH10383-MHf-83A Page 7+additional cost to private mitigation bankers or the taxpayers in achieving these mitigation 1+credits. 2+(d) The Stewardship Program of the Department of Environmental Quality shall maintain 3+an inventory of all its land holdings and determine how many of those holdings are potential 4+wildlife habitats, either as currently held or with some modification. The Stewardship Program 5+shall maximize use of these mitigation land holdings as ecological research sites and for hunting 6+leases when the Stewardship Program determines it is feasible to do so. 7+(e) If private individuals, corporations, or other nongovernmental entities wish to 8+purchase any of the inventory of land suitable for wildlife habitat, then the Stewardship Program 9+of the Department of Environmental Quality shall issue a request for proposal to all interested 10+respondents for the purchase of the land. The State shall accept a proposal and proceed to dispose 11+of the land only if the Department determines that the proposal meets both of the following 12+requirements: 13+(1) The proposal provides for the maintenance in perpetuity of management 14+measures listed in the original mitigation instrument or otherwise needed on 15+an ongoing or periodic basis to maintain the functions of the mitigation site. 16+(2) Where the functions of the mitigation site include provision of recreation or 17+hunting opportunities to members of the general public, the proposal includes 18+measures needed to continue that level of access. 19+The instrument conveying a property interest in a mitigation site shall be executed in the 20+manner required by Article 16 of Chapter 146 of the General Statutes, and shall reflect the 21+requirements of this subsection. 22+(f) The Department of Environmental Quality shall report to the Environmental Review 23+Commission by March 1 of each year in which there are changes in inventory during the 24+preceding year under the provisions of this section regarding the changes." 25+ 26+IMPROVEMENT OF CONSERVATION AGREEMENT PROTECTIONS 27+SECTION 8.(a) G.S. 14-130 reads as rewritten: 28+"§ 14-130. Trespass on public lands. 29+If any person shall erect a building on any state -owned lands, or cultivate or remove timber 30+from any such lands, without the permission of the State, he shall be guilty of a Class 1 31+misdemeanor. Moreover, the State can recover from any person cutting timber on its land three 32+times the value of the timber which is cut. For purposes of this section, "state-owned lands" 33+includes lands subject to a conservation agreement where the holder of the agreement is the State 34+or any State agency." 35+SECTION 8.(b) G.S. 1-539.1 reads as rewritten: 36+"§ 1-539.1. Damages for unlawful cutting, removal or burning of timber; misrepresentation 37+of property lines. 38+(a) Any person, firm or corporation not being the bona fide owner thereof or agent of the 39+owner who shall who, without the consent and permission of the bona fide owner enter enters 40+upon the land of another and injure, cut or remove injures, cuts, or removes any valuable wood, 41+timber, shrub or tree therefrom, shall be from that land is liable to the owner of said the land for 42+triple the value of such wood, timber, shrubs or trees so injured, cut or removed. 43+(b) If any person, firm or corporation shall willfully and intentionally set sets on fire, or 44+cause causes to be set on fire, in any manner whatever, any valuable wood, timber or trees on the 45+lands of another, such person, firm or corporation shall be is liable to the owner of said the lands 46+for triple the value of such wood, timber or trees damaged or destroyed thereby. 47+(c) Any person, firm or corporation cutting timber under contract and incurring damages 48+as provided in subsection (a) of this section as a result of a misrepresentation of property lines 49+by the party letting the contract shall be entitled to reimbursement from the party letting the 50+contract for damages incurred. 51+General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025+Page 8 DRH10383-MHf-83A+(d) For purposes of this section, "owner" includes the holder, as defined in G.S. 121-35, 1+of any conservation agreement which includes the right to cut or prohibit the cutting of timber." 2+ 3+EFFECTIVE DATE 4+SECTION 9. Except as otherwise provided, this act is effective when it becomes 5+law. 6
Diffs are computed deterministically from extracted bill text and show additions, deletions, and section moves. Scanned-PDF text extracted via OCR is flagged where confidence is low; see methodology.