Agenda - 09-20-2007-2c - Laserfiche WebLink

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The North Carolina League of Municipalities Page 4 of 16 asked for additional study so that more cities could reach middle ground. The enacted bill removed some of the proposed changes to interbasin transfer, instead calling for a study of the broader issue of the state's water policy. The bill directs the Environmental Review Commission to undertake this study, but also establishes a new process for applying for interbasin transfer and for determining whether the transfer should be approved. Some of the new aspects of the process are increased notice and public hearing requirements; a full environmental impact statement and a public hearing on the EIS; mediation to initiate settlement discussions among interested parties; and preparation of a draft determination by the Environmental Management Commission with a public hearing on the draft In making its final determination on the petition for transfer, the EMC must consider the necessity and reasonableness of the amount of surface water proposed to be transferred and its proposed uses and fmd that there are no reasonable alternatives to the proposed transfer. The certificate of transfer must include a prohibition on resale of transferred water except under certain conditions. The legislation states the policy that the projected future needs of the receiving river basin are subordinate to those of the source river basin. Section 43.7C of SB 613 - 2007 Tecl:r:ical Correctio~:s Act amends the effective date to provide that the bill will apply to any petition for an interbasin transfer certificate for which preparation of an environmental assessment or an environmental impact statement has begun on or after the date the act becomes law. Interconnection-Legislation allowing DENR to require the interconnection of water systems and the EMC to require the interconnection of sewer systems was introduced but not debated this year. SB 541- Interco~snectioi: of Public Water Systems would also have required analysis of reasonable alternatives before construction or alteration of systems. It remained in Senate Agriculture and Environment, but fees were added so that the bill remains eligible for further consideration in 2008. Nutrient Offset-Legislation to implement consultant recommendations on the appropriate amount of nutrient offset payments in the Neuse and Tar-Pamlico river basins passed as HB 859 -Nutrient Offset Program Transition. The bill establishes nutrient offset fees of $28.35 per pound of nitrogen in the Neuse basin, $21.67 per pound of nitrogen in the Tar-Pamlico basin, and $28.62 per tenth of a pound of phosphorus in the Tar-Pamlico basin. It requires DENR to implement a plan to transition the NC Ecosystem Enhancement Program nutrient offset program from fee-based to one based on the actual costs of providing nutrient credits. The provisions are effective September 1, 2007, with the fee schedule to expire September 1, 2009. Slope Construction-Legislation affecting nineteen counties in the western part of the state was discussed in committee but did not advance. HB I75ti -Safe Artificial Slope Construction Act would have required counties to adopt ordinances regulating site planning, design, and construction with regard to any land-disturbing activity that creates or changes a slope. Legislators indicated their intention to turn the bill into a study. Solid Waste-In one of its last acts of the session, the General Assembly passed two bills to make sweeping changes to the way that landfills are regulated. SB 1492 -Solid Waste Mm:agement Act of 2007 and SB 6 -Amend Solid Waste Ma~:agement Act of 2007 together add a $2-per-ton statewide "tipping fee," among other things. This tax goes into effect July 1, 2008 and will be charged on municipal solid waste and construction and demolition debris that is deposited in a landfill in the state or transferred at a transfer station for disposal outside the state. Proceeds of the new tax are distributed as follows: 50% to the Inactive Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund to help pay for cleanup of pre-1983 landfills (many of which were old city or county dumps), 18.75% to cities for solid waste management programs and services, 18.75% to counties for solid waste management programs and services, and 12.5% to the Solid Waste Management Trust Fund. Unfortunately, proceeds of the tipping tax will first be used to pay costs of the private firms that were in the planning stages of major landfills and were stopped by this legislation, so tax revenue may not be available for distribution to local governments or remediation of old landfills for some time after the tax goes into effect. The legislation imposes new landfill technical standards, such as a liner requirement for construction and demolition landfills and provisions on leachate collection systems. The legislation increases to 200 feet the distance that new landfills must be set back from perennial streams or wetlands, and prevents construction of a landfill within five miles of a national wildlife refuge, two miles of a state park or one mile of state gameland. The legislation also requires computer manufacturers that sell more than 1,000 pieces of equipment a year in the state to develop a plan to reuse, take back or recycle discarded computer equipment. The League opposed the tip tax, but when its passage became likely, successfully worked to include liability protection for local governments for assessment and remediation of old unlined dump sites and to get a larger share of the proceeds distributed to cities. The League also helped get provisions to grandfather existing facilities, preserve the use of an alternate test for local governments to comply with financial assurance provisions, clarify environmental compliance review requirements, and remove a http://www.nchn.org/LegaUBulletin/2007/08-24-07.htm 8/28/2007