North Carolina § 8-58 - 50. (Article has a contingent effective date - see note) Purpose.

§ 8-58. 50. (Article has a contingent effective date - see note) Purpose.

In order to encourage owners and operators of facilities and persons conducting activities regulated under those portions of the General Statutes set forth in G.S. 8-58.52, or conducting activities regulated under other environmental laws, to conduct voluntary internal environmental audits of their compliance programs and management systems and to assess and improve compliance with statutes, an environmental audit privilege is recognized to protect the confidentiality of communications relating to voluntary internal environmental audits. Nothing in this Article shall be construed to protect owners and operators of facilities and regulated persons from a criminal investigation or prosecution carried out by any appropriate governmental entity. Any privilege granted by this Article shall apply only to those communications, oral or written, pertaining to and made in connection with the environmental audit and shall not apply to the facts relating to the violation itself. History (2015-286, s. 4.1(a).) Article Has a Contingent Effective Date. - Session Laws 2015-286, s. 4.1(b)-(d), provides: "(b) No later than 30 days after this bill becomes law, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources [see now Department of Environmental Quality] shall submit Part 7D [Article 7D] of Chapter 8 of the General Statutes, Environmental Audit Privilege and Limited Immunity, as enacted by this section, to the United States Environmental Protection Agency and shall request the Agency's approval to implement the Part [Article] in concert with the State's legal authority to continue administering delegated, approved, or authorized federal environmental programs within the State. "(c) No later than December 1, 2015, the Department shall report to the Environmental Review Commission on its activities conducted pursuant to subsection (b) of this section and shall report monthly thereafter until approval to implement Part 7D [Article] of Chapter 8 of the General Statutes, Environmental Audit Privilege and Limited Immunity, as enacted by this section, is received from the United States Environmental Protection Agency. "(d) This section becomes effective upon the date approval to implement Part 7D [Article] of Chapter 8 of the General Statutes, Environmental Audit Privilege and Limited Immunity, as enacted by this section, is received from the United States Environmental Protection Agency." Editor's Note. - At the direction of the Revisor of Statutes, "this Article" was substituted for "this Part" throughout the section.