North Carolina § 130A-290 - Definitions.

§ 130A-290. Definitions.

Unless a different meaning is required by the context, the following definitions shall apply throughout this Article: "Affiliate" has the same meaning as in 17 Code of Federal Regulations § 240.12b-2 (1 April 1996 Edition). "Business entity" has the same meaning as in G.S. 55-1-40(2a). "CERCLA/SARA" means the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, Pub. L. No. 96-510, 94 Stat. 2767, 42 U.S.C. § 9601 et seq., as amended, and the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986, Pub. L. No. 99-499, 100 Stat. 1613, as amended. "Chemical or portable toilet" means a self-contained mobile toilet facility and holding tank and includes toilet facilities in recreational vehicles. "Chlorofluorocarbon refrigerant" means any of the following when used as a liquid heat transfer agent in a mechanical refrigeration system: carbon tetrachloride, chlorofluorocarbons, halons, or methyl chloroform. "Closure" means the cessation of operation of a solid waste management facility and the act of securing the facility so that it will pose no significant threat to human health or the environment. Recodified as subdivision (a)(2d) at the direction of the Revisor of Statutes. See note. "Coal combustion residuals" means residuals, including fly ash, bottom ash, boiler slag, mill rejects, and flue gas desulfurization residue produced by a coal-fired generating unit destined for disposal. The term does not include coal combustion products as defined in G.S. 130A-309.201(4). "Coal combustion residuals landfill" means a facility or unit for the disposal of combustion products, where the landfill is located at the same facility with the coal-fired generating unit or units producing the combustion products, and where the landfill is located wholly or partly on top of a facility that is, or was, being used for the disposal or storage of such combustion products, including, but not limited to, landfills, wet and dry ash ponds, and structural fill facilities. "Coal-fired generating unit" means a coal-fired generating unit, as defined by 40 Code of Federal Regulations § 96.2 (1 July 2001 Edition), that is located in this State and has the capacity to generate 25 or more megawatts of electricity. "Commercial" when applied to a hazardous waste facility, means a hazardous waste facility that accepts hazardous waste from the general public or from another person for a fee. "Commission" means the Environmental Management Commission. "Construction" or "demolition" when used in connection with "waste" or "debris" means solid waste resulting solely from construction, remodeling, repair, or demolition operations on pavement, buildings, or other structures, but does not include inert debris, land-clearing debris or yard debris. "Department" means the Department of Environmental Quality. Repealed by Session Laws 1995 (Regular Session, 1996), c. 594, s. 1. "Disposal" means the discharge, deposit, injection, dumping, spilling, leaking or placing of any solid waste into or on any land or water so that the solid waste or any constituent part of the solid waste may enter the environment or be emitted into the air or discharged into any waters, including groundwaters. "Garbage" means all putrescible wastes, including animal offal and carcasses, and recognizable industrial by-products, but excluding sewage and human waste. "Hazardous waste" means a solid waste, or combination of solid wastes, which because of its quantity, concentration or physical, chemical or infectious characteristics may: Cause or significantly contribute to an increase in mortality or an increase in serious irreversible or incapacitating reversible illness; or Pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported, disposed of or otherwise managed. "Hazardous waste constituent" has the same meaning as in 40 Code of Federal Regulations § 260.10 (1 July 2006). "Hazardous waste facility" means a facility for the collection, storage, processing, treatment, recycling, recovery, or disposal of hazardous waste. Hazardous waste facility does not include a hazardous waste transfer facility that meets the requirements of 40 Code of Federal Regulations § 263.12 (1 July 2006). "Hazardous waste generation" means the act or process of producing hazardous waste. "Hazardous waste disposal facility" means any facility or any portion of a facility for disposal of hazardous waste on or in land in accordance with rules adopted under this Article. "Hazardous waste management" means the systematic control of the collection, source separation, storage, transportation, processing, treatment, recovery and disposal of hazardous wastes. "Hazardous waste management program" means the program and activities within the Department pursuant to Part 2 of this Article, for hazardous waste management. "Hazardous waste transfer facility" means a facility or location where a hazardous waste transporter stores hazardous waste for a period of more than 24 hours but less than 10 days. "Industrial solid waste" means solid waste generated by manufacturing or industrial processes that is not hazardous waste. "Inert debris" means solid waste which consists solely of material that is virtually inert and that is likely to retain its physical and chemical structure under expected conditions of disposal. "Land-clearing debris" means solid waste which is generated solely from land-clearing activities. "Landfill" means a disposal facility or part of a disposal facility where waste is placed in or on land and which is not a land treatment facility, a surface impoundment, an injection well, a hazardous waste long-term storage facility or a surface storage facility. "Leachate" means a liquid that has passed through or emerged from solid waste and contains soluble, suspended, or miscible materials removed from such waste. The term "leachate" does not include liquid adhering to tires of vehicles leaving a sanitary landfill and transfer stations. "Manifest" means the form used for identifying the quantity, composition and the origin, routing and destination of hazardous waste during its transportation from the point of generation to the point of disposal, treatment or storage. "Medical waste" means any solid waste which is generated in the diagnosis, treatment, or immunization of human beings or animals, in research pertaining thereto, or in the production or testing of biologicals, but does not include any hazardous waste identified or listed pursuant to this Article, radioactive waste, household waste as defined in 40 Code of Federal Regulations § 261.4(b)(1) in effect on 1 July 1989, or those substances excluded from the definition of "solid waste" in this section. "Motor vehicle oil filter" means a filter that removes impurities from the oil used to lubricate an internal combustion engine in a motor vehicle. "Municipal solid waste" means any solid waste resulting from the operation of residential, commercial, industrial, governmental, or institutional establishments that would normally be collected, processed, and disposed of through a public or private solid waste management service. Municipal solid waste does not include hazardous waste, sludge, industrial waste managed in a solid waste management facility owned and operated by the generator of the industrial waste for management of that waste, or solid waste from mining or agricultural operations. "Municipal solid waste management facility" means any publicly or privately owned solid waste management facility permitted by the Department that receives municipal solid waste for processing, treatment, or disposal. "Natural resources" means all materials which have useful physical or chemical properties which exist, unused, in nature. "Open dump" means any facility or site where solid waste is disposed of that is not a sanitary landfill and that is not a coal combustion residuals surface impoundment or a facility for the disposal of hazardous waste. "Operator" means any person, including the owner, who is principally engaged in, and is in charge of, the actual operation, supervision, and maintenance of a solid waste management facility and includes the person in charge of a shift or periods of operation during any part of the day. "Parent" has the same meaning as in 17 Code of Federal Regulations § 240.12b-2 (1 April 1996 Edition). "Person" means an individual, corporation, company, association, partnership, unit of local government, State agency, federal agency or other legal entity. "Pre-1983 landfill" means any land area, whether publicly or privately owned, on which municipal solid waste disposal occurred prior to 1 January 1983 but not thereafter, but does not include any landfill used primarily for the disposal of industrial solid waste. "Processing" means any technique designed to change the physical, chemical, or biological character or composition of any solid waste so as to render it safe for transport; amenable to recovery, storage or recycling; safe for disposal; or reduced in volume or concentration. "Recovered material" means a material that has known recycling potential, can be feasibly recycled, and has been diverted or removed from the solid waste stream for sale, use, or reuse. In order to qualify as a recovered material, a material must meet the requirements of G.S. 130A-309.05(c). "RCRA" means the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, Pub. L. 94-580, 90 Stat. 2795, 42 U.S.C. § 6901 et seq., as amended. "Recyclable material" means those materials which are capable of being recycled and which would otherwise be processed or disposed of as solid waste. "Recycling" means any process by which solid waste, or materials which would otherwise become solid waste, are collected, separated, or processed, and reused or returned to use in the form of raw materials or products. "Refuse" means all nonputrescible waste. "Refuse-derived fuel" means fuel that consists of municipal solid waste from which recyclable and noncombustible materials are removed so that the remaining material is used for energy production. "Resource recovery" means the process of obtaining material or energy resources from discarded solid waste which no longer has any useful life in its present form and preparing the solid waste for recycling. "Reuse" means a process by which resources are reused or rendered usable. "Sanitary landfill" means a facility for disposal of solid waste on land in a sanitary manner in accordance with the rules concerning sanitary landfills adopted under this Article. "Secretary" means the Secretary of Environmental Quality. "Septage" means solid waste that is a fluid mixture of untreated and partially treated sewage solids, liquids, and sludge of human or domestic origin which is removed from a wastewater system. The term septage includes the following: Domestic septage, which is either liquid or solid material removed from a septic tank, cesspool, portable toilet, Type III marine sanitation device, or similar treatment works receiving only domestic sewage. Domestic septage does not include liquid or solid material removed from a septic tank, cesspool, or similar treatment works receiving either commercial wastewater or industrial wastewater and does not include grease removed from a grease trap at a restaurant. Domestic treatment plant septage, which is solid, semisolid, or liquid residue generated during the treatment of domestic sewage in a treatment works where the designed disposal is subsurface. Domestic treatment plant septage includes, but is not limited to, scum or solids removed in primary, secondary, or advanced wastewater treatment processes and a material derived from domestic treatment plant septage. Domestic treatment plant septage does not include ash generated during the firing of domestic treatment plant septage in an incinerator or grit and screenings generated during preliminary treatment of domestic sewage in a treatment works. Grease septage, which is material pumped from grease interceptors, separators, traps, or other appurtenances used for the purpose of removing cooking oils, fats, grease, and food debris from the waste flow generated from food handling, preparation, and cleanup. Industrial or commercial septage, which is material pumped from septic tanks or other devices used in the collection, pretreatment, or treatment of any water-carried waste resulting from any process of industry, manufacture, trade, or business where the design disposal of the wastewater is subsurface. Domestic septage mixed with any industrial or commercial septage is considered industrial or commercial septage. Industrial or commercial treatment plant septage, which is solid, semisolid, or liquid residue generated during the treatment of sewage that contains any waste resulting from any process of industry, manufacture, trade, or business in a treatment works where the designed disposal is subsurface. Industrial or commercial treatment plant septage includes, but is not limited to, scum or solids removed in primary, secondary, or advanced wastewater treatment processes and a material derived from domestic treatment plant septage. Industrial or commercial treatment plant septage does not include ash generated during the firing of industrial or commercial treatment plant septage in an incinerator or grit and screenings generated during preliminary treatment of domestic sewage in a treatment works. "Septage management firm" means a person engaged in the business of pumping, transporting, storing, treating or disposing septage. The term does not include public or community wastewater systems that treat or dispose septage. "Sludge" means any solid, semisolid or liquid waste generated from a municipal, commercial, institutional or industrial wastewater treatment plant, water supply treatment plant or air pollution control facility, or any other waste having similar characteristics and effects. "Solid waste" means any hazardous or nonhazardous garbage, refuse or sludge from a waste treatment plant, water supply treatment plant or air pollution control facility, domestic sewage and sludges generated by the treatment thereof in sanitary sewage collection, treatment and disposal systems, and other material that is either discarded or is being accumulated, stored or treated prior to being discarded, or has served its original intended use and is generally discarded, including solid, liquid, semisolid or contained gaseous material resulting from industrial, institutional, commercial and agricultural operations, and from community activities. Notwithstanding sub-sub-subdivision b.3. of this subdivision, the term includes coal combustion residuals. The term does not include: Fecal waste from fowls and animals other than humans. Solid or dissolved material in: Domestic sewage and sludges generated by treatment thereof in sanitary sewage collection, treatment and disposal systems which are designed to discharge effluents to the surface waters. Irrigation return flows. Wastewater discharges and the sludges incidental to and generated by treatment which are point sources subject to permits granted under Section 402 of the Water Pollution Control Act, as amended (P.L. 92-500), and permits granted under G.S. 143-215.1 by the Commission, including coal combustion products. However, any sludges that meet the criteria for hazardous waste under RCRA shall also be a solid waste for the purposes of this Article. Oils and other liquid hydrocarbons controlled under Article 21A of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes. However, any oils or other liquid hydrocarbons that meet the criteria for hazardous waste under RCRA shall also be a solid waste for the purposes of this Article. Any source, special nuclear or byproduct material as defined by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (42 U.S.C. § 2011). Mining refuse covered by the North Carolina Mining Act, G.S. 74-46 through 74-68 and regulated by the North Carolina Mining Commission (as defined under G.S. 143B-293.1). However, any specific mining waste that meets the criteria for hazardous waste under RCRA shall also be a solid waste for the purposes of this Article. Recovered material. Steel slag that is a product of the electric arc furnace steelmaking process; provided, that such steel slag is sold and distributed in the stream of commerce for consumption, use, or further processing into another desired commodity and is managed as an item of commercial value in a controlled manner and not as a discarded material or in a manner constituting disposal. "Solid waste disposal site" means any place at which solid wastes are disposed of by incineration, sanitary landfill or any other method. "Solid waste generation" means the act or process of producing solid waste. "Solid waste management" means purposeful, systematic control of the generation, storage, collection, transport, separation, treatment, processing, recycling, recovery and disposal of solid waste. "Solid waste management facility" means land, personnel and equipment used in the management of solid waste. "Special wastes" means solid wastes that can require special handling and management, including white goods, whole tires, used oil, lead-acid batteries, and medical wastes. "Storage" means the containment of solid waste, either on a temporary basis or for a period of years, in a manner which does not constitute disposal. "Subsidiary" has the same meaning as in 17 Code of Federal Regulations § 240.12b-2 (1 April 1996 Edition). "Tire-derived fuel" means a form of fuel derived from scrap tires. "Treatment" means any method, technique or process, including neutralization, designed to change the physical, chemical or biological character or composition of any hazardous waste so as to neutralize such waste or so as to render such waste nonhazardous, safer for transport, amenable for recovery, amenable for storage or reduced in volume. "Treatment" includes any activity or processing designed to change the physical form or chemical composition of hazardous waste so as to render it nonhazardous. "Unit of local government" means a county, city, town or incorporated village. "White goods" includes refrigerators, ranges, water heaters, freezers, unit air conditioners, washing machines, dishwashers, clothes dryers, and other similar domestic and commercial large appliances. "Wooden pallet" means a wooden object consisting of a flat or horizontal deck or platform supported by structural components that is used as a base for assembling, stacking, handling, and transporting goods. "Yard trash" means solid waste consisting solely of vegetative matter resulting from landscaping maintenance. Unless a different meaning is required by the context, the following definitions shall apply throughout G.S. 130A-309.15 through G.S. 130A-309.24: "Public used oil collection center" means: Automotive service facilities or governmentally sponsored collection facilities, which in the course of business accept for disposal small quantities of used oil from households; and Facilities which store used oil in aboveground tanks, which are approved by the Department, and which in the course of business accept for disposal small quantities of used oil from households. "Reclaiming" means the use of methods, other than those used in rerefining, to purify used oil primarily to remove insoluble contaminants, making the oil suitable for further use; the methods may include settling, heating, dehydration, filtration, or centrifuging. "Recycling" means to prepare used oil for reuse as a petroleum product by rerefining, reclaiming, reprocessing, or other means or to use used oil in a manner that substitutes for a petroleum product made from new oil. "Rerefining" means the use of refining processes on used oil to produce high-quality base stocks for lubricants or other petroleum products. Rerefining may include distillation, hydrotreating, or treatments employing acid, caustic, solvent, clay, or other chemicals, or other physical treatments other than those used in reclaiming. "Used oil" means any oil which has been refined from crude oil or synthetic oil and, as a result of use, storage, or handling, has become unsuitable for its original purpose due to the presence of impurities or loss of original properties, but which may be suitable for further use and is economically recyclable. "Used oil recycling facility" means any facility that recycles more than 10,000 gallons of used oil annually. History (1969, c. 899; 1975, c. 311, s. 2; 1977, 2nd Sess., c. 1216; 1979, c. 464, s. 1; 1981, c. 704, s. 4; 1983, c. 795, ss. 1, 8.1; c. 891, s. 2; 1983 (Reg. Sess., 1984), c. 973, s. 2; 1985, c. 738, s. 1; 1987, c. 574, s. 1; 1987 (Reg. Sess., 1988), c. 1020, s. 1; c. 1058, s. 1; 1989, c. 168, s. 11; c. 742, s. 5; c. 784, s. 1; 1991, c. 342, s. 7; c. 621, s. 1; 1991 (Reg. Sess., 1992), c. 1013, s. 7; 1993, c. 173, ss. 1-3; c. 471, ss. 1, 2; 1995 (Reg. Sess., 1996), c. 594, ss. 1-5; 1997-27, s. 1; 1997-330, s. 3; 1997-443, s. 11A.81; 2005-362, s. 1; 2007-107, ss. 1.1(c), 1.8(a), (b); 2007-550, ss. 7(a), 12(a), (b); 2012-143, s. 1(d); 2013-413, s. 59.3; 2014-4, s. 5(c); 2014-115, s. 17; 2014-122, s. 3(d); 2015-1, s. 2(a); 2015-241, s. 14.30(u), (v).) Cross References. - As to provisions for regional solid waste management authorities, see Article 22 of Chapter 153A , G.S. 153A-421 et seq. Editor's Note. - Session Laws 1991 (Reg. Sess., 1992), c. 1013, which amended this section, in s. 8 provides: "Any contract for solid waste collection or disposal entered into by any county, city, or town that would have been lawful if this act had been in effect at the time the contract was entered into is validated. The provisions of this act that limit a contract or franchise for the collection and disposal of solid waste to a period of not more than 30 years shall not be construed to invalidate any contract or franchise for a longer period up to 60 years that was entered into by any county, city, or town prior to the date this act is effective." The act became effective July 22, 1992. Session Laws 1997-374, s. 1, provides: "The Commission for Health Services [now the Commission for Public Health] shall adopt a rule regarding design criteria for municipal solid waste landfills that complies with 40 C.F.R. Part 258.40 (1 July 1996 Edition) and that provides for alternate landfill liners that are at least as protective as the liner currently authorized under the rules of the Commission for Health Services [now the Commission for Public Health]." Session Laws 1997-374, s. 2, provides: "This act constitutes a recent act of the General Assembly within the meaning of G.S. 150B-21.1 . The Commission for Health Services [now the Commission for Public Health] shall adopt the rule required by Section 1 of this act as a temporary rule no later than 1 July 1998." Session Laws 2000-19, s. 19, which had authorized the Commission on Health Services to adopt a rule that requires a person who generates wastes at a dry-cleaning facility or wholesale distribution facility, other than wastewater generated from dry-cleaning processes, which contain solvents perchloroethylene, F-1,1,3, or 1,1,1 trichloroethane to deliver the wastes to a facility legally authorized to manage or recycle hazardous wastes containing these solvents, was repealed by Session Laws 2001-265, s. 3. Session Laws 2007-550, s. 12(b), added a new subdivision (a)(21a), and redesignated the existing subdivision (a)(21a) as subdivision (a)(21b). The existing subdivision (a)(21a) has retained its current location, and the newly added subdivision has been renumbered as subdivision (a)(22a), to maintain alphabetical order at the direction of the Revisor of Statutes. Session Laws 2007-550, s. 15, provides: "(a) The Commission for Health Services shall review rules governing the design, construction, operation, maintenance, closure, and post-closure monitoring and maintenance of solid waste management facilities to determine whether changes are required to protect public health, safety, welfare, and the environment; to improve the performance of solid waste management facilities; to take advantage of technological advances in landfill design, construction, operation, maintenance, and closure; and to provide additional protection to environmentally sensitive areas of the State. The Commission shall adopt rules necessary to minimize impacts from solid waste management facilities on public health, safety, welfare, and the environment. These rules shall: "(1) Establish standards for the collection, control, and utilization or destruction of landfill gases at municipal solid waste landfills. "(2) Establish standards for the design, construction, operation, maintenance, closure, and post-closure monitoring and maintenance of bioreactor landfills. "(3) Establish criteria for development of bird and wildlife management plans. "(4) Incorporate measures necessary to minimize impacts to natural, historic, and cultural resources, including, but not limited to, wetlands, critical fisheries habitats, parks, recreation areas, cultural and historic sites, and potential water supplies. "(b) This section is effective when it becomes law [August 31, 2007]." Session Laws 2007-550, s. 19, is a severability clause. Session Laws 2011-48, s. 5(a)-(c), provides: "(a) The following definitions apply to this section and its implementation: "(1) The definitions set out in G.S. 130A-294 . "(2) The definitions set out in 15A NCAC 02D.0101 (Air Pollution Control Requirements: Definitions and References). "(3) 'Storm-related debris' means any construction or demolition debris, inert debris, land-clearing debris, or yard debris or trash generated in the State as a result of the tornados, flooding, and severe winds that occurred on April 16, 2011. "(b) From the date that the state of emergency was declared by the Governor under Executive Order No. 87 through June 1, 2011, the disposal, temporary storage, and burning of storm-related debris is allowed, notwithstanding any permitting requirements for the handling or disposal of solid waste, or any prohibitions on open burning related to the protection of air quality provided under State law, including, but not limited, to all of the following: "(1) G.S. 130A-294 (Solid Waste Management Program) and other provisions of Article 9 of Chapter 130A of the General Statutes as may prohibit the unpermitted disposal, temporary storage, or burning of storm-related debris. "(2) 15A NCAC 13B.0103 (Solid Waste Management: General Conditions) and 15A NCAC 13B.0201 (Permits for Solid Waste Management Facilities: Permit Required) and other provisions of the North Carolina Administrative Code as may prohibit the unpermitted disposal, temporary storage, or burning of storm-related debris. "(3) G.S. 143-215.3 (General Powers of Commission and Department; auxiliary powers) and other provisions of Article 21 of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes as may prohibit the unpermitted disposal, temporary storage, or burning of storm-related debris. "(4) 15A NCAC 02D.0305 (Air Pollution Control Requirements: Emission Reduction Plan: Alert Level) and other provisions of the North Carolina Administrative Code as may prohibit the unpermitted disposal, temporary storage, or burning of storm-related debris. "(c) The provisions of subsection (b) of this section shall not be construed to (i) allow the improper or unpermitted storage, disposal, or burning of hazardous waste; (ii) obviate the need for a permit to burn required under Article 4C of Chapter 113 of the General Statutes for the protection of the public from the hazards of forest fires; (iii) allow any activity that would violate federal law; or (iv) allow any activity that causes an imminent threat to public health or safety." Session Laws 2013-413, s. 61(b), provides: "Except as otherwise provided, this act is effective when it becomes law [August 23, 2013]." Session Laws 2013-413, s. 60(c), had provided that: "This act becomes effective July 1, 2015." Session Laws 2014-115, s. 17, amended Session Laws 2013-413, s. 60(c), to replace the reference to "This act" with the words "This Part." Session Laws 2013-413, s. 61(a), is a severability clause. Session Laws 2014-4, s. 5(c), provides: "The Revisor of Statutes shall make the conforming statutory changes necessary to the General Statutes to reflect renaming of the Mining and Energy Commission to the Mining Commission, effective August 1, 2015, as provided in this section." Pursuant to this authority, "North Carolina Mining Commission" was substituted for "North Carolina Mining and Energy Commission" in subdivision (a)(35). Session Laws 2014-4, s. 31(a), is a severability clause. Session Laws 2014-122, s. 11( l ), provides: "The Revisor of Statutes shall make any conforming statutory changes necessary to reflect the transfer of rule-making authority under Article 9 of Chapter 130A of the General Statutes from the Commission for Public Health to the Environmental Management Commission." Session Laws 2014-122, s. 11(m), provides: "The Codifier of Rules shall make any conforming rule changes necessary to reflect the transfer of rule-making authority under Article 9 of Chapter 130A of the General Statutes from the Commission for Public Health to the Environmental Management Commission." Session Laws 2014-122, s. 17, is a severability clause. Subdivision (a)(2a) was redesignated as subdivision (a)(2d) to maintain alphabetical order at the direction of the Revisor of Statutes. Session Laws 2015-1, s. 7.1, is a severability clause. Session Laws 2015-241, s. 1.1, provides: "This act shall be known as 'The Current Operations and Capital Improvements Appropriations Act of 2015.'" Session Laws 2015-241, s. 33.6, is a severability clause. Session Laws 2016-23, s. 10 provides: "(a) Definition. - For purposes of this section, 'impacted location' shall mean any facility or property that has now been determined to be located in North Carolina as a result of a boundary certification recognized by the states of North Carolina and South Carolina, and, as a result, either of the following applies to the facility or property: "(1) It is required to obtain a permit, license, or approval from the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality. "(2) It is subject to a permit, license, or approval program that is operated by a local government and is delegated from or approved by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality. "(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the Department of Environmental Quality, the Environmental Management Commission, or any local program delegated or approved by the Department or the Commission (collectively, the 'permitting authorities'), in issuing any environmental permit, license, or approval to an impacted location, shall provide a schedule of compliance that allows the recipient of the permit, license, or approval a period of no less than five years to come into compliance with any North Carolina environmental rule or standard established by the permitting authorities that (i) has no corresponding rule or standard under South Carolina law or regulation or (ii) is more stringent than the corresponding rule or standard established under South Carolina law or regulations. The permitting authorities may include increments of progress applicable in each year of the schedule established under this subsection. The owner or operator of an impacted location may waive the schedule of compliance required by this subsection. Nothing in this section is intended to limit the applicability or employment of existing procedures under North Carolina statutes and regulations granting waivers or variances from otherwise applicable environmental rules or standards." Session Laws 2016-23, s. 12(a), is a severability clause. Session Laws 2020-3, s. 4.19(a)-(c), provides: "(a) For purposes of this section, 'coronavirus emergency' means the period from March 10, 2020, through August 1, 2020. "(b) In order to protect public health or the environment, the Secretary of Environmental Quality, or an authorized representative of the Secretary, may, upon request of a public or private landfill operator, or on the Secretary's own initiative, develop and implement any emergency measures and procedures that the Secretary deems necessary for the proper management of solid waste generated during the coronavirus emergency. Written notice of emergency measures and procedures developed and implemented pursuant to this section shall be provided to news media, waste organizations, governmental agencies, solid waste facilities, and any other interested or affected parties as determined by the Secretary. Such emergency procedures and measures may include any of the following: "(1) Restrictions on the collection, storage, and transportation of solid waste. "(2) Decisions on facility operational conditions such as operational times and waste acceptance. "(3) Any other measures or procedures necessary to allow for the proper disposal of solid waste within impacted communities. "All State agencies and political subdivisions of the State shall cooperate with the implementation of the emergency measures and procedures developed pursuant to this section. "(c) This section is effective when it becomes law [May 4, 2020] and expires August 1, 2020." Session Laws 2020-3, s. 5, is a severability clause. Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2005-362, s. 1, effective October 1, 2009, redesignated former subdivision (a)(18) as present subdivision (a)(17a); and added subdivisions (a)(18) and (a)(44a). Session Laws 2007-107, ss. 1.1(c), 1.8(a) and (b), effective October 1, 2007, added subdivision (a)(8a); added the second sentence of subdivision (a)(9); added subdivision (a)(13a); and redesignated former subdivision (a)(13a) as present subdivision (a)(13b). Session Laws 2007-550, ss. 7(a), 12(a)-12(b), effective August 1, 2007, redesignated subdivisions (a)(1a) as (a)(1b), (a)(1b) as (a)(1c), and (a)(1c) as (a)(1d); added present subdivision (a)(1a); added subdivisions (a)(2a) through (a)(2c); added subdivision (a)(21a), and redesignated former subdivision (a)(21a) as present (a)(21b). For renumbering of subdivisions to maintain alphabetical order, see Editor's note. Session Laws 2012-143, s. 1(d), effective August 1, 2012, substituted "North Carolina Mining and Energy Commission" for "North Carolina Mining Commission" and "G.S. 143B-293.1" for "G.S. 143B-290" in subdivision (a)(35)e. Session Laws 2013-413, s. 59.3, added subdivision (a)(16a). For effective date, see Editor's note. Session Laws 2014-122, s. 3(d), effective September 20, 2014, in subdivision (a)(2b), substituted "Coal combustion residuals" for "Combustion products," inserted "destined for disposal" at the end of the first sentence and added the second sentence; in subdivision (a)(2c), substituted "Coal combustion residuals landfill" for "Combustion products landfill," added subdivision (a)(3a), in subdivision (a)(20), near the middle, inserted "coal combustion residuals surface impoundment or a"; in subdivision (a)(35), added the next to the last sentence; and in subdivision (a)(35)b.3., substituted "Commission, including coal combustion products" for "Environmental Management Commission." Session Laws 2015-1, s. 2(a), effective March 16, 2015, added subdivision (a)(35)g. Session Laws 2015-241, s. 14.30(u), (v), effective July 1, 2015, substituted "Department of Environmental Quality" for "Department of Environment and Natural Resources" in subdivision (a)(4a); and substituted "Secretary of Environmental Quality" for "Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources" in subdivision (a)(31a). Session Laws 2015-241, s. 14.30(v), effective July 1, 2015, substituted. Legal Periodicals. - For comment on North Carolina's 1981 Waste Management Act, see 5 Campbell L. Rev. 337 (1983). For 1997 legislative survey, see 20 Campbell L. Rev. 443 (1998).