North Carolina § 130A-291 - Division of Waste Management.

§ 130A-291. Division of Waste Management.

For the purpose of promoting and preserving an environment that is conducive to public health and welfare, and preventing the creation of nuisances and the depletion of our natural resources, the Department shall maintain a Division of Waste Management to promote sanitary processing, treatment, disposal, and statewide management of solid waste and the greatest possible recycling and recovery of resources, and the Department shall employ and retain qualified personnel as may be necessary to effect such purposes. It is the purpose and intent of the State to be and remain cognizant not only of its responsibility to authorize and establish a statewide solid waste management program, but also of its responsibility to monitor and supervise, through the Department, the activities and operations of units of local government implementing a permitted solid waste management facility serving a specified geographic area in accordance with a solid waste management plan. In furtherance of this purpose and intent, it is hereby determined and declared that it is necessary for the health and welfare of the inhabitants of the State that solid waste management facilities permitted hereunder and serving a specified geographic area shall be used by public or private owners or occupants of all lands, buildings, and premises within the geographic area. Actions taken pursuant to this Article shall be deemed to be acts of the sovereign power of the State of North Carolina, and to the extent reasonably necessary to achieve the purposes of this section, a unit of local government may displace competition with public service for solid waste management and disposal. It is further determined and declared that no person, firm, corporation, association or entity within the geographic area shall engage in any activities which would be competitive with this purpose or with ordinances, rules adopted pursuant to the authority granted herein. Except as provided in subsections (d) and (e) of this section, a unit of local government may, by ordinance, franchise, business license, contract, or otherwise, require that all solid waste generated within the geographic area and placed in the waste stream for disposal be delivered to the permitted solid waste management facility or facilities serving the geographic area only under one of the following conditions: If the unit of local government has debt associated with solid waste management facilities and equipment outstanding on September 1, 2017, the unit of local government may adopt and enforce such an ordinance until the date that such debt has matured. If the unit of local government incurs debt after September 1, 2017, and the issuance of the debt will be conditioned upon the unit of local government requiring that all waste collected within the county be disposed of within the landfill, for expansion of a landfill or construction of a new landfill after all necessary approvals for issuance of the debt have been obtained from the Local Government Commission in compliance with Chapter 159 of the General Statutes, including the demonstration of need and cost required by G.S. 159-216, the unit of local government may adopt and enforce such an ordinance until the date the debt associated with expansion of the landfill, or construction of the new landfill, has matured. If the unit of local government is a party to an exclusive franchise agreement with a private entity governing the management or disposal of waste within the jurisdiction in effect on September 1, 2017, the unit of local government may adopt and enforce such an ordinance until the date that such franchise has expired. Expired June 30, 2019, pursuant to Session Laws 2018-114, s. 20(b). Notwithstanding any limitations set forth in subsection (c) of this section, and except as provided in subsection (e) of this section, a regional solid waste management authority established under Article 22 of Chapter 153A of the General Statutes, and a unit of local government that is a member of an authority, may, by ordinance, require that all solid waste generated within its jurisdiction and placed in the waste stream for disposal be delivered to the permitted solid waste management facility or facilities operated by the regional solid waste management authority. Notwithstanding authority given to local governments to manage solid waste generated or disposed of within their jurisdiction pursuant to subsection (c) or (d) of this section, or otherwise, units of local government shall not, by ordinance or otherwise, prohibit the disposal of construction and demolition debris in any sanitary landfill permitted for the disposal of construction and demolition debris, which landfill has a valid and operative franchise agreement and is otherwise properly permitted pursuant to G.S. 130A-294. History (1969, c. 899; 1973, c. 476, s. 128; 1975, c. 311, s. 3; 1977, 2nd Sess., c. 1216; 1983, c. 795, ss. 2, 8.1; c. 891, s. 2; 1987, c. 574, s. 1; 1989, c. 727, s. 144; 1989 (Reg. Sess., 1990), c. 1004, ss. 7, 8; 1995 (Reg. Sess., 1996), c. 743, s. 4; 2017-209, s. 17(a); 2018-114, s. 20(a); 2020-3, s. 4.30(i).) Editor's Note. - Session Laws 2007-107, s. 5.1(a), provides: "The Division of Information Technology Services of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, in collaboration with the Division of Emergency Management of the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety [now the Department of Public Safety], shall establish a Tier II Hazardous Chemicals Inventory Database and Web-based access application that will accept uploads of Tier II data from local government systems acting as partners in the project and from the University of Texas at Dallas E-Plan repository until all Tier II hazardous chemical inventory is in the database. The database shall include data on sites listed in the planned Toxic Release Inventory exchange and the Department's existing Facilities Registry System. The Facilities Registry System is a database of facilities for which the Department has environmental concerns, including facilities that are subject to an environmental permit for water, air, waste, land quality, wetlands, public water supply, wastewater treatment, and other environmental permits. The database shall be connected via Web services to the North Carolina Exchange Node. The purposes of this database are to provide a one-stop, real-time information source for all hazardous and toxic materials release sites and all sites that are subject to an environmental permit in order to enhance the operational effectiveness of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Division of Emergency Management of the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety [now the Department of Public Safety], first responders and emergency management officials, local government officials, and any others with a role in emergency management or planning; to remove the burden of data reentry in multiple systems; to reduce the dependence on paper submissions for Tier II reporting; to extend the Network for the Exchange Node community; and to reuse information already deployed at the Department. The Tier II Hazardous Chemicals Inventory Database and Web-based access application shall be maintained by the Division of Emergency Management of the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety [now the Department of Public Safety]." Session Laws 2017-209, s. 17(e), provides: "Nothing in this section shall be construed to impact the terms of a contract, franchise agreement, or other agreement between a unit of local government and another entity concerning the management of solid waste, or the financing of such services or related facilities or equipment, in effect on the date this section becomes law [October 4, 2017]." Session Laws 2018-114, s. 20(a), added subdivision (c)(4). Session Laws 2018-114, s. 20(b), provides: "This section expires June 30, 2019." Sessions Laws 2018-114, s. 29, is a severability clause. Session Laws 2020-3, s. 5, is a severability clause. Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2017-209, s. 17(a), effective October 4, 2017, deleted "area, and a unit of local government may, by ordinance, require that all solid waste generated within the geographic area and placed in the waste stream for disposal, shall be delivered to the permitted solid waste management facility or facilities serving the geographic" following "geographic" at the end of the first sentence of subsection (b); and added subsections (c)-(e). Session Laws 2018-114, s. 20(a), effective June 27, 2018, added subdivision (c)(4). Session Laws 2020-3, s. 4.30(i), effective retroactively to July 1, 2019, substituted "G.S. 159-216" for "G.S. 159-211" in subdivision (c)(2).