North Carolina § 130A-310 - 65. Definitions.

§ 130A-310. 65. Definitions.

As used in this Part: "Background standard" means the naturally occurring concentration of a substance in the absence of the release of a contaminant. Repealed by Session Laws 2014-122, s. 11(i), effective September 20, 2014. "Contaminant" means any substance regulated under any program listed in G.S. 130A-310.67(a). "Contaminated off-site property" or "off-site property" means property under separate ownership from the contaminated site that is contaminated as a result of a release or migration of contaminants at the contaminated site. This term includes publicly owned property, including rights-of-way for public streets, roads, or sidewalks. "Contaminated site," "source site," or "site" means any real property that is contaminated, and is the property from which the contamination originated, and may be subject to remediation under any of the programs or requirements set out in G.S. 130A-310.67(a). "Contamination" means a contaminant released into an environmental medium that has resulted in or has the potential to result in an increase in the concentration of the contaminant in the environmental medium in excess of unrestricted use standards. "Fund" means the Risk-Based Remediation Fund established pursuant to G.S. 130A-310.76. "Institutional controls" means nonengineered measures used to prevent unsafe exposure to contamination, such as land-use restrictions. "Registered environmental consultant" means an environmental consulting or engineering firm approved to implement and oversee voluntary remedial actions pursuant to Part 3 of Article 9 of Chapter 130A of the General Statutes and rules adopted to implement the Part. "Remedial action plan" means a plan for eliminating or reducing contamination or exposure to contamination. "Remediation" means all actions that are necessary or appropriate to clean up, mitigate, correct, abate, minimize, eliminate, control, or prevent the spreading, migration, leaking, leaching, volatilization, spilling, transport, or further release of a contaminant into the environment in order to protect public health, safety, or welfare or the environment. "Systemic toxicant" means any substance that may enter the body and have a harmful effect other than causing cancer. "Unrestricted use standards" means contaminant concentrations for each environmental medium that are acceptable for all uses; that are protective of public health, safety, and welfare and the environment; and that comply with generally applicable standards, guidance, or methods established by statute or adopted, published, or implemented by the Commission or the Department. History (2011-186, s. 2; 2014-122, s. 11(i); 2015-286, s. 4.7(a).) Editor's Note. - The preamble to Session Laws 2011-186, provides: "Whereas, the General Assembly finds that public health, safety, and welfare and the environment can be protected by implementing a remediation process that requires that contaminated industrial sites be cleaned up to a level that is sufficient to ensure protection of public health, safety, and welfare and the environment without excessive expenditure of public or private resources; and "Whereas, the General Assembly finds that there are contaminated industrial sites in North Carolina, including land and other property, surface water, and groundwater, that are adversely affected by environmental contamination due to the presence of drilling waste; hazardous and toxic materials, substances, and wastes; solid waste; oil; and other wastes, contaminants, and regulated substances; and "Whereas, the General Assembly finds that the presence of environmental contamination on industrial sites creates both potential and actual harm to public health, safety, and welfare and to the environment; and "Whereas, the General Assembly finds that this potential and actual harm results in substantial economic losses, including reduced property values and tax revenues, decreased ability to develop and expand the beneficial use of these sites, and other opportunity costs because of the uncertainties and concerns that result from the environmental contamination of these sites; and "Whereas, the General Assembly finds that it is in the public interest that contaminated industrial sites are cleaned up or managed in a manner that protects public health, safety, and welfare and the environment and protects groundwater that is a current or probable future water supply; and "Whereas, the General Assembly finds that North Carolina has numerous and varied State-managed remediation programs to address environmental contamination, including the Inactive Hazardous Sites Response Act of 1987; the hazardous waste management program administered by the State pursuant to the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976; the Leaking Petroleum Underground Storage Tank Cleanup Act of 1988; the Brownfields Property Reuse Act of 1997; the Dry-Cleaning Solvent Cleanup Act of 1997; the federal Superfund program administered in part by the State pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 and the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986; and the groundwater protection rules adopted by the Environmental Management Commission; and "Whereas, the General Assembly finds that the expenditure of public and private resources on unnecessary remediation could better be channeled to other purposes, including new development, renovation and repair, research and development, training and education, and other activities that maintain and enhance North Carolina's competitive position in the world and the excellent quality of life enjoyed by the citizens of North Carolina; and "Whereas, the General Assembly finds that North Carolina's groundwater is a valuable public and private resource, serving as the drinking water source for one-half of the State's population and also as a water supply for industrial and commercial uses; and "Whereas, the General Assembly finds that maintenance of North Carolina's surface water and groundwater resources will become increasingly important to the continued economic vitality of the State in the future; and "Whereas, the General Assembly finds that use of site-specific remediation standards based on an objective, scientific, and uniform approach to the evaluation of the risk posed by each contaminated site can be protective of public health, safety, and welfare and the environment; and "Whereas, the General Assembly finds that use of site-specific remediation standards in appropriate circumstances may encourage accelerated cleanup of contaminated industrial sites; and "Whereas, the General Assembly intends that the levels of remediation that are established for each contaminated site are to be applicable or relevant under federal remediation programs; and "Whereas, the General Assembly intends that the protections afforded to public health, safety, and welfare and to the environment by existing environmental, health, and safety standards that apply to ongoing activities not be diminished in any way, in order that those standards will continue to protect against the discharge or release of contaminants to the environment that would result in additional contaminated sites; Now, therefore," Session Laws 2011-186, s. 5, provides: "The Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources shall make all reasonable efforts to obtain a written agreement from the United States Environmental Protection Agency that Part 8 of Article 9 of Chapter 130A of the General Statutes, as enacted by Section 2 of this act, is consistent with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, Public Law 96-510, 94 Stat. 2767, 42 U.S.C. § 9601, et seq., as amended, and the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986, Public Law 99-499, 100 Stat. 1613, as amended." Session Laws 2011-186, s. 8, made this Part effective June 20, 2011. 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. Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2014-122, s.11(i), effective September 20, 2014, deleted subdivision (2), which read: " 'Commission' means the Environmental Management Commission created pursuant to G.S. 143B-282 ."; and near the end of subdivision (12), substituted "Commission" for "Commission, the Commission for Public Health." Session Laws 2015-286, s. 4.7(a), effective October 22, 2015, added subdivision (3a); rewrote subdivision (4); and in subdivision (6), substituted "Risk-Based Remediation" for "Inactive Hazardous Sites Cleanup" and "G.S. 130A-310.76" for "G.S. 130A-310.11."