North Carolina § 143B-279 - 1. Department of Environmental Quality - creation.

§ 143B-279. 1. Department of Environmental Quality - creation.

There is hereby created and constituted a department to be known as the Department of Environmental Quality, with the organization, powers, and duties defined in this Article and other applicable provisions of law. The provisions of Article 1 of this Chapter not inconsistent with this Article shall apply to the Department of Environmental Quality. History (1989, c. 727, s. 3; 1997-443, s. 11A.119(a); 2015-241, s. 14.30(u).) Cross References. - As to the Minority Health Advisory Council, see G.S. 130A-33.43. State Government Reorganization. - As to abolition of the Department of Natural Resources and Community Development and the transfer of its divisions, agencies, functions, etc. to the Department of Environment Health, and Natural Resources [now Department of Environmental Quality], see Session Laws 1989, c. 727. Session Laws 1989, c. 727, s. 225, provided: "(a) The Environmental Review Commission may continue the study of environmental agency consolidation and reorganization. The study of environmental agency consolidation shall include, but is not limited to: "(1) Monitoring the implementation of this act; "(2) Evaluation of the organization, programs, and operation of the Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources [now the Department of Environmental Quality]; "(3) Evaluation of the organization, functions, powers, and duties of the components of the Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources, including boards, commissions, councils, and regional offices; and "(4) Recodification of the General Statutes relating to the environment and environmental agencies. "(b) Notwithstanding any rule or resolution to the contrary, proposed legislation to implement any recommendation made by the Environmental Review Commission may be introduced and considered during any session of the General Assembly." Session Laws 1997-443, s. 11A.120, provides that references in the Session Laws to any department, division, or other agency that is transferred by that Part of the act shall be considered to refer to the successor department, division, or other agency. Every Session Law that refers to any department, division, or other agency to which that Part applies that relates to any power, duty, function, or obligation of any department, division, or agency and that continues in effect after that Part shall be construed so as to be consistent with that Part. Session Laws 1997-443, s. 11A.124, provides that all statutory authority, powers, duties, functions, records, personnel, property, and unexpended balances of appropriations or other funds of any agency which are transferred pursuant to this Part shall be transferred in their entirety. Session Laws 1997-443, s. 11A.125, provides that unless specifically provided to the contrary or unless a contrary intent is clear from the context, any official designation of any agency transferred by this Part as the State agency for any function, including specifically purposes of federal programs, shall be considered to be a designation of the successor agency. Session Laws 1997-443, s. 11A.126, provides that no later than 30 days after the effective date of this Part, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources shall enter into a Memorandum of Agreement that provides for coordination between the departments as to any functions shared by the departments as a result of the passage of this Part. This Memorandum shall require that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources provide staff to the Commission for Health Services [now the Commission for Public Health] for the Commission's duties under Articles 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 of Chapter 130A of the General Statutes. Until a Memorandum of Agreement has been entered into by the departments, the Department of Health and Human Services shall provide all clerical and other services required by the Commission for Health Services [now the Commission for Public Health]. All statutory authority, powers, duties, functions, records, personnel, property, and unexpended balances of appropriations or other funds of any agency which are transferred pursuant to this Part shall be transferred in their entirety. Session Laws 1997-443, s. 11A.127, as amended by Session Laws 1998-76, s. 1, provides that pending action by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Environmental Review Commission resulting from the study to be undertaken by the Environmental Review Commission as provided in this Part, on-site wastewater functions, public drinking water programs, and environmental health programs shall remain in the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Division of Environmental Health [Division of Water Resources], shall remain intact in the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources shall not consolidate on-site wastewater functions or drinking water programs in the Division of Water Quality. Session Laws 1997-443, s. 11A.130, effective July 1, 1997, provides that the Departments by agreement and at the direction of the Office of State Budget and Management (now the Office of State Budget, Planning, and Management) shall undertake certification, revisions, and transfer of budget funds and financial records so that State fiscal year financial records, reports, and accounting are maintained as if this Part had become effective July 1, 1997. Session Laws 1998-225, s. 5.3, provides: "Unless otherwise expressly provided, every agency to which this act applies shall adopt rules to implement the provisions of this act only in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 150B of the General Statutes. This act constitutes a recent act of the General Assembly within the meaning of G.S. 150B-21.1 . Every agency to which this act applies that is authorized to adopt rules to implement the provisions of this act may adopt temporary rules to implement the provisions of this act. This section shall continue in effect until all rules necessary to implement the provisions of this act have become effective as either temporary rules or permanent rules." One-Stop Environmental Permit Application Assistance and Tracking System Pilot Program. - Session Laws 2000-67, s. 13.7(a)-(f), directs the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to establish a one-stop environmental permit application assistance and tracking system pilot project for one year in at least two regional offices, and to expand this program, to more than two offices during the 2000-2001 fiscal year if resources are available, and to a statewide program as soon as possible after the 2000-2001 fiscal year. As part of the project, the Department is to provide each person who submits an application for an environmental permit to one of the regional offices participating in the pilot project a time frame within which that applicant may expect a final decision regarding issuance or denial or a permit. The Department is to track the time required to process each complete environmental permit application received on or after July 1, 2000, as part of the pilot project and is to identify each permit that was issued or denied more than 90 days after receipt of a complete application and document reasons for delayed action. The Department is to issue a report, with recommendations, regarding permit time frames for all major permits issued by the Department to the Senate and House Appropriations Subcommittees on Natural and Economic Resources, the Fiscal Research Division, and the Environmental Review Commission by April 1, 2001. The Department may adopt temporary rules to implement s. 13.7. Same - Continuance. - Session Laws 2001-424, s. 19.6(a)-(c), provides: "(a) The Department of Environment and Natural Resources shall continue the one-stop environmental permit application assistance and tracking system pilot project established under Section 13.7 of S.L. 2000-67 during the 2001-2003 fiscal biennium. It is the intent of the General Assembly that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources expand this pilot program to a statewide program effective in all of the Department's regional offices if the resources are available to do so during the 2001-2003 fiscal biennium. The provisions of Section 13.7(a) through (d) of S.L. 2000-67 apply to the pilot program under this section [s. 19.6 of Session Laws 2001-424]. "(b) The Department of Environment and Natural Resources shall report to the Appropriations Subcommittees on Natural and Economic Resources in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, the Fiscal Research Division, and the Environmental Review Commission no later than April 1, 2002, and again no later than April 1, 2003, regarding the results of the pilot project continued under this section [s. 19.6 of Session Laws 2001-424]. This report shall include the number of environmental permits in the pilot project that took more than 90 days to issue or deny; the types of permits those were; the reasons for the extended processing time of those permits; how the time within which the permit was actually issued or denied compared with the projected time frame provided to the applicant by the Department; based on the data gathered in the pilot project, any recommendations regarding what the permit time frames should be for all major permits issued by the Department; and to what extent, if any, the program has been expanded to a statewide program under this section [s. 19.6 of Session Laws 2001-424]. "(c) The Department of Environment and Natural Resources may adopt temporary rules to implement this section [s. 19.6 of Session Laws 2001-424]." Session Laws 2001-424, s. 19.9, provides: "The Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources shall designate from existing staff within the Department of Environment and Natural Resources a staff position to be responsible for managing the Submerged Lands Program. By November 1, 2001, the Secretary shall report to both the Senate and House of Representatives Cochairs of the Appropriations Subcommittees on Natural and Economic Resources what position will manage the Program." Expand One-Stop Permit Assistance Pilot Program Statewide. - Session Laws 2004-124, s. 12.12(a), enacted G.S. 143B-279.12, establishing a one-step environmental permit application and tracking system. Session Laws 2004-124, s. 12.12(b) and (c), provides: "The Department of Environment and Natural Resources shall expand to a statewide program that operates in each regional office of the Department the one-stop environmental permit application assistance and tracking system pilot project established under Section 13.7 of S.L. 2000-67 for those environmental permits that were subject to this pilot program, and the provisions of G.S. 143B-12 [G.S. 143B-279.12], as enacted by subsection (a) of this section, shall apply to this statewide program. "Any positions that were used by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to staff the one-stop environmental permit application assistance and tracking system pilot project established under Section 13.7 of S.L. 2000-67 shall be used for the 2004-2005 fiscal year to staff the statewide one-stop environmental permit application assistance and tracking system program under G.S. 143B-279.12, as enacted in subsection (a) of this section. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources shall use available funds for the 2004-2005 fiscal year to continue and support these positions, and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources shall use funds appropriated in this act to the Department only for the purposes of implementing the statewide one-stop environmental permit application assistance and tracking system and establishing and supporting four positions to staff this statewide program for the 2004-2005 fiscal year." Transfer of Prairie Ridge Land to Department of Environment and Natural Resources [now Department of Environmental Quality]. - Session Laws 2008-107, s. 27.7C, provides: "The land currently allocated to the Department of Administration and used for the Prairie Ridge Ecostation for Wildlife and Learning is hereby reallocated to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources." Editor's Note. - Session Laws 1997-443, s. 1.1, provides: "This act shall be known as 'The Current Operations and Capital Improvements Appropriations Act of 1997.'" Session Laws 1997-443, s. 35.2, provides: "Except for statutory changes or other provisions that clearly indicate an intention to have effects beyond the 1997-99 fiscal biennium, the textual provisions of this act apply only to funds appropriated for, and activities occurring during, the 1997-99 fiscal biennium." Session Laws 1997-443, s. 35.4, is a severability clause. Session Laws 2000-67, s. 1.1, provides: "This act shall be known as 'The Current Operations and Capital Improvements Appropriations Act of 2000'." Session Laws 2000-67, s. 28.2, provides: "Except for statutory changes or other provisions that clearly indicate an intention to have effects beyond the 2000-2001 fiscal year, the textual provisions of this act apply only to funds appropriated for, and activities occurring during, the 2000-2001 fiscal year." Session Laws 2000-67, s. 28.4, contains a severability clause. Session Laws 2004-124, s. 1.2, provides: "This act shall be known as the 'Current Operations and Capital Improvements Appropriations Act of 2004'." Session Laws 2004-124, s. 33.3, provides: "Except for statutory changes or other provisions that clearly indicate an intention to have effects beyond the 2004-2005 fiscal year, the textual provisions of this act apply only to funds appropriated for, and activities occurring during, the 2004-2005 fiscal year." Session Laws 2004-124, s. 33.5, is a severability clause. Session Laws 2008-107, s. 1.2, provides: "This act shall be known as 'The Current Operations and Capital Improvements Appropriations Act of 2008'." Session Laws 2008-107, s. 30.3, provides: "Except for statutory changes or other provisions that clearly indicate an intention to have effects beyond the 2008-2009 fiscal year, the textual provisions of this act apply only to funds appropriated for, and activities occurring during, the 2008-2009 fiscal year." Session Laws 2008-107, s. 30.5, is a severability clause. Session Laws 2011-398, s. 60(d), effective July 25, 2011, provides: "The Department of Environment and Natural Resources shall review the types of permits issued by the Department and the rule-making agencies under the Department and recommend whether the duration of any of the types of permits should be extended beyond their duration under current law or rule. The Department shall report its findings and recommendations to the Environmental Review Commission no later than February 1, 2012." Session Laws, 2011-398, s. 61, effective July 25, 2011, provides: "The Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources shall develop a uniform policy for notification of deficiencies and violations for all of the regulatory programs within the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. In developing the notification policy, the Secretary shall establish different types of notification based on the potential or actual level of harm to public health, the environment, and the natural resources of the State. The Secretary shall also review the notification policies of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the environmental regulatory programs of other states. The Secretary shall report on the development of the notification policy to the Environmental Review Commission and the Joint Select Regulatory Reform Committee no later than October 1, 2011. The Secretary shall implement the uniform notification policy no later than February 1, 2012." Session Laws 2012-143, s. 1(e), provides: "The Division of Land Resources of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources is hereby renamed the Division of Energy, Mineral, and Land Resources." Session Laws 2014-100, s. 14.27, provides: "The Department of Environment and Natural Resources is authorized to join the Interstate Chemicals Clearinghouse for the purpose of access to key data necessary to enhance safety in the use of toxic substances." Session Laws 2014-100, s. 1.1, provides: "This act shall be known as 'The Current Operations and Capital Improvements Appropriations Act of 2014.'" Session Laws 2014-100, s. 38.4, provides: "Except for statutory changes or other provisions that clearly indicate an intention to have effects beyond the 2014-2015 fiscal year, the textual provisions of this act apply only to funds appropriated for, and activities occurring during, the 2014-2015 fiscal year." Session Laws 2014-100, s. 38.7, is a severability clause. Session Laws 2015-286, s. 4.21, provides: "The Department of Environment and Natural Resources [now Department of Environmental Quality] shall study whether and to what extent activities related to the construction, maintenance, and removal of linear utility projects should be exempt from certain environmental regulations. For purposes of this section, 'linear utility project' means an electric power line, water line, sewage line, stormwater drainage line, telephone line, cable television line, data transmission line, communications-related line, or natural gas pipeline. For purposes of this section, 'environmental regulation' means a regulation established or implemented by any of the following: "(1) The Department of Environment and Natural Resources created pursuant to G.S. 143B-279.1. "(2) The Environmental Management Commission created pursuant to G.S. 143B-282. "(3) The Coastal Resources Commission established pursuant to G.S. 113A-104. "(4) The Marine Fisheries Commission created pursuant to G.S. 143B-289.51. "(5) The Wildlife Resources Commission created pursuant to G.S. 143-240. "(6) The Commission for Public Health created pursuant to G.S. 130A-29 "(7) The Sedimentation Control Commission created pursuant to G.S. 143B-298. "(8) The North Carolina Mining and Energy Commission created pursuant to G.S. 143B-293.1. "(9) The North Carolina Oil and Gas Commission created pursuant to G.S. 143B-293.1. "No later than March 1, 2016, the Department shall report the results of this study, including any recommendations, to the Environmental Review Commission." Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2015-241, s. 14.30(u), effective July 1, 2015, substituted "Department of Environmental Quality" for "Department of Environment and Natural Resources" in the section heading and throughout the section. Legal Periodicals. - For article, "The Evolution of Modern North Carolina Environmental and Conservation Policy Legislation," see 29 Campbell L. Rev. 535 (2007).