T
he North Carolina Rural Water Association,
Inc
®
(NCRWA) was established in 1976
to serve as the “voice” of the water and
wastewater industry of our state. Our
legislative and regulatory efforts today
have one primary mission: to represent our
members’ interests in the US Congress, the
US EPA, the NC General Assembly, and
the NCDENR. We appreciate the continued
support of our members through both your
personal participation in these efforts and your
membership, which pays for our legislative
and regulatory efforts.
The North Carolina General Assembly
convened for its Long Session in January
and adjourned in late July. Over 1,700 bills
were introduced. NCRWA’s Legislative Team
continuously ensured that your interests were
represented. Legislative Committee Chair
Wilmer Melton of the City of Kannapolis,
the
NCRWA
Legislative
Committee,
Executive Director Daniel Wilson, and our
Lobbyist Jon Carr worked daily tracking
legislation, developing position and strategy,
and responding to the many Bills that were
introduced in Raleigh. The following list
of legislation includes the Session Laws
that we feel most affect your water and/or
wastewater system. If you have questions or
comments pertaining to any of these laws
or have specific laws or regulations that
you would like for us to discuss in more
detail on your behalf, please contact me at
.
Due to the many types of systems represented
by NCRWA, please consult with your
General Counsel for a better understanding
of exactly how certain legislation will affect
your system. These Session Laws can be
accessed through the General Assembly’s
website
; see “Shortcuts” and
Session Law reference on right hand side of
home page).
S.L. 2013-360
:
Appropriations Act of
2013
(Short Title): Often referred to as the
State Budget, the Appropriations Act of 2013
made several significant changes to NCDENR
that will affect our members across the state
including but not limited to the following:
SECTION 14.23.(a)
re-wrote G.S.
143B-283, which controls the criteria
and appointments of the members of the
Environmental Management Commission.
SECTION14.21.(a) & (b)
created the new
Division of Water Infrastructure and the
new State Water Infrastructure Authority
within NCDENR and outlined its purposes
and the criteria to be used for appointments
of its members. This new Division and
9-member Authority will oversee all
state appropriated infrastructure funding
for water and wastewater in the state
including those previously administered
by the Drinking Water State Revolving
Fund (DWR PWSS), Clean Water State
Revolving Fund (DWQ Constructions
and Loans), and the community
development block grants for water and
wastewater projects.
SECTION 14.3
re-wrote the Statutes
related to the Clean Water Management
Trust Fund and made significant changes to
the appointment criteria for that Board of
Directors and their Executive Director.
SECTION 15.10
created the new Rural
Economic Development Division of the
Department of Commerce and established
the Rural Infrastructure Authority to
oversee grants and loans administered by
this new Division. This new Division will
oversee the funding formerly administered
by the North Carolina Rural Economic
Development Center (the Rural Center).
SECTION
15.10C
authorized
the
Legislative Research Commission to study
the “ways in which the State currently
distributed State and federal funds to local
government units and other eligible entities
for water, including public water systems
and wastewater projects and economic
development projects to determine whether
the distribution of these funds may be
contacted in a more efficient manner.”
S.L. 2013-413:
An Act to Improve and
Streamline the Regulatory Process in Order
to Stimulate Job Creation, to Eliminate
Unnecessary Regulation, to Make Various
Other Statutory Changes, and to Amend
Certain Environmental and Natural
Resources Laws:
This 59-page omnibus bill
covered a wide range of issues and should
be reviewed by your system. The following
are some of the more significant items, in our
opinion, that affect our members:
SECTION 10.2(a)
provides a temporary
limitation on enactment of environmental
ordinances by cities and counties. Expiring
in October 2014 (a study is underway to
better determine the impact of similar,
permanent legislation), this law states that
“a city or county may not enact an ordinance
that regulates a field that is also regulated
2013 Legislative Report - NC General Assembly
By Daniel Wilson, NCRWA Executive Director
28
NCRWA.COM |
Fall 2013
feature
