North Carolina General Statutes 143-355.7. Water supply development; State-local cooperation
(a) At the request of one or more units of local government, the Department may assist the local government in identifying the preferred water supply alternative that alone or in combination with other water sources will provide for the long-term water supply needs documented in the local water supply plan and meet all of the following criteria:
(1) Are economically and practically feasible.
Terms Used In North Carolina General Statutes 143-355.7
- Commission: means the Environmental Management Commission. See North Carolina General Statutes 143-350
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Department: means the Department of Environmental Quality. See North Carolina General Statutes 143-350
- following: when used by way of reference to any section of a statute, shall be construed to mean the section next preceding or next following that in which such reference is made; unless when some other section is expressly designated in such reference. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- property: shall include all property, both real and personal. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
- state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories, so called; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include the said district and territories and all dependencies. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
- Unit of local government: means a county, city, consolidated city-county, sanitary district, or other local political subdivision or authority or agency of local government. See North Carolina General Statutes 143-350
(2) Make maximum, practical beneficial use of reclaimed wastewater and stormwater.
(3) Comply with water quality classifications and standards.
(4) Avoid or mitigate impacts to threatened or endangered species to the extent such species are protected by State or federal law.
(5) Maintain downstream flows necessary to protect downstream users.
(6) Do not have significant adverse impacts on other water withdrawals or wastewater discharges.
(7) Avoid or mitigate water quality impacts consistent with the requirements of rules adopted by the Environmental Management Commission to implement 33 U.S.C. § 1341.
(b) During the alternatives analysis, the Department shall request relevant information regarding the potential alternatives, including the establishment or expansion of the water supply reservoir or other water supply resources, from other State agencies with jurisdiction over any natural resources that will be impacted under the alternatives identified by the Department. Unless the local government agrees to an extension of time, the Department shall determine the preferred alternative within two years of the execution of a contract with the requesting local government for the costs of the analysis. The determination of the preferred alternative shall be binding on all State agencies unless the Department determines from its further evaluation during its review of any State or federal permit applications for the project that another preferred alternative should be selected in light of additional information brought forward during the permit reviews.
(c) If the Department provides an analysis of practicable alternatives for meeting a water supply need under this section, the analysis shall be accepted by the Department and the Department of Administration for purposes of satisfying the requirements of the North Carolina Environmental Policy Act and any State permit or authorization that requires identification and assessment of alternatives, including, but not limited to, a request for an interbasin transfer pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 143-215.22L.
(d) The Department may provide technical assistance to a unit of local government in obtaining federal permits for the preferred water supply alternative identified pursuant to subsection (a) of this section. For purposes of providing technical assistance and conducting studies in support of a proposed water supply project under this section, the Department may enter into an agreement with one or more units of local government to conduct studies or modeling. The agreement shall specify the allocation of costs for any studies or modeling prepared by the Department in support of the project.
(e) When the Department has identified the most practicable alternative, a regional water supply system may request that the Department become a co-applicant for all required federal approvals for the alternative identified by the Department. The Department may become a co-applicant when all of the following conditions are met:
(1) The regional water supply system has acquired or will acquire the property necessary for construction of the water supply reservoir or other water supply resource.
(2) The local water supply plan shows that the regional water supply system has implemented appropriate conservation measures similar in effect to the measures in comparably sized North Carolina regional water supply systems.
(3) The regional water supply system has developed and is implementing measures to replace existing leaking infrastructure that is similar in effect to the measures being implemented by comparably sized North Carolina regional water systems.
(4) The regional water supply system has entered into a contractual agreement to pay the expenses incurred by the Department as a co-applicant for the project approval.
(f) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the authority of the Department to require environmental permits or to apply and enforce environmental standards pursuant to State law. (2011-374, s. 1.2.)