GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 2
HOUSE BILL 381
Committee Substitute Favorable 4/2/25
Short Title: On-Site Wastewater System Amendments. (Public)
Sponsors:
Referred to:
March 13, 2025
*H381 -v-2*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO AMEND THE ON-SITE SUBSURFACE WASTEWATER STATUTES A ND TO 2
MODIFY THE APPROVAL PROCESS FOR CERTAIN ADVANCED TREATMENT 3
SYSTEMS AS INNOVATIVE WASTEWATER SYSTEMS . 4
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 5
SECTION 1.(a) G.S. 130A-334 reads as rewritten: 6
"§ 130A-334. Definitions. 7
The following definitions shall apply throughout this Article: 8
(1) "Accepted wastewater system" has the same meaning as in G.S. 130A-343. 9
(1a) "Advanced pretreatment" means any biological, chemical, or physical process 10
or system used in addition to or in place of a septic tank system. Advanced 11
pretreatment includes, but is not limited to, aeration, clarification, digestion, 12
disinfection, filtration, separation, and settling. Advanced pretreatment 13
effluent shall meet the treatment standards adopted by the Commission for 14
better than septic tank effluent quality. 15
(1b) "Approved agency for special inspection" means an individual, corporation, 16
company, association, or partnership that is objective, competent, and 17
independent from the contractor who is responsible for the work that is 18
inspected. The agency shall disclose possible conflicts of interest in a manner 19
such that objectivity can be confirmed. 20
(1b)(1c) "Approved special inspector" means a person who demonstrates 21
competence to the satisfaction of the professional engineer who designed the 22
wastewater system for the inspection of the construction or operation subject 23
to special inspection. 24
(1c)(1d) "Construction" means any work at the site of placement done for the 25
purpose of preparing a residence, place of business or place of public assembly 26
for initial occupancy, or subsequent additions or modifications which increase 27
sewage flow. 28
(1d)(1e) "Construction observation" means the visual observation of the 29
construction and installation of the wastewater system for general 30
conformance with the construction documents prepared by the professional 31
engineer who designed the wastewater system. Construction observation that 32
is conducted by the professional engineer who designed the wastewater 33
system does not include or waive the requirement to conduct special 34
inspections. 35 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 381-Second Edition
(1e)(1f) "Conventional wastewater system" has the same meaning as in 1
G.S. 130A-343. 2
(1f)(1g) "Department" means the Department of Health and Human Services. 3
(1g)(1h) "Engineered option permit" means an on-site wastewater system that is 4
permitted pursuant to the rules adopted by the Commission in accordance with 5
this Article, meets the criteria established by G.S. 130A-336.1, and is 6
designed by a professional engineer who is licensed under Chapter 89C of the 7
General Statutes who has expertise in the design of on-site wastewater 8
systems. 9
(1h)(1i) "Ground absorption system" means a system of tanks, treatment units, 10
nitrification fields, and appurtenances for wastewater collection, treatment, 11
and subsurface disposal. 12
… 13
(7b) "Pretreatment" means any biological, chemical, or physical process or system 14
for improving wastewater quality and reducing wastewater constituents prior 15
to final treatment and disposal in a subsurface wastewater system and 16
includes, but is not limited to aeration, clarification, digestion, disinfection, 17
filtration, separation, and settling. 18
…." 19
SECTION 1.(b) G.S. 130A-335(f) reads as rewritten: 20
"(f) The rules of the Commission and the rules of the local board of health shall classify 21
systems of wastewater collection, treatment and disposal according to size, type of treatment and 22
any other appropriate factors. The rules shall provide construction requirements, including 23
advanced pretreatment and system control requirements, standards for operation, maintenance, 24
monitoring, reporting, and ownership requirements for each classification of systems of 25
wastewater collection, treatment and disposal in order to prevent, as far as reasonably possible, 26
any contamination of the land, groundwater and surface waters. The Department and local health 27
departments may impose conditions on the issuance of permits and may revoke the permits for 28
failure of the system to satisfy the conditions, the rules, or this Article. Permits other than 29
improvement permits shall be valid for a period prescribed by rule. Improvement permits shall 30
be valid upon a showing satisfactory to the Department or the local health department that the 31
site and soil conditions are unaltered, that the facility, design wastewater flow, and wastewater 32
characteristics are not increased, and that a wastewater system can be installed that meets the 33
permitting requirements in effect on the date the Improvement Permit was issued. Improvement 34
permits for which a plat is provided shall be valid without expiration. Improvement permits for 35
which a site plan is provided shall be valid for five years. The period of time for which the permit 36
is valid and a statement that the permit is subject to revocation if the site plan or plat, whichever 37
is applicable, or the intended use changes shall be displayed prominently on both the application 38
form for the permit and the permit." 39
SECTION 1.(c) G.S. 130A-336.1(e)(1) reads as rewritten: 40
"(1) The professional engineer designing the proposed wastewater system shall use 41
recognized principles and practices of engineering and applicable rules of the 42
Commission in the calculations and design of the wastewater system. The 43
investigations and findings of the professional engineer shall include, at a 44
minimum, the information required in rules adopted by the Commission 45
pursuant to G.S. 130A-335(e). The professional engineer may, at the 46
engineer's discretion, employ advanced pretreatment technologies not yet 47
approved in this State." 48
SECTION 2.(a) G.S. 130A-343(g) reads as rewritten: 49 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
House Bill 381-Second Edition Page 3
"(g) Innovative Systems. – A manufacturer of a wastewater system for on-site subsurface 1
use may apply for and be considered for innovative system status by the Department in one of 2
the following ways: 3
(1) If the wastewater system has been approved as a provisional wastewater 4
system pursuant to subsection (f) of this section, the manufacturer may apply 5
to have the system approved as an innovative wastewater system based on 6
successful completion of the evaluation protocols established pursuant to 7
subsection (d) of this section. 8
(2) If the wastewater system has not been evaluated or approved as a provisional 9
wastewater system pursuant to subsection (f) of this section, the manufacturer 10
may apply to the Department to have the system approved as an innovative 11
wastewater system on the basis of comparable research and testing conducted 12
in other states. The manufacturer shall provide the Department with the data 13
and findings of all evaluations of the performance of the system that have been 14
conducted in any state by or on behalf of the manufacturer. The manufacturer 15
shall also provide the Department with a summary of the data and findings of 16
all other evaluations of the performance of the system that are known to the 17
manufacturer. 18
(3) If the wastewater system advanced pretreatment system has not been 19
evaluated or approved as a provisional system pursuant to subsection (f) of 20
this section, but has been evaluated approved under protocol established by a 21
nationally recognized certification body for at least two consecutive years, 22
body, has been found to perform acceptably based on the criteria of the 23
protocol, and is designed and will be installed in a manner consistent with the 24
system evaluated and approved by the nationally recognized certification 25
body, the manufacturer may apply to have the system approved as an 26
innovative wastewater system.system, and the Department shall approve the 27
application and issue an innovative wastewater system approval in accordance 28
with rules adopted by the Commission upon verifying (i) the protocol testing 29
dataset includes a minimum of 55 influent and effluent datasets that include 30
the applicable constituents identified in rules adopted by the Commission and 31
obtained from testing for a minimum of 26 weeks, with protocol sampling 32
conducted during all weeks of the testing period, (ii) the protocol testing data 33
complies with the applicable effluent standards identified in rules adopted by 34
the Commission, (iii) the nationally recognized certification body's approval, 35
and (iv) that the design and installation plans are consistent with that approval. 36
When a separate disinfection process or system is proposed, fecal coliform 37
datasets are not required if the disinfection technology is approved by a 38
nationally recognized certified body. This subdivision shall not apply to a 39
manufacturer requesting innovative approval as both an advanced 40
pretreatment and dispersal system. 41
…." 42
SECTION 2.(b) The Commission for Public Health may adopt temporary and 43
permanent rules to implement this section. 44
SECTION 3. This act is effective when it becomes law and applies to applications 45
for innovative wastewater system approval filed with the Commission on or after that date. 46