| 27 | | - | better than septic tank effluent quality. Advanced pretreatment shall be part of 15 |
|---|
| 28 | | - | a ground absorption system. 16 |
|---|
| 29 | | - | (1b) "Approved agency for special inspection" means an individual, corporation, 17 |
|---|
| 30 | | - | company, association, or partnership that is objective, competent, and 18 |
|---|
| 31 | | - | independent from the contractor who is responsible for the work that is 19 |
|---|
| 32 | | - | inspected. The agency shall disclose possible conflicts of interest in a manner 20 |
|---|
| 33 | | - | such that objectivity can be confirmed. 21 |
|---|
| 34 | | - | (1b)(1c) "Approved special inspector" means a person who demonstrates 22 |
|---|
| 35 | | - | competence to the satisfaction of the professional engineer who designed the 23 |
|---|
| 36 | | - | wastewater system for the inspection of the construction or operation subject 24 |
|---|
| 37 | | - | to special inspection. 25 |
|---|
| 38 | | - | (1c)(1d) "Construction" means any work at the site of placement done for the 26 |
|---|
| 39 | | - | purpose of preparing a residence, place of business or place of public assembly 27 |
|---|
| 40 | | - | for initial occupancy, or subsequent additions or modifications which increase 28 |
|---|
| 41 | | - | sewage flow. 29 |
|---|
| 42 | | - | (1d)(1e) "Construction observation" means the visual observation of the 30 |
|---|
| 43 | | - | construction and installation of the wastewater system for general 31 |
|---|
| 44 | | - | conformance with the construction documents prepared by the professional 32 |
|---|
| 45 | | - | engineer who designed the wastewater system. Construction observation that 33 |
|---|
| 46 | | - | is conducted by the professional engineer who designed the wastewater 34 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 |
|---|
| 47 | | - | Page 2 House Bill 381-Third Edition |
|---|
| 48 | | - | system does not include or waive the requirement to conduct special 1 |
|---|
| 49 | | - | inspections. 2 |
|---|
| 50 | | - | (1e)(1f) "Conventional wastewater system" has the same meaning as in 3 |
|---|
| 51 | | - | G.S. 130A-343. 4 |
|---|
| 52 | | - | (1f)(1g) "Department" means the Department of Health and Human Services. 5 |
|---|
| 53 | | - | (1g)(1h) "Engineered option permit" means an on-site wastewater system that is 6 |
|---|
| 54 | | - | permitted pursuant to the rules adopted by the Commission in accordance with 7 |
|---|
| 55 | | - | this Article, meets the criteria established by G.S. 130A-336.1, and is 8 |
|---|
| 56 | | - | designed by a professional engineer who is licensed under Chapter 89C of the 9 |
|---|
| 57 | | - | General Statutes who has expertise in the design of on-site wastewater 10 |
|---|
| 58 | | - | systems. 11 |
|---|
| 59 | | - | (1h)(1i) "Ground absorption system" means a system of tanks, treatment units, 12 |
|---|
| 60 | | - | nitrification fields, and appurtenances for wastewater collection, treatment, 13 |
|---|
| 61 | | - | and subsurface disposal. 14 |
|---|
| 62 | | - | … 15 |
|---|
| 63 | | - | (7b) "Pretreatment" means any biological, chemical, or physical process or system 16 |
|---|
| 64 | | - | for improving wastewater quality and reducing wastewater constituents prior 17 |
|---|
| 65 | | - | to final treatment and disposal in a subsurface wastewater system and 18 |
|---|
| 66 | | - | includes, but is not limited to aeration, clarification, digestion, disinfection, 19 |
|---|
| 67 | | - | filtration, separation, and settling. 20 |
|---|
| 68 | | - | …." 21 |
|---|
| 69 | | - | SECTION 1.(b) G.S. 130A-335(f) reads as rewritten: 22 |
|---|
| 70 | | - | "(f) The rules of the Commission and the rules of the local board of health shall classify 23 |
|---|
| 71 | | - | systems of wastewater collection, treatment and disposal according to size, type of treatment and 24 |
|---|
| 72 | | - | any other appropriate factors. The rules shall provide construction requirements, including 25 |
|---|
| 73 | | - | advanced pretreatment and system control requirements, standards for operation, maintenance, 26 |
|---|
| 74 | | - | monitoring, reporting, and ownership requirements for each classification of systems of 27 |
|---|
| 75 | | - | wastewater collection, treatment and disposal in order to prevent, as far as reasonably possible, 28 |
|---|
| 76 | | - | any contamination of the land, groundwater and surface waters. The Department and local health 29 |
|---|
| 77 | | - | departments may impose conditions on the issuance of permits and may revoke the permits for 30 |
|---|
| 78 | | - | failure of the system to satisfy the conditions, the rules, or this Article. Permits other than 31 |
|---|
| 79 | | - | improvement permits shall be valid for a period prescribed by rule. Improvement permits shall 32 |
|---|
| 80 | | - | be valid upon a showing satisfactory to the Department or the local health department that the 33 |
|---|
| 81 | | - | site and soil conditions are unaltered, that the facility, design wastewater flow, and wastewater 34 |
|---|
| 82 | | - | characteristics are not increased, and that a wastewater system can be installed that meets the 35 |
|---|
| 83 | | - | permitting requirements in effect on the date the Improvement Permit was issued. Improvement 36 |
|---|
| 84 | | - | permits for which a plat is provided shall be valid without expiration. Improvement permits for 37 |
|---|
| 85 | | - | which a site plan is provided shall be valid for five years. The period of time for which the permit 38 |
|---|
| 86 | | - | is valid and a statement that the permit is subject to revocation if the site plan or plat, whichever 39 |
|---|
| 87 | | - | is applicable, or the intended use changes shall be displayed prominently on both the application 40 |
|---|
| 88 | | - | form for the permit and the permit." 41 |
|---|
| 89 | | - | SECTION 1.(c) G.S. 130A-336.1(e)(1) reads as rewritten: 42 |
|---|
| 90 | | - | "(1) The professional engineer designing the proposed wastewater system shall use 43 |
|---|
| 91 | | - | recognized principles and practices of engineering and applicable rules of the 44 |
|---|
| 92 | | - | Commission in the calculations and design of the wastewater system. The 45 |
|---|
| 93 | | - | investigations and findings of the professional engineer shall include, at a 46 |
|---|
| 94 | | - | minimum, the information required in rules adopted by the Commission 47 |
|---|
| 95 | | - | pursuant to G.S. 130A-335(e). The professional engineer may, at the 48 |
|---|
| 96 | | - | engineer's discretion, employ advanced pretreatment technologies not yet 49 |
|---|
| 97 | | - | approved in this State." 50 |
|---|
| 98 | | - | SECTION 2.(a) G.S. 130A-343(g) reads as rewritten: 51 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 |
|---|
| 99 | | - | House Bill 381-Third Edition Page 3 |
|---|
| 26 | + | better than septic tank effluent quality. 15 |
|---|
| 27 | + | (1b) "Approved agency for special inspection" means an individual, corporation, 16 |
|---|
| 28 | + | company, association, or partnership that is objective, competent, and 17 |
|---|
| 29 | + | independent from the contractor who is responsible for the work that is 18 |
|---|
| 30 | + | inspected. The agency shall disclose possible conflicts of interest in a manner 19 |
|---|
| 31 | + | such that objectivity can be confirmed. 20 |
|---|
| 32 | + | (1b)(1c) "Approved special inspector" means a person who demonstrates 21 |
|---|
| 33 | + | competence to the satisfaction of the professional engineer who designed the 22 |
|---|
| 34 | + | wastewater system for the inspection of the construction or operation subject 23 |
|---|
| 35 | + | to special inspection. 24 |
|---|
| 36 | + | (1c)(1d) "Construction" means any work at the site of placement done for the 25 |
|---|
| 37 | + | purpose of preparing a residence, place of business or place of public assembly 26 |
|---|
| 38 | + | for initial occupancy, or subsequent additions or modifications which increase 27 |
|---|
| 39 | + | sewage flow. 28 |
|---|
| 40 | + | (1d)(1e) "Construction observation" means the visual observation of the 29 |
|---|
| 41 | + | construction and installation of the wastewater system for general 30 |
|---|
| 42 | + | conformance with the construction documents prepared by the professional 31 |
|---|
| 43 | + | engineer who designed the wastewater system. Construction observation that 32 |
|---|
| 44 | + | is conducted by the professional engineer who designed the wastewater 33 |
|---|
| 45 | + | system does not include or waive the requirement to conduct special 34 |
|---|
| 46 | + | inspections. 35 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 |
|---|
| 47 | + | Page 2 House Bill 381-Second Edition |
|---|
| 48 | + | (1e)(1f) "Conventional wastewater system" has the same meaning as in 1 |
|---|
| 49 | + | G.S. 130A-343. 2 |
|---|
| 50 | + | (1f)(1g) "Department" means the Department of Health and Human Services. 3 |
|---|
| 51 | + | (1g)(1h) "Engineered option permit" means an on-site wastewater system that is 4 |
|---|
| 52 | + | permitted pursuant to the rules adopted by the Commission in accordance with 5 |
|---|
| 53 | + | this Article, meets the criteria established by G.S. 130A-336.1, and is 6 |
|---|
| 54 | + | designed by a professional engineer who is licensed under Chapter 89C of the 7 |
|---|
| 55 | + | General Statutes who has expertise in the design of on-site wastewater 8 |
|---|
| 56 | + | systems. 9 |
|---|
| 57 | + | (1h)(1i) "Ground absorption system" means a system of tanks, treatment units, 10 |
|---|
| 58 | + | nitrification fields, and appurtenances for wastewater collection, treatment, 11 |
|---|
| 59 | + | and subsurface disposal. 12 |
|---|
| 60 | + | … 13 |
|---|
| 61 | + | (7b) "Pretreatment" means any biological, chemical, or physical process or system 14 |
|---|
| 62 | + | for improving wastewater quality and reducing wastewater constituents prior 15 |
|---|
| 63 | + | to final treatment and disposal in a subsurface wastewater system and 16 |
|---|
| 64 | + | includes, but is not limited to aeration, clarification, digestion, disinfection, 17 |
|---|
| 65 | + | filtration, separation, and settling. 18 |
|---|
| 66 | + | …." 19 |
|---|
| 67 | + | SECTION 1.(b) G.S. 130A-335(f) reads as rewritten: 20 |
|---|
| 68 | + | "(f) The rules of the Commission and the rules of the local board of health shall classify 21 |
|---|
| 69 | + | systems of wastewater collection, treatment and disposal according to size, type of treatment and 22 |
|---|
| 70 | + | any other appropriate factors. The rules shall provide construction requirements, including 23 |
|---|
| 71 | + | advanced pretreatment and system control requirements, standards for operation, maintenance, 24 |
|---|
| 72 | + | monitoring, reporting, and ownership requirements for each classification of systems of 25 |
|---|
| 73 | + | wastewater collection, treatment and disposal in order to prevent, as far as reasonably possible, 26 |
|---|
| 74 | + | any contamination of the land, groundwater and surface waters. The Department and local health 27 |
|---|
| 75 | + | departments may impose conditions on the issuance of permits and may revoke the permits for 28 |
|---|
| 76 | + | failure of the system to satisfy the conditions, the rules, or this Article. Permits other than 29 |
|---|
| 77 | + | improvement permits shall be valid for a period prescribed by rule. Improvement permits shall 30 |
|---|
| 78 | + | be valid upon a showing satisfactory to the Department or the local health department that the 31 |
|---|
| 79 | + | site and soil conditions are unaltered, that the facility, design wastewater flow, and wastewater 32 |
|---|
| 80 | + | characteristics are not increased, and that a wastewater system can be installed that meets the 33 |
|---|
| 81 | + | permitting requirements in effect on the date the Improvement Permit was issued. Improvement 34 |
|---|
| 82 | + | permits for which a plat is provided shall be valid without expiration. Improvement permits for 35 |
|---|
| 83 | + | which a site plan is provided shall be valid for five years. The period of time for which the permit 36 |
|---|
| 84 | + | is valid and a statement that the permit is subject to revocation if the site plan or plat, whichever 37 |
|---|
| 85 | + | is applicable, or the intended use changes shall be displayed prominently on both the application 38 |
|---|
| 86 | + | form for the permit and the permit." 39 |
|---|
| 87 | + | SECTION 1.(c) G.S. 130A-336.1(e)(1) reads as rewritten: 40 |
|---|
| 88 | + | "(1) The professional engineer designing the proposed wastewater system shall use 41 |
|---|
| 89 | + | recognized principles and practices of engineering and applicable rules of the 42 |
|---|
| 90 | + | Commission in the calculations and design of the wastewater system. The 43 |
|---|
| 91 | + | investigations and findings of the professional engineer shall include, at a 44 |
|---|
| 92 | + | minimum, the information required in rules adopted by the Commission 45 |
|---|
| 93 | + | pursuant to G.S. 130A-335(e). The professional engineer may, at the 46 |
|---|
| 94 | + | engineer's discretion, employ advanced pretreatment technologies not yet 47 |
|---|
| 95 | + | approved in this State." 48 |
|---|
| 96 | + | SECTION 2.(a) G.S. 130A-343(g) reads as rewritten: 49 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 |
|---|
| 97 | + | House Bill 381-Second Edition Page 3 |
|---|
| 100 | 98 | | "(g) Innovative Systems. – A manufacturer of a wastewater system for on-site subsurface 1 |
|---|
| 101 | 99 | | use may apply for and be considered for innovative system status by the Department in one of 2 |
|---|
| 102 | 100 | | the following ways: 3 |
|---|
| 103 | 101 | | (1) If the wastewater system has been approved as a provisional wastewater 4 |
|---|
| 104 | 102 | | system pursuant to subsection (f) of this section, the manufacturer may apply 5 |
|---|
| 105 | 103 | | to have the system approved as an innovative wastewater system based on 6 |
|---|
| 106 | 104 | | successful completion of the evaluation protocols established pursuant to 7 |
|---|
| 107 | 105 | | subsection (d) of this section. 8 |
|---|
| 108 | 106 | | (2) If the wastewater system has not been evaluated or approved as a provisional 9 |
|---|
| 109 | 107 | | wastewater system pursuant to subsection (f) of this section, the manufacturer 10 |
|---|
| 110 | 108 | | may apply to the Department to have the system approved as an innovative 11 |
|---|
| 111 | 109 | | wastewater system on the basis of comparable research and testing conducted 12 |
|---|
| 112 | 110 | | in other states. The manufacturer shall provide the Department with the data 13 |
|---|
| 113 | 111 | | and findings of all evaluations of the performance of the system that have been 14 |
|---|
| 114 | 112 | | conducted in any state by or on behalf of the manufacturer. The manufacturer 15 |
|---|
| 115 | 113 | | shall also provide the Department with a summary of the data and findings of 16 |
|---|
| 116 | 114 | | all other evaluations of the performance of the system that are known to the 17 |
|---|
| 117 | 115 | | manufacturer. 18 |
|---|
| 118 | 116 | | (3) If the wastewater system advanced pretreatment system has not been 19 |
|---|
| 119 | 117 | | evaluated or approved as a provisional system pursuant to subsection (f) of 20 |
|---|
| 120 | 118 | | this section, but has been evaluated approved under protocol established by a 21 |
|---|
| 121 | 119 | | nationally recognized certification body for at least two consecutive years, 22 |
|---|
| 122 | 120 | | body, has been found to perform acceptably based on the criteria of the 23 |
|---|
| 123 | 121 | | protocol, and is designed and will be installed in a manner consistent with the 24 |
|---|
| 124 | 122 | | system evaluated and approved by the nationally recognized certification 25 |
|---|
| 125 | 123 | | body, the manufacturer may apply to have the system approved as an 26 |
|---|
| 126 | 124 | | innovative wastewater system.system, and the Department shall approve the 27 |
|---|
| 127 | 125 | | application and issue an innovative wastewater system approval in accordance 28 |
|---|
| 128 | 126 | | with rules adopted by the Commission upon verifying (i) the protocol testing 29 |
|---|
| 129 | 127 | | dataset includes a minimum of 55 influent and effluent datasets that include 30 |
|---|
| 130 | 128 | | the applicable constituents identified in rules adopted by the Commission and 31 |
|---|
| 131 | 129 | | obtained from testing for a minimum of 26 weeks, with protocol sampling 32 |
|---|
| 132 | 130 | | conducted during all weeks of the testing period, (ii) the protocol testing data 33 |
|---|
| 133 | 131 | | complies with the applicable effluent standards identified in rules adopted by 34 |
|---|
| 134 | 132 | | the Commission, (iii) the nationally recognized certification body's approval, 35 |
|---|
| 135 | 133 | | and (iv) that the design and installation plans are consistent with that approval. 36 |
|---|
| 136 | 134 | | When a separate disinfection process or system is proposed, fecal coliform 37 |
|---|
| 137 | 135 | | datasets are not required if the disinfection technology is approved by a 38 |
|---|
| 138 | 136 | | nationally recognized certified body. This subdivision shall not apply to a 39 |
|---|
| 139 | 137 | | manufacturer requesting innovative approval as both an advanced 40 |
|---|
| 140 | 138 | | pretreatment and dispersal system. 41 |
|---|
| 141 | 139 | | …." 42 |
|---|
| 142 | 140 | | SECTION 2.(b) The Commission for Public Health may adopt temporary and 43 |
|---|
| 143 | 141 | | permanent rules to implement this section. 44 |
|---|
| 144 | 142 | | SECTION 3. This act is effective when it becomes law and applies to applications 45 |
|---|
| 145 | 143 | | for innovative wastewater system approval filed with the Commission on or after that date. 46 |
|---|