| 14 | 13 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1 |
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| 15 | 14 | | AN ACT TO DIRECT THE ENVIRONMENTAL FINANCE CENTER AT THE SCHOOL OF 2 |
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| 16 | 15 | | GOVERNMENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL 3 |
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| 17 | 16 | | TO STUDY WATER AND WASTEWATER REGIONALIZATION AND IDENTIFY 4 |
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| 18 | 17 | | AREAS OF THE STATE WHERE THE COSTS OF WATER OR WASTEWATER 5 |
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| 19 | 18 | | SERVICES COULD BE LOWERED AND QUALITY OF THOSE SERVICE S 6 |
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| 20 | 19 | | IMPROVED. 7 |
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| 21 | 20 | | Whereas, North Carolina has a significant number of distressed water and wastewater 8 |
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| 22 | 21 | | systems, defined as systems that fail to generate sufficient revenues to adequately fund 9 |
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| 23 | 22 | | management and operations, personnel, appropriate levels of maintenance, and reinvestment that 10 |
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| 24 | 23 | | facilitate the provision of reliable water or wastewater services; and 11 |
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| 25 | 24 | | Whereas, significant factors contributing to distressed systems include service 12 |
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| 26 | 25 | | populations too small or too geographically dispersed, or the closure of major industrial or 13 |
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| 27 | 26 | | commercial customers, which results in systems much larger and more expensive to operate than 14 |
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| 28 | 27 | | is needed for the population they serve; and 15 |
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| 29 | 28 | | Whereas, competition among local governments to capture large industrial or 16 |
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| 30 | 29 | | commercial customers can lead to unnecessary facility duplication and result in short-term 17 |
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| 31 | 30 | | decisions that do not reflect a responsible and prudent approach to long-term infrastructure needs; 18 |
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| 32 | 31 | | and 19 |
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| 33 | 32 | | Whereas, North Carolina's funding programs for water and wastewater infrastructure 20 |
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| 34 | 33 | | demonstrate preferences for regionalization of water and wastewater infrastructure solutions in 21 |
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| 35 | 34 | | order to create or sustain financial viability for systems with significant maintenance or upgrade 22 |
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| 36 | 35 | | needs, or serving high poverty areas of the State; and 23 |
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| 37 | 36 | | Whereas, there continue to be information gaps and lack of awareness on the part of 24 |
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| 38 | 37 | | local government officials and policymakers of the benefits and obstacles to regionalization and 25 |
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| 39 | 38 | | the information these officials and policymakers need to guide local decisions on regionalization 26 |
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| 40 | 39 | | and other infrastructure decisions, particularly with regard to economic development and 27 |
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| 41 | 40 | | growth-related infrastructure needs, water system efficiency measures, and costs related to the 28 |
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| 42 | 41 | | development of new water sources; Now, therefore, 29 |
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| 43 | 42 | | The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 30 |
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| 44 | 43 | | SECTION 1. Study. – The Environmental Finance Center at the University of North 31 |
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| 45 | 44 | | Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Government (EFC) shall study and report on the benefits, costs, 32 |
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| 46 | | - | and financial, statutory, or regulatory obstacles to regionalization of water and wastewater 33 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 |
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| 47 | | - | Page 2 House Bill 694-First Edition |
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| 48 | | - | services across the State. In the report, the EFC shall provide recommendations regarding all of 1 |
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| 49 | | - | the following: 2 |
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| 50 | | - | (1) Legislative or regulatory changes in financial, auditing, or oversight 3 |
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| 51 | | - | requirements imposed on public water and wastewater systems that will lead 4 |
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| 52 | | - | to more informed decision making on financial stability of those systems, and 5 |
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| 53 | | - | the potential of various regionalization measures to address financial 6 |
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| 54 | | - | instability. 7 |
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| 55 | | - | (2) Particular public water or wastewater systems in the State that would benefit 8 |
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| 56 | | - | significantly from various regionalization measures. 9 |
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| 57 | | - | SECTION 2. Consultation. – In compiling its report and recommendations, the EFC 10 |
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| 58 | | - | shall consult with the State Water Infrastructure Authority, the Local Government Commission, 11 |
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| 59 | | - | the North Carolina League of Municipalities, the North Carolina Association of County 12 |
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| 60 | | - | Commissioners, and any other entity the EFC finds relevant to the issues it is studying. 13 |
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| 61 | | - | SECTION 3. Report. – The EFC shall report its findings and recommendations no 14 |
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| 62 | | - | later than April 1, 2026, to the chairs of the House Oversight Committee, the chairs of the Senate 15 |
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| 63 | | - | Committee on Regulatory Reform, and the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental 16 |
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| 64 | | - | Operations. 17 |
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| 65 | | - | SECTION 4. Definitions. – For the purposes of this act, "public water system" has 18 |
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| 66 | | - | the same meaning as in G.S. 130A-313 and "wastewater system" has the same meaning as in 19 |
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| 67 | | - | G.S. 159G-20. 20 |
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| 68 | | - | SECTION 5. This act is effective when it becomes law. 21 |
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| 45 | + | and financial, statutory, or regulatory obstacles to regionalization of water and wastewater 33 |
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| 46 | + | services across the State. In the report, the EFC shall provide recommendations regarding all of 34 |
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| 47 | + | the following: 35 |
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| 48 | + | H.B. 694 |
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| 49 | + | Apr 2, 2025 |
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| 50 | + | HOUSE PRINCIPAL CLERK General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 |
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| 51 | + | Page 2 DRH30298-MH-7 |
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| 52 | + | (1) Legislative or regulatory changes in financial, auditing, or oversight 1 |
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| 53 | + | requirements imposed on public water and wastewater systems that will lead 2 |
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| 54 | + | to more informed decision making on financial stability of those systems, and 3 |
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| 55 | + | the potential of various regionalization measures to address financial 4 |
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| 56 | + | instability. 5 |
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| 57 | + | (2) Particular public water or wastewater systems in the State that would benefit 6 |
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| 58 | + | significantly from various regionalization measures. 7 |
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| 59 | + | SECTION 2. Consultation. – In compiling its report and recommendations, the EFC 8 |
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| 60 | + | shall consult with the State Water Infrastructure Authority, the Local Government Commission, 9 |
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| 61 | + | the North Carolina League of Municipalities, the North Carolina Association of County 10 |
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| 62 | + | Commissioners, and any other entity the EFC finds relevant to the issues it is studying. 11 |
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| 63 | + | SECTION 3. Report. – The EFC shall report its findings and recommendations no 12 |
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| 64 | + | later than April 1, 2026, to the chairs of the House Oversight Committee, the chairs of the Senate 13 |
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| 65 | + | Committee on Regulatory Reform, and the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental 14 |
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| 66 | + | Operations. 15 |
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| 67 | + | SECTION 4. Definitions. – For the purposes of this act, "public water system" has 16 |
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| 68 | + | the same meaning as in G.S. 130A-313 and "wastewater system" has the same meaning as in 17 |
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| 69 | + | G.S. 159G-20. 18 |
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| 70 | + | SECTION 5. This act is effective when it becomes law. 19 |
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