GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1991

S	1 

SENATE BILL 943

Short Title:  Water Transfer Registration.	(Public)
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Sponsors: Senators Tally; Cochrane and Smith.
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Referred to:  Environment and Natural Resources.
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May 14, 1991

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO REQUIRE THE REGISTRATION OF WATER TRANSFERS.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  Article 21 of Chapter 143 is amended by adding a new Part to read:
“Part 2A.  Registration of Water Transfers.
"§ 143-215.22A. Definitions.
In addition to the definitions set forth in G.S. 143-212 and G.S. 143-213, the following definitions apply to this Part.
(1)	‘River basin' means any of the following river basins designated on the map entitled ‘Major River Basins and Sub-basins in North Carolina' and filed in the Office of the Secretary of State on April 16, 1991:
a.	Albemarle Sound.
b.	Chowan River.
c.	Meherrin River.
d.	Roanoke River.
e.	Pamlico River and Sound.
f.	Tar River.
g.	Fishing Creek.
h.	Neuse River.
i.	Contentnea Creek.
j.	Trent River.
k.	White Oak River.
l.	New River.
m.	Northeast Cape Fear River.
n.	Cape Fear River.
o.	South River.
p.	Deep River.
q.	Haw River.
r.	Shallotte River.
s.	Waccamaw River.
t.	Lumber River.
u.	Big Shoe Heel Creek.
v.	Yadkin River.
w.	Uwharrie River.
x.	Rocky River.
y.	South Yadkin River.
z.	New River.
aa.	Catawba River.
bb.	South Fork Catawba River.
cc.	Watauga River.
dd.	Broad River.
ee.	French Broad River.
ff.	Toe River.
gg.	Pigeon River.
hh.	Little Tennessee River.
ii.	Tuckasegee River.
jj.	Hiwassee River.
kk.	Savannah River Basin.
(2)	‘Surface water' means any of the waters of the State located on the land surface that are not derived by pumping from groundwater.
(3)	‘Transfer' means the withdrawal, diversion, or pumping of surface water from one river basin and the use or discharge of all or any part of the water in a river basin different from the origin.
"§ 143-215.22B.  Registration of water transfers.
(a)	Any water transfer from one river basin to another shall be registered with the Commission.  Any water transfer existing at the effective date of this act shall be registered with the Commission by January 1, 1992.  A person registering a water transfer shall provide the Commission with the following information:
(1)	The amount of the water transfer.
(2)	The amount of water used and a description of the water use.
(3)	The projected increase or decrease in the amount of water to be transferred through the year 2001.
(4)	The location of the points of withdrawal and discharge of the water transfer, and of the facilities used to make the transfer.
(b)	Any person planning to initiate a new water transfer prior to July 1, 2001, shall register the transfer with the Commission by January 1, 1992, and shall supply the same information about the planned transfer as required for the registration of existing transfers under subsection (a) of this section.
(c)	Any person initiating a new water transfer shall register it with the Commission within six months of initiation, providing the same information as required in subsection (a) of this section."
Sec. 2.  G.S. 143-215.3(1b) reads as rewritten:
"(1b)	The fee to be charged pursuant to G.S. 143-215.3(a)(1a) for processing of an application for a permit under G.S. 143-215.1 of Article 21 and G.S. 143-215.108 and G.S. 143-215.109 of Article 21B of this Chapter may not exceed four hundred dollars ($400.00).  The fee to be charged pursuant to G.S. 143-215.3(a)(1a) for processing an application for a registration under Article 38  or Part 2A of this Chapter may not exceed fifty dollars ($50.00) for any single application, except that a penalty of as much as twenty percent (20%) of the fee may be assessed for late registration.  The fee for administering and compliance monitoring under G.S. 143-215.1 of Article 21 and G.S. 143-215.108 and G.S. 143-215.109 of Article 21B shall be charged on an annual basis for each year of the permit term and may not exceed one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500) per year.  Fees for processing all permits under Article 21A and all other Sections of Articles 21 and 21B shall not exceed one hundred dollars ($100.00) for any single permit.  Notwithstanding any other provision of this subdivision, the total payment for fees required for all permits under this subsection for any single facility shall not exceed seven thousand five hundred dollars ($7,500) per year, which amount shall include all application fees and fees for administration and compliance monitoring.  A single facility is defined to be any contiguous area under one ownership and in which permitted activities occur.  For all permits issued under these Articles where a fee schedule is not specified in the statutes, the Commission, or other commission specified by statute shall adopt a fee schedule in a rule following the procedures established by the Administrative Procedure Act.  Such fee schedules shall be established to reflect the size of the emission or discharge, the potential impact on the environment, the staff costs involved, relative costs of the issuance of new permits and the reissuance of existing permits, and shall include adequate safeguards to prevent unusual fee assessments which would result in serious economic burden on an individual applicant.  A system shall be considered to allow consolidated annual payments for persons with multiple permits.  In its rulemaking to establish fee schedules, the Commission is also directed to consider a method of rewarding facilities which achieve full compliance with administrative and self-monitoring reporting requirements, and to consider, in those cases where the cost of renewal or amendment of a permit is less than for the original permit, a lower fee for such renewal or amendment.”
Sec. 3.  The Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources shall provide a report to the General Assembly by April 1, 1992, summarizing the registration information on existing and proposed water transfers received under the provisions of this act.
Sec. 4.  This act becomes effective July 1, 1991.