GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1993

S	1 

SENATE BILL 735

Short Title:  Protect Natural/Scenic Rivers.	(Public)
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Sponsors: Senators Sherron, Cochrane, Seymour, Speed; and Carpenter.
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Referred to:  State Personnel and State Government.
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April 8, 1993

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO AMEND THE NATURAL AND SCENIC RIVERS ACT TO STRENGTHEN THE PROTECTION OF RIVERS AND THE RIVERS DESIGNATION PROCESS AND TO REQUIRE APPROVAL BY THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT, HEALTH, AND NATURAL RESOURCES OF COUNTY LAND-USE CONTROLS PRIOR TO DESIGNATION OF RIVERS.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  G.S. 113A-34 reads as rewritten:
"§ 113A-34. Types of scenic rivers.
The following types of rivers are eligible for inclusion in the North Carolina natural and scenic rivers system:
Class I. Natural river areas. Those free-flowing rivers or segments of rivers and adjacent lands existing in a natural condition. Those rivers or segments of rivers that are free of man-made impoundments and generally inaccessible except by trail, with the lands within the boundaries essentially primitive and the waters essentially unpolluted. These represent vestiges of primitive America.
Class II. Scenic river areas. Those rivers or segments of rivers that are largely free of impoundments, with the lands within the boundaries largely primitive and largely undeveloped, but accessible in places by roads.  Scenic river areas provide beautiful views and aesthetically pleasing vistas that may include forested landscapes and agricultural or pastoral areas.
Class III.  Recreational river areas.  Those rivers or segments of rivers that offer outstanding recreation and scenic values and that are largely free of impoundments.  They may have some development along their shorelines and have more extensive public access than natural or scenic river segments.  Recreational river segments may also link two or more natural and/or scenic river segments to provide a contiguous designated river area. No provision of this paragraph concerning Class III recreational river areas shall interfere with flood control measures; provided that recreational river users can continue to travel the river."
Sec. 2. G.S. 113A-36(c) reads as rewritten:
	"(c) The Department shall study and submit to the Governor and to the General Assembly reports proposing additions to the rivers system. Each report shall specify the category of the proposed addition according to G.S. 113A-34. The report shall also contain at a minimum:
(1)	A description of the area and whether it will be a worthy addition to the system.
(2)	The feasibility of the inclusion of a river or a segment within the system.
(3)	How the river or segment addresses needs identified in the Systemwide Plan of the State Parks System pursuant to G.S. 113-44.11 and priorities identified in the river's assessment.
(4)	Preliminary cost estimates for land acquisition, capital improvements, further planning, and operations.
(5)	What local governmental action has been taken to protect the river or segment.
Before submitting any proposal to the Governor or the General Assembly for the addition to the system of a river or segment of a river, the Department shall hold a public hearing in each county where said river or segment of river is situated. Notice of such public hearing shall be given by publishing a notice once each week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper having general circulation in the county where said hearing is to be held, the second of said notices appearing not less than 10 days before said hearing. Any person attending said hearing shall be given an opportunity to be heard. Notwithstanding the provisions of the foregoing, no public hearing shall be required with respect to a river bounded solely by the property of one owner, who consents in writing to the addition of such river to the system.
The Department shall also, before submitting such a proposal to the Governor or the General Assembly, notify in writing the owner, lessee, or tenant of any lands adjoining said river or segment of river of its intention to make such proposal. In the event the Department, after due diligence, is unable to determine the owner or lessee of any such land, the Department may publish a notice for four successive weeks in a newspaper having general circulation in the county where the land is situated of its intention to make a proposal to the Governor or General Assembly for the addition of a river or segment of river to the system."
Sec. 3. G.S. 113A-36(c1) reads as rewritten:
"(c1)	Upon receipt of a request in the form of a resolution from the commissioners of the county or counties in which a river segment is located and upon studying the segment and determining that it meets the criteria set forth in G.S. 113A-35, the Secretary may designate the segment a potential component of the natural and scenic rivers system. The designation as a potential component shall be transmitted to the Governor and all appropriate State agencies. Any segment so designated is subject to the provisions of this Article applicable to designated rivers, except for acquisition by condemnation or otherwise, and to any rules adopted pursuant to this Article. The designation as a potential component shall be a temporary designation which shall expire after three years. No county shall request any designation unless it has adopted land-use controls designed to regulate the use and development of the river corridor in a manner approved by the Department.
Within one year of designation as a potential component, the Department shall submit to the Governor and the General Assembly a report on the river or segment in accordance with G.S. 113A-36. The General Assembly shall determine whether to designate the segment as a component of the natural and scenic rivers system. If the General Assembly fails to take affirmative action on the designation within the three-year period, the designation as a potential component shall expire."
Sec. 4. G.S. 113A-37 reads as rewritten:
"§ 113A-37. Raising the status of an area.
Whenever in the judgment of the Secretary of the Department a scenic river segment has been sufficiently restored and enhanced in its natural scenic and recreational qualities so that a different classification is more appropriate, such segment may be reclassified by the Department and thereafter administered accordingly."
Sec. 5. G.S. 113A-43 reads as rewritten:
"§ 113A-43. Authorization of advances.
The Department of Administration is hereby authorized to advance from land-purchase appropriations necessary amounts for the purchase of land in those cases where reimbursement will be later effected by the National Park Service of the United States Department of the Interior."
Sec. 6. This act becomes effective October 1, 1993.