A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to require public water systems to prepare Local Water Supply Plans, to authorize the secretary of environment and natural resources to make drought designations, to repeal the agriculture exemption from water withdrawal and transfer registration requirements, and to require an annual update of water withdrawal and transfer registration.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 143‑355(l) reads as rewritten:
"(l)	Each unit of local government that provides public water service or that plans to provide public water service and each public water system, as defined in G.S. 130A‑313(10), that regularly serves 1,000 or more individuals shall, either individually or together with other units of local government and public water systems, prepare a local water supply plan and submit it to the Department. The Department shall provide technical assistance with the preparation of plans to units of local government and public water systems upon request and to the extent that the Department has resources available to provide assistance. At a minimum, local units of government and public water systems shall include in local water supply plans all information that is readily available to them. Plans shall include present and projected population, industrial development, water use within the service area, present and future water supplies, an estimate of the technical assistance that may be needed at the local level to address projected water needs, current and future water conservation and water reuse programs, a description of how the local government or public water system will respond to drought and other water shortage emergencies and continue to meet essential public water supply needs during the emergency, and any other related information as the Department may require in the preparation of a State water supply plan. Local plans shall be revised to reflect changes in relevant data and projections at least once each five years unless the Department requests more frequent revisions. The revised plan shall include the current and anticipated reliance by the local government unit or public water system on surface water transfers as defined by G.S. 143‑215.22G. Local plans and revised plans shall be submitted to the Department once they have been approved by the unit(s) of local government or public water system."
SECTION 2.  Article 38 of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 143-355.1.  Drought designations.
(a)	In order to alert units of local government and public water systems, as defined in G.S. 130A-313(10), to the likelihood of potential drought and the severity of existing drought, the Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources may do any of the following:
(1)	Designate certain areas of the State where drought conditions are impending.
(2)	Designate certain areas of the State as suffering from drought conditions.
(3)	Designate the level of severity of drought conditions.
(b)	In making any of the designations described in subsection (a) of this section, the Secretary may consult with representatives of public water systems and State, federal, and local governmental agencies that are involved in water management or are responsible for addressing drought impacts. The Secretary may appoint a drought management advisory council composed of representatives of public water systems and State, federal, and local governmental agencies that are involved in water management and are responsible for drought impacts to assist with making the determinations described in subsection (a) of this section."
SECTION 3.  G.S. 143‑215.22H reads as rewritten:
"§ 143‑215.22H.  Registration of water withdrawals and transfers required.
(a)	Any person who withdraws 100,000 gallons per day or more of water from the surface or groundwaters of the State or who transfers 100,000 gallons per day or more of water from one river basin to another shall register the withdrawal or transfer with the Commission. A person registering a water withdrawal or transfer shall provide the Commission with the following information:
(1)	The maximum daily amount of the water withdrawal or transfer expressed in thousands of gallons per day.
(1a)	The monthly average withdrawal or transfer expressed in thousands of gallons per day.
(2)	The location of the points of withdrawal and discharge and the capacity of each facility used to make the withdrawal or transfer.
(3)	The monthly average discharge expressed in thousands of gallons per day.
(b)	Any person initiating a new water withdrawal or transfer of 100,000 gallons per day or more shall register the withdrawal or transfer with the Commission not later than six months after the initiation of the withdrawal or transfer. The information required under subsection (a) of this section shall be submitted with respect to the new withdrawal or transfer.
	(c)	A unit of local government that has completed a local water supply plan that meets the requirements of G.S. 143‑355(l) and that has periodically revised and updated its plan as required by the Department has satisfied the requirements of this section and is not required to separately register a water withdrawal or transfer or to update a registration under this section.
(d)	Any person who is required to register a water withdrawal or transfer under this section shall update the registration by providing the Commission with a current version of the information required by subsection (a) of this section at one‑year intervals following the initial registration. A person who submits information to update a registration of a water withdrawal or transfer is not required to pay an additional registration fee under G.S. 143‑215.3(a)(1a) and G.S. 143‑215.3(a)(1b), but is subject to the late registration fee established under this section in the event that updated information is not submitted as required by this subsection.
(e)	Any person who is required to register a water transfer or withdrawal under this section and fails to do so shall pay, in addition to the registration fee required under G.S. 143‑215.3(a)(1a) and G.S. 143‑215.3(a)(1b), a late registration fee of five dollars ($5.00) per day for each day the registration is late up to a maximum of five hundred dollars ($500.00). A person who is required to update a registration under this section and fails to do so shall pay a fee of five dollars ($5.00) per day for each day the updated information is late up to a maximum of five hundred dollars ($500.00). A late registration fee shall not be charged to a farmer who submits a registration that pertains to farming operations."
SECTION 4.  This act is effective when it becomes law.  The first local water supply plans prepared by public water systems pursuant to G.S. 143‑355(l), as amended by Section 1 of this act, are due on or before January 1, 2004.