H 381

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
  SESSION 2025
 H  3
  HOUSE BILL 381
  Committee Substitute Favorable 4/2/25
  Committee Substitute #2 Favorable 4/16/25
 Short Title:   On-Site Wastewater System Amendments.  (Public)
 Sponsors:
 Referred to:
  March 13, 2025
1A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
2 AN ACT TO AMEND THE ON-SITE SUBSURFACE WASTEWATER STATUTES AND TO
3     MODIFY THE APPROVAL PROCESS FOR CERTAIN ADVANCED TREATMENT
4     SYSTEMS AS INNOVATIVE WASTEWATER SYSTEMS.
5 The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
6SECTION 1.(a) G.S. 130A-334 reads as rewritten:
7 "§ 130A-334. Definitions.
8     The following definitions shall apply throughout this Article:
9(1)    "Accepted wastewater system" has the same meaning as in G.S. 130A-343.
10(1a) "Advanced pretreatment" means any biological, chemical, or physical process
11or system used in addition to or in place of a septic tank. Advanced
12pretreatment includes, but is not limited to, aeration, clarification, digestion,
13disinfection, filtration, separation, and settling. Advanced pretreatment
14effluent shall meet the treatment standards adopted by the Commission for
15better than septic tank effluent quality. Advanced pretreatment shall be part of
16a ground absorption system.
17(1b) "Approved agency for special inspection" means an individual, corporation,
18company, association, or partnership that is objective, competent, and
19independent from the contractor who is responsible for the work that is
20inspected. The agency shall disclose possible conflicts of interest in a manner
21such that objectivity can be confirmed.
22(1b)(1c) "Approved special inspector" means a person who demonstrates
23competence to the satisfaction of the professional engineer who designed the
24wastewater system for the inspection of the construction or operation subject
25to special inspection.
26(1c)(1d) "Construction" means any work at the site of placement done for the
27purpose of preparing a residence, place of business or place of public assembly
28for initial occupancy, or subsequent additions or modifications which increase
29sewage flow.
30(1d)(1e) "Construction observation" means the visual observation of the
31construction and installation of the wastewater system for general
32conformance with the construction documents prepared by the professional
33engineer who designed the wastewater system. Construction observation that
34is conducted by the professional engineer who designed the wastewater
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 General Assembly Of North Carolina  Session 2025
1system does not include or waive the requirement to conduct special
2inspections.
3(1e)(1f) "Conventional wastewater system" has the same meaning as in
4G.S. 130A-343.
5(1f)(1g) "Department" means the Department of Health and Human Services.
6(1g)(1h) "Engineered option permit" means an on-site wastewater system that is
7permitted pursuant to the rules adopted by the Commission in accordance with
8this Article, meets the criteria established by G.S. 130A-336.1, and is
9designed by a professional engineer who is licensed under Chapter 89C of the
10General Statutes who has expertise in the design of on-site wastewater
11systems.
12(1h)(1i) "Ground absorption system" means a system of tanks, treatment units,
13nitrification fields, and appurtenances for wastewater collection, treatment,
14and subsurface disposal.
15…
16(7b) "Pretreatment" means any biological, chemical, or physical process or system
17for improving wastewater quality and reducing wastewater constituents prior
18to final treatment and disposal in a subsurface wastewater system and
19includes, but is not limited to aeration, clarification, digestion, disinfection,
20filtration, separation, and settling.
21…."
22SECTION 1.(b) G.S. 130A-335(f) reads as rewritten:
23     "(f)    The rules of the Commission and the rules of the local board of health shall classify
24 systems of wastewater collection, treatment and disposal according to size, type of treatment and
25 any other appropriate factors. The rules shall provide construction requirements, including
26 advanced pretreatment and system control requirements, standards for operation, maintenance,
27 monitoring, reporting, and ownership requirements for each classification of systems of
28 wastewater collection, treatment and disposal in order to prevent, as far as reasonably possible,
29 any contamination of the land, groundwater and surface waters. The Department and local health
30 departments may impose conditions on the issuance of permits and may revoke the permits for
31 failure of the system to satisfy the conditions, the rules, or this Article. Permits other than
32 improvement permits shall be valid for a period prescribed by rule. Improvement permits shall
33 be valid upon a showing satisfactory to the Department or the local health department that the
34 site and soil conditions are unaltered, that the facility, design wastewater flow, and wastewater
35 characteristics are not increased, and that a wastewater system can be installed that meets the
36 permitting requirements in effect on the date the Improvement Permit was issued. Improvement
37 permits for which a plat is provided shall be valid without expiration. Improvement permits for
38 which a site plan is provided shall be valid for five years. The period of time for which the permit
39 is valid and a statement that the permit is subject to revocation if the site plan or plat, whichever
40 is applicable, or the intended use changes shall be displayed prominently on both the application
41 form for the permit and the permit."
42SECTION 1.(c) G.S. 130A-336.1(e)(1) reads as rewritten:
43"(1) The professional engineer designing the proposed wastewater system shall use
44recognized principles and practices of engineering and applicable rules of the
45Commission in the calculations and design of the wastewater system. The
46investigations and findings of the professional engineer shall include, at a
47minimum, the information required in rules adopted by the Commission
48pursuant to G.S. 130A-335(e). The professional engineer may, at the
49engineer's discretion, employ advanced pretreatment technologies not yet
50approved in this State."
51SECTION 2.(a) G.S. 130A-343(g) reads as rewritten:
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 General Assembly Of North Carolina  Session 2025
1     "(g) Innovative Systems. – A manufacturer of a wastewater system for on-site subsurface
2 use may apply for and be considered for innovative system status by the Department in one of
3 the following ways:
4(1)    If the wastewater system has been approved as a provisional wastewater
5system pursuant to subsection (f) of this section, the manufacturer may apply
6to have the system approved as an innovative wastewater system based on
7successful completion of the evaluation protocols established pursuant to
8subsection (d) of this section.
9(2)    If the wastewater system has not been evaluated or approved as a provisional
10wastewater system pursuant to subsection (f) of this section, the manufacturer
11may apply to the Department to have the system approved as an innovative
12wastewater system on the basis of comparable research and testing conducted
13in other states. The manufacturer shall provide the Department with the data
14and findings of all evaluations of the performance of the system that have been
15conducted in any state by or on behalf of the manufacturer. The manufacturer
16shall also provide the Department with a summary of the data and findings of
17all other evaluations of the performance of the system that are known to the
18manufacturer.
19(3)    If the wastewater system advanced pretreatment system has not been
20evaluated or approved as a provisional system pursuant to subsection (f) of
21this section, but has been evaluated approved under protocol established by a
22nationally recognized certification body for at least two consecutive years,
23body, has been found to perform acceptably based on the criteria of the
24protocol, and is designed and will be installed in a manner consistent with the
25system evaluated and approved by the nationally recognized certification
26body, the manufacturer may apply to have the system approved as an
27innovative wastewater system.system, and the Department shall approve the
28application and issue an innovative wastewater system approval in accordance
29with rules adopted by the Commission upon verifying (i) the protocol testing
30dataset includes a minimum of 55 influent and effluent datasets that include
31the applicable constituents identified in rules adopted by the Commission and
32obtained from testing for a minimum of 26 weeks, with protocol sampling
33conducted during all weeks of the testing period, (ii) the protocol testing data
34complies with the applicable effluent standards identified in rules adopted by
35the Commission, (iii) the nationally recognized certification body's approval,
36and (iv) that the design and installation plans are consistent with that approval.
37When a separate disinfection process or system is proposed, fecal coliform
38datasets are not required if the disinfection technology is approved by a
39nationally recognized certified body. This subdivision shall not apply to a
40manufacturer requesting innovative approval as both an advanced
41pretreatment and dispersal system.
42     …."
43SECTION 2.(b) The Commission for Public Health may adopt temporary and
44 permanent rules to implement this section.
45SECTION 3. This act is effective when it becomes law and applies to applications
46 for innovative wastewater system approval filed with the Commission on or after that date.
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