NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY
1979 SESSION

CHAPTER 981
HOUSE BILL 56

AN ACT TO CONTROL THE DISPOSAL OF TOXIC SUBSTANCES.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

Section 1.  Chapter 113A of the General Statutes as it now appears in the 1978 Replacement Volume 3C is amended by adding a new Article 13 entitled "Toxic Substances Task Force and Incident Response Procedures", as follows:
"§ 113A-197.  Toxic Substances Task Force. — There is created within the Executive Department a State Task Force on Toxic Substances, consisting of one person designated by each of the following:
The Secretary of Administration
The Commissioner of Agriculture
The Secretary of Crime Control and Public Safety
The Secretary of Human Resources
The Secretary of Natural Resources and Community Development
Additional permanent or temporary members may be added to the Task Force by Executive Order of the Governor. The designee of the Secretary of Crime Control and Public Safety (hereinafter 'the secretary') shall serve as Chairman of the Task Force.
"§ 113A-198.  Incident response procedures and coordination. — (a) The Department of Crime Control and Public Safety shall coordinate the initial response of State agencies to incidents involving toxic or hazardous substances.
(b)	Following the initial response to any incident the Secretary, in consultation with the State Task Force on Toxic Substances, shall designate one or more lead agencies to be responsible for subsequent phases of the response to the incident. Pending an opportunity to consult with the Task Force, the Secretary may make interim lead-agency designations. In designating lead agencies the Secretary shall be governed by existing law, but where existing law does not clearly identify responsibility or exclusive responsibility for an incident, the Secretary shall make such designations as in his discretion he deems best.
(c)	In addition to its functions under subsection (b) of this section, the State Task Force:
(1)	may recommend that the Governor by Executive Order create one or more local or regional task forces on incident response, which may include private individuals and local government personnel as well as State employees;
(2)	may study and recommend modifications of incident response procedures;
(3)	may study and make recommendations concerning local government involvement in incident response;
(4)	in consultation with the Department of Transportation may study and make recommendations concerning movement within the state of toxic or hazardous substances;
(5)	in consultation with the Department of Human Resources may study and make recommendations concerning disposal of and storage sites for toxic and hazardous substances;
(6)	may study and make recommendations concerning additions, deletions or substitutions of substances in the list of toxic substances contained in G.S. 14-284.2;
(7)	upon the request of any of its members, or of the Governor, may study and make recommendations concerning the coordination of any toxic or hazardous substance function administered by that member's department with related functions not administered by that department.
(d)	If any recommendations developed by the State Task Force require legislation, the State Task Force shall promptly communicate those recommendations to the General Assembly.
(e)	The Secretary may request that the Governor adopt and publish an Executive Order concerning the response to any incident, including the designation of a lead agency or lead agencies."
Sec. 2.  General Statutes Chapter 14 is amended by adding a new section to read as follows:
"§ 14-284.2.  Dumping of toxic substances. — (a) It shall be unlawful to deposit, place, dump, discharge, spill, release, burn, incinerate, or otherwise dispose of any toxic substances as defined in this section or radioactive material as defined in G.S. 104E-5 into the atmosphere, in the waters, or on land, except where such disposal is conducted pursuant to federal or State law, regulation, or permit. Any person who willfully violates the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a felony, punishable upon conviction by a fine of not more than one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) per day of violation, or by imprisonment, or by both, in the discretion of the court.
(b)	Within the meaning of this section, toxic substances are defined as the following heavy metals and halogenated hydrocarbons:
(1)	heavy metals: mercury, plutonium, selenium, thallium and uranium;
(2)	halogenated hydrocarbons: polychlorinated biphenyls, kepone.
(c)	Within the meaning of this section, the phrase 'law, regulation or permit' includes controls over equipment or machinery that emits substances into the atmosphere, in waters, or on land (such as federal or State controls over motor vehicle emissions) and controls over sources of substances that are publicly consumed (such as drinking water standards), as well as controls over substances directly released into the atmosphere, in waters, or on land (such as pesticide controls and water pollution controls.)
(d)	Within the meaning of this section the term 'person' includes any individual, firm, partnership, limited partnership, corporation or association."
Sec. 3.  G.S. 143-215.77(4) is hereby amended by adding at the end of that paragraph (whether or not that paragraph is otherwise amended by the 1979 General Assembly) the following sentence:
"The word 'discharge' shall also include any discharge upon land, whether or not in proximity to waters, which is intentional, knowing or willful."
Sec. 4.  G.S. 143-215.77(6), as it is written in Section 4 of Chapter 535 of the 1979 Session Laws, is amended by rewriting the first sentence of said paragraph (6), up to the proviso, to read as follows:
"(6)	'Hazardous substance' shall mean any substance, other than oil, designated by regulation of the Commission upon a finding that the discharge of the substance in any minimum prescribed quantity into or upon the waters of the State or upon lands in the State presents an imminent and substantial danger to public health or welfare, or to fish, shellfish, wildlife or vegetation."
Sec. 5.  G.S. 143-215.77 is hereby amended by deleting the definition of "land" in said section and by renumbering succeeding subdivisions accordingly.
Sec. 6.  Task Force functions, hearings and reports. (a) The Task Force is directed to monitor the implementation of this act and study the need for further legislation concerning:
(1)	disposal of and storage sites for toxic and hazardous substances, including waste materials, and toxic and hazardous waste management generally;
(2)	local government and private sector involvement in the location, development and management of storage sites, and the role of State government in regulating and assisting in these matters;
(3)	the movement of toxic or hazardous substances within the State;
(4)	improved coordination and organization of State agency programs concerning toxic and hazardous substances;
(5)	related matters brought to its attention by its members.
(b)	The Task Force may conduct such hearings and hold meetings at such times and places as it deems appropriate.
(c)	The Task Force shall make an interim report and recommendations to the 1979 General Assembly, Second Session 1980, and a final report and recommendations to the 1981 General Assembly.
Sec. 7.  Appropriations. There is hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the Toxic and Hazardous Substances Study Commission the sum of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) for the fiscal year 1979-1980.
Sec. 8.  This act is effective upon ratification.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 8th day of June, 1979.