§ 143-215.85 — Required notice

North Carolina § 143-215.85

• Jurisdiction: North Carolina
• Ch. 143: State Departments, Institutions, and Commissions
• Art. 21A: Oil Pollution and Hazardous Substances Control

Text

(a) Except as provided in G.S. 143-215.94E(a1) and subsections (b) and (c) of this section, every person owning or having control over oil or other substances discharged in any circumstances other than pursuant to a rule adopted by the Commission, a regulation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or a permit required by G.S. 143-215.1 or the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, upon notice that such discharge has occurred, shall immediately notify the Department, or any of its agents or employees, of the nature, location and time of the discharge and of the measures which are being taken or are proposed to be taken to contain and remove the discharge. The agent or employee of the Department receiving the notification shall immediately notify the Secretary or such member or members of the permanent staff of the Department as the Secretary may designate. If the discharged substance of which the Department is notified is a pesticide regulated by the North Carolina Pesticide Board, the Department shall immediately inform the Chairman of the Pesticide Board. Removal operations under this Article of substances identified as pesticides defined in G.S. 143-460 shall be coordinated in accordance with the Pesticide Emergency Plan adopted by the North Carolina Pesticide Board; provided that, in instances where entry of such hazardous substances into waters of the State is imminent, the Department may take such actions as are necessary to physically contain or divert such substance so as to prevent entry into the surface waters.
(b) As used in this subsection, "petroleum" has the same meaning as in G.S. 143-215.94A. A person who owns or has control over petroleum that is discharged into the environment shall immediately take measures to collect and remove the discharge, report the discharge to the Department within 24 hours of the discharge, and begin to restore the area affected by the discharge in accordance with the requirements of this Article if the volume of the petroleum that is discharged is 25 gallons or more or if the petroleum causes a sheen on nearby surface water or if the petroleum is discharged at a distance of 100 feet or less from any surface water body. If the volume of petroleum that is discharged is less than 25 gallons, the petroleum does not cause a sheen on nearby surface water, and the petroleum is discharged at a distance of more than 100 feet from all surface water bodies, the person who owns or has control over the petroleum shall immediately take measures to collect and remove the discharge. If a discharge of less than 25 gallons of petroleum cannot be cleaned up within 24 hours of the discharge or if the discharge causes a sheen on nearby surface water, the person who owns or has control over the petroleum shall immediately notify the Department.
(c) As used in this subsection, "mineral oil" means a light nontoxic liquid petroleum distillate used as a coolant and insulator in electrical equipment owned by a public utility. Any person who owns or has control over mineral oil discharged from electrical equipment owned by a public utility, as defined in G.S. 62-100, including, but not limited to, transformers, regulators, bushings, and capacitors, shall report the discharge to the applicable regional office of the Department within 24 hours of confirmation of a discharge when the discharge (i) exceeds 25 gallons, (ii) is directly to surface waters or causes a sheen on surface waters of the State, or (iii) is at a distance of 100 feet or less from any surface water and contains 50 parts per million or more of polychlorinated biphenyls. The notification shall include the time of discovery, address or location of the release, immediate actions taken, estimated amount of the release, and, if known, the concentration of polychlorinated biphenyls present in the discharge. This information may be submitted by telephone, hand delivery, electronic mail, or fax. (1973, c. 534, s. 1; c. 1262, s. 23; 1977, c. 771, s. 4; c. 858, s. 1; 1979, c. 535, ss. 16, 17; 1987, c. 827, ss. 154, 194; 2000-54, s. 1; 2011-38, s. 1.)
§ 143-215.85A. Recordation of oil or hazardous substance discharge sites.
(a) The owner of the real property on which a site is located that is subject to current or future use restrictions approved as provided in G.S. 143-215.84(f) shall submit to the Department a survey plat as required by this section within 180 days after the owner is notified to do so. The survey plat shall identify areas designated by the Department, shall be prepared and certified by a professional land surveyor, and shall be entitled "NOTICE OF OIL OR HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE DISCHARGE SITE". Where an oil or hazardous substance discharge site is located on more than one parcel or tract of land, a composite map or plat showing all parcels or tracts may be recorded. The Notice shall include a legal description of the site that would be sufficient as a description in an instrument of conveyance, shall meet the requirements of G.S. 47-30 for maps and plats, and shall identify:
(1) The location and dimensions of the disposal areas and areas of potential environmental concern with respect to permanently surveyed benchmarks.
(2) The type, location, and quantity of oil or hazardous substances known to the owner of the site to exist on the site.
(3) Any restrictions approved by the Department on the current or future use of the site.
(b) After the Department approves and certifies the Notice, the owner of the site shall file the certified copy of the Notice in the register of deeds office in the county or counties in which the land is located within 15 days of the date on which the owner receives approval of the Notice from the Department.
(c) Repealed by Session Laws 2012-18, s. 1.20, effective July 1, 2012.
(d) In the event that the owner of the site fails to submit and file the Notice required by this section within the time specified, the Secretary may prepare and file the Notice. The costs thereof may be recovered by the Secretary from any responsible party. In the event that an owner of a site who is not a responsible party submits and files the Notice required by this section, he may recover the reasonable costs thereof from any responsible party.
(e) When an oil or hazardous substance discharge site that is subject to current or future land-use restrictions under this section is sold, leased, conveyed, or transferred, the deed or other instrument of transfer shall contain in the description section, in no smaller type than that used in the body of the deed or instrument, a statement that the property has been used as an oil or hazardous substance discharge site and a reference by book and page to the recordation of the Notice.
(f) A Notice of Oil or Hazardous Substance Discharge Site filed pursuant to this section may, at the request of the owner of the land, be cancelled by the Secretary after the hazards have been eliminated. If requested in writing by the owner of the land and if the Secretary concurs with the request, the Secretary shall send to the register of deeds of each county where the Notice is recorded a statement that the hazards have been eliminated and request that the Notice be cancelled of record. The Secretary's statement shall contain the names of the owners of the land as shown in the Notice and reference the plat book and page where the Notice is recorded.
(g) If a site subject to the requirements of this section is remediated pursuant to the requirements of Part 8 of Article 9 of Chapter 130A of the General Statutes, a Notice of Restricted Use may be prepared and filed, with the approval of the Department and in accordance with G.S. 130A-310.71(e) in lieu of a Notice of Residual Contamination or a Notice of Oil or Hazardous Substance Discharge Site. (1997-394, s. 5; 1997-443, s. 11A.119(b); 1997-456, s. 55.6(a), (b); 2012-18, s. 1.20; 2015-286, s. 4.7(d); 2021-158, s. 7(b).)