§ 90A-72 — Certification required; applicability

(a) Certification Required. - No person shall construct, install, or repair or offer to construct, install, or repair an on-site wastewater system permitted under Article 11 of Chapter 130A of the General Statutes without being certified as a contractor at the required level of certification for the specified system. No person shall conduct an inspection or offer to conduct an inspection of an on-site wastewater system as permitted under Article 11 of Chapter 130A of the General Statutes without being certified in accordance with the provisions of this Article. No person shall conduct an evaluation or offer to conduct the services authorized in G.S. 130A-336.2(a) without being certified as an Authorized On-Site Wastewater Evaluator. No person shall conduct or offer to conduct a private compliance inspection of an on-site wastewater system for compliance with the designs of a Construction Authorization issued pursuant to G.S. 130A-335(a5) or a Notice of Intent to Construct issued pursuant to G.S. 130A-336.1 or G.S. 130A-336.2 unless certified as a Private Compliance Inspector or pursuant to G.S. 130A-337(a1). The Private Compliance Inspector shall obtain written consent from the professional engineer pursuant to G.S. 130A-336.1 or the Authorized On-Site Wastewater Evaluator pursuant to G.S. 130A-336.2 prior to conducting the compliance inspection.
(b) Applicability. - This Article does not apply to the following:
(1) A person who is employed by a certified contractor or inspector in connection with the construction, installation, repair, or inspection of an on-site wastewater system performed under the direct and personal supervision of the certified contractor or inspector in charge.
(2) A person who constructs, installs, or repairs an on-site wastewater system described as a single septic tank with a gravity-fed gravel trench dispersal media when located on land owned by that person and that is intended solely for use by that person and members of that person's immediate family who reside in the same dwelling.
(3) A person licensed under Article 1 of Chapter 87 of the General Statutes who constructs or installs an on-site wastewater system ancillary to the building being constructed or who provides corrective services and labor for an on-site wastewater system ancillary to the building being constructed.
(4) A person who is certified by the Water Pollution Control System Operators Certification Commission and contracted to provide necessary operation and maintenance on the permitted on-site wastewater system.
(5) A person permitted under Article 21 of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes who is constructing a water pollution control facility necessary to comply with the terms and conditions of a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit.
(6) Repealed by Session Laws 2024-49, s. 4.4(a), effective January 1, 2025.
(7) A plumbing contractor licensed under Article 2 of Chapter 87 of the General Statutes, so long as the plumber is not performing plumbing work that includes the installation or repair of a septic tank or similar depository, such as a treatment or pretreatment tank or system, or lines, tanks, or appurtenances downstream from the point where the house or building sewer lines from the plumbing system meet the septic tank or similar depository. This subdivision shall not be construed to require a plumbing contractor to become certified as a contractor pursuant to this section to install or repair a grease trap, interceptor, or separator upstream from a septic tank or similar depository that complies with the requirements of the local health department.
(8) A person employed by the Department, a local health department, or a local health district, when conducting a regulatory inspection of an on-site wastewater system for purposes of determining compliance. (2006-82, s. 1; 2010-31, s. 13.2(f); 2015-286, s. 4.14A; 2024-49, s. 4.4(a).)