North Carolina HB 694: Designate Legacy Airports.

Bill Text

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025

SESSION LAW 2025-77
HOUSE BILL 694

*H694-v-4*
AN ACT TO DIRECT THE ENVIRONMENTAL FINANCE CENTER AT THE SCHOOL OF
GOVERNMENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL
TO STUDY WATER AND WASTEWATER REGIONALIZATION, TO ELIMINATE
CERTAIN SUBBASIN DESIGNATIONS AND REMOVE THE REQUIREMENT FOR
AN INTERBASIN TRANSFER CERTIFICATE FOR WATER TRANSFERS BETWEEN
THOSE CERTAIN SUBBASINS WITHIN THE SAME MAJOR RIVER BASIN, AND TO
REVISE 2020 FARM ACT TMDL TRANSPORT FACTOR CALCULATION
APPLICABILITY.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

STUDY WATER/WASTEWATER REGIONALIZATION
SECTION 1.(a) Legislative Findings. ‒ The General Assembly makes the following
findings:
(1) North Carolina has a significant number of distressed water and wastewater
systems, defined as systems that fail to generate sufficient revenues to
adequately fund management and operations, personnel, appropriate levels of
maintenance, and reinvestment that facilitate the provision of reliable water
or wastewater services.
(2) Significant factors contributing to distressed systems include service
populations too small or too geographically dispersed, or the closure of major
industrial or commercial customers, which results in systems much larger and
more expensive to operate than is needed for the population they serve.
(3) Competition among local governments to capture large industrial or
commercial customers can lead to unnecessary facility duplication and result
in short-term decisions that do not reflect a responsible and prudent approach
to long-term infrastructure needs.
(4) North Carolina's funding programs for water and wastewater infrastructure
demonstrate preferences for regionalization of water and wastewater
infrastructure solutions in order to create or sustain financial viability for
systems with significant maintenance or upgrade needs or serving high
poverty areas of the State.
(5) There continue to be information gaps and lack of awareness on the part of
local government officials and policymakers of the benefits and obstacles to
regionalization and the information these officials and policymakers need to
guide local decisions on regionalization and other infrastructure decisions,
particularly with regard to economic development and growth-related
infrastructure needs, water system efficiency measures, and costs related to
the development of new water sources.
SECTION 1.(b) Study. – The Environmental Finance Center at the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Government (EFC) shall study and report on the benefits,
costs, and financial, statutory, or regulatory obstacles to regionalization of water and wastewater

Page 2 Session Law 2025-77 House Bill 694
services across the State. In the report, the EFC shall provide recommendations regarding all of
the following:
(1) Legislative or regulatory changes in financial, auditing, or oversight
requirements imposed on public water and wastewater systems that will lead
to more informed decision making on financial stability of those systems, and
the potential of various regionalization measures to address financial
instability.
(2) Particular public water or wastewater systems in the State that would benefit
significantly from various regionalization measures.
SECTION 1.(c) Consultation. – In compiling its report and recommendations, the
EFC shall consult with the State Water Infrastructure Authority, the Local Government
Commission, the North Carolina League of Municipalities, the North Carolina Association of
County Commissioners, and any other entity the EFC finds relevant to the issues it is studying.
SECTION 1.(d) Report. – The EFC shall report its findings and recommendations
no later than April 1, 2026, to the chairs of the House Oversight Committee, the chairs of the
Senate Committee on Regulatory Reform, and the Joint Legislative Commission on
Governmental Operations.
SECTION 1.(e) Definitions. – For the purposes of this section, "public water system"
has the same meaning as in G.S. 130A-313 and "wastewater system" has the same meaning as in
G.S. 159G-20.

ELIMINATE SUBBASIN DESIGNATIONS FOR IBT PROCESS
SECTION 2.(a) Legislative Findings. – The General Assembly makes the following
findings with respect to eliminating the Haw River, Deep River, and Contentnea Creek subbasin
designations:
(1) These subbasins serve rapidly growing areas facing urgent water supply and
economic development pressures.
(2) Flexibility in intrabasin transfers within the Neuse and Cape Fear major river
basins strengthens drought resilience and supports emergency water
management.
(3) Reducing unnecessary regulatory barriers allows municipalities and utilities
in these subbasins to better plan and finance regional water infrastructure,
improving affordability for consumers.
(4) Existing watershed planning and management systems within the Cape Fear
River and Neuse River major river basins mitigate potential environmental
impacts caused