Senate committee substitute makes the following changes to the 1st edition:

Changes the short and long titles.

Directs the Environmental Management Commission (EMC) to adopt a Mitigation Program Requirement for Protection and Maintenance of Riparian Buffers Rule pursuant to GS 150B-21.1, no later than October 1, 2014. Requires this rule to be substantively identical to the recommended text found in the Consolidated Buffer Mitigation Rule Stakeholder Report of April 10, 2014.

Provides that the Protection and Maintenance of Riparian Buffers Rule refers to the following administrative code sections: 15A NCAC 02B .0233, 15A NCAC 02B .0243, 15A NCAC 02B .0250, 15A NCAC 02B .0259, 15A NCAC 02B .0267, and 15A NCAC 02B .0607. 

Provides that until the permanent rules required to be adopted by the EMC are effective, the EMC and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) must exempt, not withstanding the Protection and Maintenance of Riparian Buffers Rule, any riparian buffer impacts associated with the piping of a stream pursuant to a permit issued by the US Army Corps of Engineers. Directs the EMC to adopt rules to amend the Protection and Maintenance of Riparian Buffers Rule consistent with this provision. Provides that the rules adopted for this reason are not subject to review by the Rules Review Commission as provided for in GS 150B, Article 2A, Part 3 of the Administrative Procedure Act and will become effective as though 10 or more written objections had been received as provided by GS 150B-21.3(b2). 

Repeals subdivision (2) of Section 2(c) of SL 2013-395, concerning the piping of a stream pursuant to an Army Corps of Engineers permit as an allowable use.