Part I.

Enacts Part 8, Ban Manufacture, Use, and Distribution of Certain Toxic Chemicals, of Article 21A, GS Chapter 143.

Makes it unlawful to knowingly manufacture, use, process or distribute polyfluoroalkyl and its substances (PFAS). Excludes the use and distribution of products specifically authorized or required to contain PFAS by federal law.

Permits the Secretary of the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ, Secretary) to assess penalties up to $5,000 for a violation of a requirement of Part 8, or up to $25,000 if the violation involved a hazardous waste, and up to $10,000 for repeat offenses, with penalties for multiple occurrences capped at $200,000 for any month. Provides for considerations to be considered in determining penalty amounts, and procedures for civil penalties, including notice. Allows for contested case petitions within 30 days following the receipt of notice of the assessment.

Provides for remission requests within 30 days of receipt of the notice assessment, which must be accompanied by a waiver of the right to a contested case hearing and a stipulation to the facts on which the assessment is based. Allows for remission requests to be resolved by the Secretary and the violator, and if they are unable to resolve the request, then the Secretary must deliver the request and recommended action to the Committee on Civil Penalty Remissions of the Environmental Management Commission.

Requires the Secretary to request the Attorney General to begin a civil action in specified superior court for penalties not paid within 30 days of notice of the assessment, or 30 days after a final agency decision or order has been served if the violator contests the case or requests remission. Sets a three year statute of limitations on civil actions from the date of the final agency decision or court order service.

Part II.

Expands the water pollution control measures set out in GS 143-215.1 as follows. Directs the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to require applicants for a new or renewed individual National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit to disclose each pollutant in the person's discharge reasonably expected to be at or above the pollutant's practical quantitation limit (PQL), including concentration discharged and either the chemical abstracts service (CAS) number or a detailed characteristic description. Additionally, mandates that when any person is required to obtain a NPDES permit that receives waste from an industrial user: (1) the industrial user must disclose in the user's application for a new or renewed pretreatment permit each pollutant in the user's discharge that is at or above the pollutant's PQL and (2) must eliminate, either by the permittee or the industrial user, any perfluoroalkyl or its substances (PFAS) prior to discharge into State waters, as specified.

Part III.

Amends GS 130A-309 to require public water systems subject to drinking water sampling requirements under the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule to give public notice, including written notice to each customer and post sampling results online, within 30 days of receiving them. Makes conforming and organizational changes.

Requires by June 30, 2023, that public water systems that have received prior sampling results demonstrating the presence of PFAS in finished drinking water provide public notice of the sampling results, including written notice to each customer and posting sampling results online. Defines PFAS to mean any fluorinated substances that contain at least one fully fluorinated methyl or methylene carbon atom, including any precursors of such substances.

Part IV.

Directs DEQ to begin identifying technology-based limits for detectable PFAS, as defined, in new and renewed NPDES permits, with treatment sufficient to reduce detectable PFAS in effluent to non-detect levels, as defined. Requires DEQ to begin this action by June 1, 2024.

Directs DEQ to study the presence of PFAS in land-applied biosolids, including identification of the most common PFAS, likely categories of sources, the propensity for migration off-site, and accumulation and persistence in soil and water downgradient from land application sites. Requires DEQ to report to the Environmental Management Commission (EMC) and the Environmental Review Commission (ERC) by September 1, 2024. Directs the EMC to adopt rules to prevent PFAS migration or accumulation off-site from land application sites if DEQ finds PFAS are likely to migrate and accumulate at detectable levels in soil and water that are downgradient from sites in its study.

Directs DEQ to study the presence of PFAS in leachate collected and disposed of from municipal solid waste landfills and construction and demolition debris landfills, including identification of the most common PFAS and the effectiveness of treatment technologies. Requires DEQ to report to the EMC and ERC by September 1, 2024. Directs the EMC to adopt rules to prohibit the disposal of leachate containing detectable PFAS, as defined, at wastewater treatment plants if DEQ finds practical removal from wastewater prior to discharge impracticable.

Requires DEQ to approve a US EPA-validated lab method by January 1, 2024, if the US EPA has not certified a lab method for the identification and measurement of PFAS in wastewater.

Requires DEQ to create an inventory of all ongoing direct and indirect discharges of PFAS to the air and surface waters, and known and likely instances of PFAS contamination in soil and groundwater. Sets out data that must be included in the inventory. Allows coordinating with specified entities to assemble the inventory of PFAS discharges and contamination. Requires a report to the Environmental Review Commission by September 1, 2024, and requires quarterly updates on new discharges or contamination thereafter.

Requires the Secretaries' Science Advisory Board of the DEQ and the Department of Health and Human Services to conduct a risk assessment, based on the best available scientific information, of the risks to human health presented by exposures to PFAS present in North Carolina in various media, including air, water, and soil, both as individual toxic substances and as a class of toxic substances. Requires a report to the specified NCGA committees by September 1, 2024.

Part V.

Directs the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to implement a program to study the estimated human exposure to per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the Cape Fear River Basin, and to conduct an epidemiological study of populations of the Cape Fear River Basin to identify disparities in disease prevalence consistent with long-term exposures to PFAS. Requires consultation with the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). Requires DHHS to report to the Environmental Review Commission (ERC) by December 31, 2024, with quarterly reporting to the ERC until a final report is issued, beginning January 1, 2024.

Directs the Wildlife Resources Commission (WRC) to study the estimated ecological exposures and impacts from PFAS contamination in the Cape Fear River Basin. Requires WRC to report to the ERC by December 31, 2024, with quarterly reporting to the ERC until a final report is issued, beginning January 1, 2024.

Directs the Office of State Budget and Management (OSBM) to study the estimated costs to the State, local governments, businesses, and individuals in response to human and ecological exposure to PFAS. Requires consultation with DEQ and the Attorney General to estimate costs attributable to each source of PFAS identified in the state. Requires OSBM to report to the Environmental Review Commission (ERC) by December 31, 2024, with quarterly reporting to the ERC until a final report is issued, beginning January 1, 2024.

Directs the NC Policy Collaboratory to study the ongoing and anticipated future costs of the aggregate impact of the discharge, emission, and contamination of PFAS in North Carolina, as specified, and to report to the specified NCGA committees by September 1, 202

Directs the ERC to study all statutory and regulatory requirements for disclosing the discharge or release of PFAS or other emerging contaminants to DEQ and the public, and report to the 2024 Regular Session of the NCGA.

Directs the ERC to study actions taken by other states to promote the practice of green chemistry to reduce the generation and use of hazardous chemicals and to drive sustainable alternatives to the use and manufacture of PFAS and other emerging contaminants. Requires the ERC to also study relevant tax incentives, regulatory changes, and other approaches other states have adopted. Requires the ERC to report to the 2024 Regular Session of the NCGA.

Part VI.

Appropriates the following nonrecurring funds from the General Fund for the 2023-24 fiscal year for the studies in Part V: $200,000 to DEQ; $100,000 to DHHS; $100,000 to WRC; $100,000 to OSBM;  and $100,000 to the Collaboratory. Effective July 1, 2023.

Part VII.

Appropriates $5 million in nonrecurring funds from the General Fund to DEQ for the 2023-24 fiscal year for the Bernard Allen Drinking Water Fund to fund drinking water treatment systems for covered wells, as defined.

Appropriates $5 million in recurring funds from the General Fund to DEQ to expand DEQ's ambient water quality monitoring activities to identify emerging and other pollutants in State waters at locations upstream from surface drinking water intakes.

Appropriates $1 million in nonrecurring funds from the General Fund to DEQ for the 2023-24 fiscal year to develop a strategy to address persistent toxic chemicals in the State's environment. Requires development of a PFAS Chemical Action Plan pursuant to criteria provided, and consultation with stakeholders with opportunities for public comment. Requires the Final PFAS Chemical Action Plan to identify recommendations for legislative and administrative action. Requires finalization of the Plan by January 1, 2025, with implementation by April 1, 2025.

Appropriates $1 million in nonrecurring funds from the General Fund to DEQ for the 2023-24 fiscal year to study PFAS destruction and disposal techniques to identify a safe (as defined), effective, and scalable technology, including an analysis of current technologies. Allows for coordination of research with other entities. Requires DEQ to report to the EMC and ERC by September 1, 2024.

Appropriates $80 million in nonrecurring funds from the General Fund to the State Water Infrastructure Authority for the 2023-24 fiscal year to issue matching grants to water systems to build or improve drinking water treatment systems to substantially reduce public exposure to detectable PFAS.

Directs the Attorney General to develop and maintain a record of cumulative expenses of State agencies and local governments relating to the grants for drinking water treatment systems for covered wells, the study of PFAS destruction and disposal techniques, and the grants to water systems to build or improve drinking water treatment systems to reduce public exposure of detectable PFAS, as required by the act.

Defines detectable PFAS for purposes of the appropriations provisions of the act.

Effective July 1, 2023.

Part VIII.

Contains a severability clause.