Senate amendments make the following changes to the 3rd edition. 

Part II

Amendment #1 makes the following changes.

Adds work at “public water supply” in addition to “wastewater treatment” to those excluded from GS 14-159.1. Adds new subsection (i) to GS 14-159.1, which defines “property or equipment” for purposes of the section.

Inserts “hardware, software, or other digital infrastructure necessary for the operations of the public utility” into the list of property for which damage justifies as Class C felony in GS 62-323(a).

Defines “property or equipment” in GS 14-150.3 (Injuring manufacturing facility) to include “hardware, software, or other digital infrastructure necessary for the operations of the manufacturing facility” for purposes of that section. 

Replaces references to “public utility” with “manufacturing facility” in the proposed language of GS 14-150.3(f). 

Amendment #2 makes the following changes.

Adds new Part XVIII.I (Rural Electrification Authority/Fee Update), which amends GS 117-3.1(b) to allow the North Carolina Rural Electrification Authority to propose a regulatory fee up to a maximum of 6 cents per meter as provided in the subsection for years where the General Assembly does not set a regulatory fee (was, the rates was the greater of the rate set by the General Assembly or 4 cents). Makes corresponding changes to GS 117-3. 

Senate amendment #3 makes the following changes.

Part X

Section 10

Changes the date that DEQ must prepare and submit to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for approval, the proposed changes to Article 7 of GS Chapter 113A to August 1, 2024 (was, July 1, 2024).

Part XII

Section 12

Changes the date that  DEQ must prepare and submit to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for approval, the proposed changes to the CAMA Rules to August 1, 2024 (was, July 1, 2024).

Part XVII

Section 17

Changes the date that DEQ must prepare and submit to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for approval, the proposed changes to GS 113A-115.1 to August 1, 2024 (was, July 1, 2024).

Part XVIIII

Section 18

Changes the compost facility defense under GS 106-701 so that the facility must be a Type I compost facility (was, just compost).

Amendment #4 makes the following changes.

Removes Part XI of the act which enacted new GS 113A-113.1, requiring the Office of State Archaeology to provide information to owners and prospective purchasers in areas of environmental concern and set out permit conditions; required the Office of State Archaeology to apply for any State, federal, or private grant funding that may be available to purchase properties within areas of environmental concern that the Department has determined to be of exceptional archaeological or historical significance to the State; and required DEQ, by August 1, 2024, the to submit to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for approval by that agency the proposed changes made to GS 113A-113.1.

Adds the following new content:

Part XVIII.1

Section 18.1

Amends the definition of eligible entity under Section 10.4(e) of SL 2023-134 (2023 appropriations act) so that it also includes any person converting sludge from an anaerobic lagoon or other liquid animal waste management system treating animal waste from a livestock operation into fertilizer products.

Part XVIII.2

Section 18.2

Contains findings. Repeals GS 143-215.1(c8) (pertaining to permitted discharges of highly treated domestic wastewater). Repeals Section 12.9 of SL 2023-134. By August 1, 2024, directs the Department of Environmental Quality (Department) and the Environmental Management Commission (Commission) to develop and submit to the EPA for its approval draft rules that establish methodologies and permitting requirements for the discharge of treated domestic wastewaters with low risk following site-specific criteria to surface waters of the State, including wetlands, perennial streams, and unnamed tributaries of named and classified streams and intermittent streams or drainage courses where the 7Q10 flow or 30Q2 flow of the receiving water is estimated to be low flow or zero flow, or under certain conditions non-existent, as determined by the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Requires the Commission to begin the process of temporary and permanent rules under the APA within twenty days of EPA approval. Requires the draft rules to contain the following: (1) three defined terms and (2) specified criteria for permitting which requires applicants to demonstrate through the specified analysis that a proposed discharge meets criteria for a low-risk discharge and that discharges low flow or zero flow receiving waters be subject to the listed conditions. By September 1, 2024, requires the Department in conjunction with the North Carolina Collaboratory at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Collaboratory) to convene a Wastewater General Permit Working Group (Working Group) consisting of Department and Collaboratory staff and a maximum of five consulting experts appointed by the Director of the Collaboratory in the fields of environmental regulation, wastewater regulation, water quality regulation, and wastewater treatment regulation, to develop the draft rules for the implementation of a Wastewater Treatment and Discharge General Permit process for the State. Requires the Working Group to report its findings to the Environmental Review Commission (ERC) by March 15, 2025. Following consideration by the ERC, and after making any changes required by the ERC, the Department must develop and submit proposed rules to the EPA for its approval. Within 20 days of the date the EPA approves the draft rules submitted, directs the Commission to initiate the process for temporary and permanent rules pursuant to GS Chapter 150B (the APA). Provides for quarterly reports by the Department and Commission to the specified NCGA committees and the ERC starting on September 1, 2024 and continuing until the permanent rules are adopted.