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Bill Summary · SB 605

Summary — SB 605 (IBT Subbasin / TMDL Transport Factor)

Status: Passed Senate (engrossed) and transmitted to the House (Special Message Sent to House). Effective date: “when it becomes law”; provisions apply to withdrawals/transfers or permit applications initiated or modified on or after that date.

Main purpose

SB 605 (2025) revises North Carolina’s interbasin transfer (IBT) and nutrient-permitting framework by:
- Eliminating certain subbasin designations used in the IBT process (reducing subbasin-level restrictions within specified major river basins); and
- Clarifying and limiting the applicability of the 2020 Farm Act exception that applies the TMDL “transport factor” to nutrient offset credits and small local wastewater permits in the Neuse River Basin, while launching a process to re‑model and potentially update transport/delivery factors.

Key provisions

  1. Eliminate subbasin designations for IBT process

    • Removes specific subbasin distinctions used in the IBT statute (notably the Haw River, Deep River, and Contentnea Creek subbasin designations in the bill text and related lists).
    • Removes the requirement for an interbasin transfer certificate for water transfers between those subbasins that are within the same major river basin (i.e., it treats transfers within a major river basin with less subbasin constraint).

  2. Findings (legislative intent)

    • States reasons for change: growth and water-supply pressures in affected areas; need for flexibility in intrabasin transfers to support drought resilience, regional planning, financing, and affordability; and confidence that existing watershed planning will mitigate environmental impacts.

  3. TMDL transport factor — revision of S.L. 2020‑18, Section 15

    • Reaffirms that nutrient offset credits and permitted wastewater discharges are to use the TMDL transport factor as specified in the 1999 Phase I TMDL.
    • Limits the (temporary) application in subsection (a) to wastewater permit applications for a local government located in the Neuse River Basin with fewer than 15,000 customer connections.
    • Authorizes the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), with affected parties, to begin watershed modeling to determine new transport zones and delivery factors for the Neuse River Basin.
    • Requires DEQ to provide modeling to the Environmental Management Commission (EMC), which will select at least two qualified professionals to validate the modeling; if validated, EMC may adopt new transport zones/delivery factors by rule.
    • Subsection (a) expires once the rule created under this modeling/validation process becomes effective.

Who is affected

  • Local governments, utilities, and water suppliers in the Cape Fear and Neuse major river basins (particularly municipalities in the Haw, Deep, and Contentnea subbasin areas).
  • Small local governments in the Neuse River Basin (those with <15,000 connections) that seek wastewater permits or use nutrient offset credits.
  • DEQ and the Environmental Management Commission (administration, modeling, and rulemaking duties).
  • Permit applicants, nutrient-offset market participants, developers, and regional water planners; environmental stakeholders monitoring nutrient delivery and aquatic impacts.

Procedural / timing notes

  • The bill passed the Senate (multiple committee substitute editions reflected) and was transmitted to the House (Special Message).
  • Section eliminating subbasin designations is effective on enactment and applies to transfers initiated or modified on or after that date.
  • The TMDL transport-factor changes are effective on enactment; subsection (a) remains in force only until EMC adopts rules based on the required modeling and validation.

Potential implications

  • Increases flexibility for intrabasin water transfers and may reduce permitting barriers for regional water projects and interjurisdictional agreements.
  • Could lower near‑term costs or timing barriers for municipal water infrastructure but may raise concerns about downstream water-quality and nutrient delivery without careful modeling and updated delivery factors.
  • The statute explicitly creates a process (DEQ modeling + EMC validation) to revisit and, if warranted, formally update transport zones/delivery factors by administrative rule.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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