§ 143-215.85. Required notice. - North Carolina Statutes

§ 143‑215.85. Required notice.

(a)        Except as provided in G.S. 143‑215.94E(a1) andsubsection (b) of this section, every person owning or having control over oilor other substances discharged in any circumstances other than pursuant to arule adopted by the Commission, a regulation of the U. S. EnvironmentalProtection Agency, or a permit required by G.S. 143‑215.1 or the FederalWater Pollution Control Act, upon notice that such discharge has occurred,shall immediately notify the Department, or any of its agents or employees, ofthe nature, location and time of the discharge and of the measures which arebeing taken or are proposed to be taken to contain and remove the discharge.The agent or employee of the Department receiving the notification shall immediatelynotify the Secretary or such member or members of the permanent staff of theDepartment as the Secretary may designate. If the discharged substance of whichthe Department is notified is a pesticide regulated by the North CarolinaPesticide Board, the Department shall immediately inform the Chairman of thePesticide Board. Removal operations under this Article of substances identifiedas pesticides defined in G.S. 143‑460 shall be coordinated in accordancewith the Pesticide Emergency Plan adopted by the North Carolina PesticideBoard; provided that, in instances where entry of such hazardous substancesinto waters of the State is imminent, the Department may take such actions asare necessary to physically contain or divert such substance so as to prevententry into the surface waters.

(b)        As used in this subsection, "petroleum" has thesame meaning as in G.S. 143‑215.94A. A person who owns or has controlover petroleum that is discharged into the environment shall immediately takemeasures to collect and remove the discharge, report the discharge to theDepartment within 24 hours of the discharge, and begin to restore the areaaffected by the discharge in accordance with the requirements of this Articleif the volume of the petroleum that is discharged is 25 gallons or more or ifthe petroleum causes a sheen on nearby surface water or if the petroleum isdischarged at a distance of 100 feet or less from any surface water body. Ifthe volume of petroleum that is discharged is less than 25 gallons, thepetroleum does not cause a sheen on nearby surface water, and the petroleum isdischarged at a distance of more than 100 feet from all surface water bodies,the person who owns or has control over the petroleum shall immediately takemeasures to collect and remove the discharge. If a discharge of less than 25gallons of petroleum cannot be cleaned up within 24 hours of the discharge orif the discharge causes a sheen on nearby surface water, the person who owns orhas control over the petroleum shall immediately notify the Department. (1973, c. 534, s. 1; c. 1262, s. 23; 1977, c. 771, s.4; c. 858, s. 1; 1979, c. 535, ss. 16, 17; 1987, c. 827, ss. 154, 194; 2000‑54,s. 1.)