AN ACT to appropriate money to the department of environmental quality for various purposes.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.(a)  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Environmental Quality, Division of Coastal Management, the sum of one million seven hundred ten thousand dollars ($1,710,000) in recurring funds for the 2024‑2025 fiscal year to be used for the following purposes:

(1)        To provide funding for two full‑time positions to staff the Resilient Coastal Communities Program.

(2)        To provide grant funding, including federal match funding, and technical assistance for targeted projects designed to reduce flood risk and promote long‑term resilience.

SECTION 1.(b)  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Environmental Quality, Division of Coastal Management, the sum of four hundred seventy thousand dollars ($470,000) in recurring funds for the 2024‑2025 fiscal year to provide funding for five full‑time positions to staff the Coastal Habitat Assessment Program.

SECTION 1.(c)  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Environmental Quality the sum of nine hundred ninety thousand dollars ($990,000) in recurring funds for the 2024‑2025 fiscal year to provide funding for six full‑time positions to continue implementation of the Flood Resiliency Blueprint described in Section 5.9(c) of S.L. 2021‑180, as amended.

SECTION 1.(d)  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Environmental Quality (the Department) the sum of one million two hundred ten thousand dollars ($1,210,000) in recurring funds and five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) in nonrecurring funds for the 2024‑2025 fiscal year to provide funding for eight full‑time positions to (i) offer relevant technical assistance to the business community in dealings with the Department, (ii) assist in grant administration for recycling industry growth, and (iii) provide improved customer service in the Department's regional offices.

SECTION 1.(e)  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Environmental Quality, Division of Marine Fisheries, the sum of six hundred thousand dollars ($600,000) in recurring funds and ten thousand dollars ($10,000) in nonrecurring funds for the 2024‑2025 fiscal year to provide funding for five full‑time marine patrol officer positions.

SECTION 1.(f)  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Environmental Quality, Division of Air Quality, the sum of four hundred thousand dollars ($400,000) in recurring funds and five hundred fifty thousand dollars ($550,000) in nonrecurring funds for the 2024‑2025 fiscal year to provide funding for three full‑time positions to staff the mobile air quality monitoring unit.

SECTION 1.(g)  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Environmental Quality the sum of three million one hundred fifty thousand dollars ($3,150,000) in nonrecurring funds for the 2024‑2025 fiscal year to fund overtopping studies for all remaining high and intermediate hazard dams in the State, in accordance with G.S. 143‑215.32A.

SECTION 1.(h)  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Environmental Quality the sum of one million five hundred thousand dollars ($1,500,000) in nonrecurring funds for the 2024‑2025 fiscal year to be used for the ten percent (10%) cost‑share required for Superfund cleanups on the National Priority List sites and to pay the operating and maintenance costs associated with those Superfund cleanups.

SECTION 1.(i)  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Environmental Quality (the Department) the sum of four million ten thousand dollars ($4,010,000) in recurring funds and five hundred ninety thousand dollars ($590,000) in nonrecurring funds for the 2024‑2025 fiscal year to provide funding for 24 full‑time positions to assist the Department in addressing the emerging compounds (including PFAS) issue in the State.

SECTION 1.(j)  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Environmental Quality the sum of two billion dollars ($2,000,000,000) in nonrecurring funds for the 2024‑2025 fiscal year for the Water Infrastructure Fund to be allocated to the Drinking Water Reserve and the Wastewater Reserve to provide project construction grants for public water systems and wastewater systems. The limits set forth in G.S. 159G‑36(c) shall not apply to grants awarded from funds allocated by this subsection.

SECTION 2.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2024.