The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.North Carolina requires General Assembly approval for federal environmental agreements and directs DEQ to revise sedimentation rules
Last action · May 7, 2025: Ref To Com On Rules and Operations of the Senate (Senate action)Sponsors: Mark Brody and 3 others
Track this bill to get notified when it advances a stage. One tap to stop, anytime.
What This Bill Would Do
North Carolina requires legislative approval for any future memorandums of agreement between state environmental agencies and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency before they take effect. The law also orders the Department of Environmental Quality to initiate discussions with the EPA by October 1, 2025, to streamline sedimentation and stormwater permitting rules, and to submit copies of existing Clean Water Act agreements and funding details to the General Assembly.
Changes the authority structure for state environmental regulation by giving the General Assembly veto power over state-federal environmental pacts, and sets mandatory deadlines for DEQ to renegotiate federal oversight rules affecting land developers and local governments.
- Memorandums of agreement between state environmental agencies and the federal EPA govern the implementation and delegation of federal environmental laws within the state. context
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Department of Environmental Quality
DEQ must seek legislative approval for future EPA agreements, initiate discussions to revise sedimentation MOAs by October 1, 2025, and submit quarterly reports.
Persons initiating land-disturbing activities
Regulatory requirements and permit streamlining efforts under the Sedimentation Pollution Control Act and NCG010000 general permit may change.
Local government staff administering erosion and sedimentation control programs
Local program administration is subject to potential regulatory streamlining and coordination changes resulting from DEQ and EPA discussions.
Key Facts
- All future memorandums of agreement between the USEPA and North Carolina state environmental agencies require majority vote approval by both chambers of the General Assembly prior to execution.
- The Governor must transmit proposed memorandums of agreement to legislative presiding officers for confirmation by joint resolution, and implementation is prohibited without it.
- By October 1, 2025, the Department of Environmental Quality must notify the USEPA of its intent to revise the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Memorandum of Agreement and rules governing the Sedimentation Pollution Control Act of 1973.
- The Speaker of the House and President Pro Tempore of the Senate may each appoint a person to participate in discussions with the USEPA.
Show all 7 facts
- DEQ must report quarterly to the Environmental Policy Council on its negotiation and federal consultation activities starting January 1, 2026.
- By October 1, 2025, DEQ must request that the USEPA consult with the State on proposed changes to federal regulations prior to publication in the Federal Register.
- By October 1, 2025, DEQ must submit copies of all Clean Water Act agreements with the USEPA, associated federal funding details, and funding adequacy information to the House Local Government – Land Use, Planning and Development Committee.
Frequently Asked Questions
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
Follow the record
Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently passed chamber. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Law.
Procedural history
17 actions- May 7, 2025SenateRef To Com On Rules and Operations of the Senate
- May 7, 2025SenatePassed 1st Reading
- May 7, 2025SenateRegular Message Received From House
- May 7, 2025HouseRegular Message Sent To Senate
- May 6, 2025HousePassed 3rd Reading
- May 6, 2025HousePassed 2nd Reading
Show 11 earlier actions
- May 5, 2025HousePlaced On Cal For 05/06/2025
- May 5, 2025HouseCal Pursuant Rule 36(b)
- May 5, 2025HouseReptd Fav
- Apr 30, 2025HouseRe-ref Com On Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
- Apr 30, 2025HouseReptd Fav Com Substitute
- Apr 17, 2025HouseSerial Referral To Finance Stricken
- Apr 14, 2025HouseRe-ref to the Com on Agriculture and Environment, if favorable, Finance, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
- Apr 14, 2025HouseWithdrawn From Com
- Apr 10, 2025HouseRef to the Com on Housing and Development, if favorable, Finance, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
- Apr 10, 2025HousePassed 1st Reading
- Apr 9, 2025HouseIntroducedFiled
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Connected Entities
Sources
www.ncleg.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance75How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy65Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz35Current news / social attention level
Publisher tools