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Read. Follow. Verify.North Carolina Directs Collaboratory to Study Waterway Microplastics and Appropriates $150,000
Last action · April 10, 2025: Ref to the Com on Appropriations, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House (House action)Sponsors: Renée Price and 21 others
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What This Bill Would Do
House Bill 871 directs the North Carolina Collaboratory at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to study in state waters, develop prevention and cleanup strategies, and report findings by July 1, 2026. The measure appropriates $150,000 from the General Fund to support the study, effective July 1, 2025.
State researchers must inventory plastic particle pollution across North Carolina waterways and deliver policy recommendations to legislative oversight committees by mid-2026.
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.
North Carolina Collaboratory
Must conduct research, establish risk assessment frameworks, and submit a comprehensive report by July 1, 2026.
Department of Environmental Quality
Must provide staff support and cooperate with the Collaboratory in fulfilling its responsibilities.
State Division of Water Resources
Must collaborate with the Collaboratory to complete its functions and duties.
Key Facts
- The North Carolina Collaboratory at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is directed to study the negative impacts of microplastics in state waters.
- The General Assembly appropriates $150,000 from the General Fund to the Collaboratory effective July 1, 2025.
- The Collaboratory must submit a comprehensive report with findings, risk assessments, and recommended actions by July 1, 2026.
- The report must be submitted to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Agriculture and Natural and Economic Resources and the Environmental Review Commission.
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- The Department of Environmental Quality is required to provide staff support and assist the Collaboratory.
- The Collaboratory must complete its duties in collaboration with the State Division of Water Resources and other interested governmental entities.
- The Collaboratory's tasks include developing standardized sampling methods, characterizing ambient concentrations of plastic particles, and investigating pathways of exposure.
Frequently Asked Questions
What organization is responsible for conducting the microplastics study?
When is the final report due?
How much funding is allocated for this study?
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News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.
Procedural history
3 actions- Apr 10, 2025HouseRef to the Com on Appropriations, 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
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Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
State-Directed Microplastics Research
The General Assembly is formally mandating an extensive risk assessment framework and standardized sampling for plastic particles across inland and coastal waters.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.ncleg.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance50How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy10Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz30Current news / social attention level
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