AN ACT to clarify the Emergency action Plan requirements for certain dams.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 143‑215.31(a1) reads as rewritten:

(a1)    The owner of a dam classified by the Department as a high‑hazard dam or an intermediate‑hazard dam shall develop an Emergency Action Plan for the dam as provided in this subsection:

(1)        The owner of the dam shall submit a proposed Emergency Action Plan for the dam within 90 days after the dam is classified as a high‑hazard dam or an intermediate‑hazard dam to the Department and the Department of Public Safety for their review and approval. The Department and the Department of Public Safety shall approve the Emergency Action Plan if they determine that it complies with the requirements of this subsection and will protect public health, safety, and welfare; the environment; and natural resources.

(2)        The Emergency Action Plan shall include, at a minimum, all of the following:

a.         A description of potential emergency conditions that could occur at the dam, including security risks.

b.         A description of actions to be taken in response to an emergency condition at the dam.

c.         Emergency notification procedures to aid in warning and evacuations during an emergency condition at the dam.

d.         A downstream inundation map depicting areas affected by a dam failure and sudden release of the impoundment. A downstream inundation map prepared pursuant to this section does not require preparation by a licensed professional engineer or a person under the responsible charge of a licensed professional engineer unless the dam is associated with a coal combustion residuals surface impoundment, as defined by G.S. 130A‑309.201.The requirement to prepare a downstream inundation map as part of an Emergency Action Plan does not apply to a dam that is less than 15 feet in height or that has an impoundment capacity of less than 50 acre‑feet, unless the Commission finds  the Department has demonstrated that site‑specific factors warrant the inclusion of a downstream inundation map in the Emergency Action Plan.

(2a)      A downstream inundation map prepared as part of an Emergency Action Plan under subdivision (2) of this section does not require preparation by a licensed professional engineer or a person under the responsible charge of a licensed professional engineer unless the dam is associated with a coal combustion residuals surface impoundment, as defined by G.S. 130A‑309.201.

(3)        The owner of the dam shall update the Emergency Action Plan annually and shall submit it to the Department and the Department of Public Safety for their review and approval within one year of the prior approval.

(4)        The Department shall provide a copy of the Emergency Action Plan to the regional offices of the Department that might respond to an emergency condition at the dam.

(5)        The Department of Public Safety shall provide a copy of the Emergency Action Plan to all local emergency management agencies that might respond to an emergency condition at the dam.

(6)        Information included in an Emergency Action Plan that constitutes sensitive public security information, as provided in G.S. 132‑1.7, shall be maintained as confidential information and shall not be subject to disclosure under the Public Records Act. For purposes of this section, sensitive public security information shall include Critical Energy Infrastructure Information protected from disclosure under rules adopted by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in 18 C.F.R. § 388.112.

SECTION 2.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2025, and applies to Emergency Action Plans required to be submitted or updated on or after that date.