§ 130A-295.3. Environmental compliance review requirements for applicants and permit holders.
§ 130A‑295.3. Environmental compliance review requirements for applicants and permit holders.
(a) For purposes ofthis section, "applicant" means an applicant for a permit and apermit holder and includes the owner or operator of the facility, and, if theowner or operator is a business entity, applicant also includes: (i) theparent, subsidiary, or other affiliate of the applicant; (ii) a partner,officer, director, member, or manager of the business entity, parent,subsidiary, or other affiliate of the applicant; and (iii) any person with adirect or indirect interest in the applicant, other than a minority shareholderof a publicly traded corporation who has no involvement in management orcontrol of the corporation or any of its parents, subsidiaries, or affiliates.
(b) The Departmentshall conduct an environmental compliance review of each applicant for a newpermit, permit renewal, and permit amendment under this Article. Theenvironmental compliance review shall evaluate the environmental compliance historyof the applicant for a period of five years prior to the date of theapplication and may cover a longer period at the discretion of the Department.The environmental compliance review of an applicant may include considerationof the environmental compliance history of the parents, subsidiaries, or otheraffiliates of an applicant or parent that is a business entity, including anybusiness entity or joint venturer with a direct or indirect interest in theapplicant, and other facilities owned or operated by any of them. TheDepartment shall determine the scope of the review of the environmentalcompliance history of the applicant, parents, subsidiaries, or other affiliatesof the applicant or parent, including any business entity or joint venturer witha direct or indirect interest in the applicant, and of other facilities ownedor operated by any of them. An applicant for a permit shall provideenvironmental compliance history information for each facility, businessentity, joint venture, or other undertaking in which any of the persons listedin this subsection is or has been an owner, operator, officer, director,manager, member, or partner, or in which any of the persons listed in thissubsection has had a direct or indirect interest as requested by theDepartment.
(c) The Departmentshall determine the extent to which the applicant, or a parent, subsidiary, orother affiliate of the applicant or parent, or a joint venturer with a director indirect interest in the applicant, has substantially complied with therequirements applicable to any activity in which any of these entitiespreviously engaged, and has substantially complied with federal and State laws,regulations, and rules for the protection of the environment. The Departmentmay deny an application for a permit if the applicant has a history ofsignificant or repeated violations of statutes, rules, orders, or permit termsor conditions for the protection of the environment or for the conservation ofnatural resources as evidenced by civil penalty assessments, administrative orjudicial compliance orders, or criminal penalties.
(d) A permit holdershall notify the Department of any significant change in its environmentalcompliance history or other information required by G.S. 130‑295.2(g).The Department may reevaluate the environmental compliance history of a permitholder and may modify or revoke a permit or require issuance of a new permit. (2007‑550, s. 6(a).)