143-215.8B. Basinwide water quality management plans.

(a) The Commission shall develop and implement a basinwide water quality management plan for each of the 17 major river basins in the State. In developing and implementing each plan, the Commission shall consider the cumulative impacts of all of the following:

(1) All activities across a river basin and all point sources and nonpoint sources of pollutants, including municipal wastewater facilities, industrial wastewater systems, septic tank systems, stormwater management systems, golf courses, farms that use fertilizers and pesticides for crops, public and commercial lawns and gardens, atmospheric deposition, and animal operations.

(2) All transfers into and from a river basin that are required to be registered under G.S. 143-215.22H.

(b) Each basinwide water quality management plan shall:

(1) Provide that all point sources and nonpoint sources of pollutants jointly share the responsibility of reducing the pollutants in the State's waters in a fair, reasonable, and proportionate manner, using computer modeling and the best science and technology reasonably available and considering future anticipated population growth and economic development.

(2) If any of the waters located within the river basin are designated as nutrient sensitive waters, then the basinwide water quality management plan shall establish a goal to reduce the average annual mass load of nutrients that are delivered to surface waters within the river basin from point and nonpoint sources. The Commission shall establish a nutrient reduction goal for the nutrient or nutrients of concern that will result in improvements to water quality such that the designated uses of the water, as provided in the classification of the water under G.S. 143-214.1(d), are not impaired. The plan shall require incremental progress toward achieving the goal. In developing the plan, the Commission shall determine and allow appropriate credit toward achieving the goal for reductions of water pollution by point and nonpoint sources through voluntary measures.

(c) The Commission shall review and revise its 17 basinwide water quality management plans at least every 10 years to reflect changes in water quality, improvements in modeling methods, improvements in wastewater treatment technology, and advances in scientific knowledge and, as need to support designated uses of water, modifications to management strategies.

(d) As a part of the report required pursuant to G.S. 143-355(p), the Commission and the Department shall each report on or before November 1 of each year on an annual basis to the Environmental Review Commission on the progress in developing and implementing basinwide water quality management plans and on increasing public involvement and public education in connection with basinwide water quality management planning. The report to the Environmental Review Commission by the Department shall include a written statement as to all concentrations of heavy metals and other pollutants in the surface waters of the State that are identified in the course of preparing or revising the basinwide water quality management plans.

(e) A basinwide water quality management plan is not a rule and Article 2A of Chapter 150B of the General Statutes does not apply to the development of basinwide water quality management plans. Any water quality standard or classification and any requirement or limitation of general applicability that implements a basinwide water quality management plan is a rule and must be adopted as provided in Article 2A of Chapter 150B of the General Statutes.