§ 106-806.  Construction or renovation of swine houses at preexisting swine farms.

(a) As used in this section, the following definitions apply:

(1) "Farm digester system" means a farm digester system as defined in G.S. 143-213(12a).

(2) "New swine farm" means any swine farm the operations of which were sited on or after October 1, 1995. "New swine farm" does not include any preexisting swine farm, even if a subsequent site evaluation is performed on or after October 1, 1995, at the preexisting swine farm.

(3) "Preexisting swine farm" means any swine farm either the operations of which were begun prior to October 1, 1995, or the site evaluation of which was approved prior to October 1, 1995, by the Department of Environmental Quality under Part 1A of Article 21 of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes.

(4) "Renovation or construction," "renovated or constructed," and any similar phrase mean any activity to renovate, construct, reconstruct, rebuild, modify, alter, change, restructure, upgrade, improve, enlarge, reduce, move, or otherwise perform construction work on a swine house that is a component of a swine farm.

(b) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Article, a swine house that is a component of a preexisting swine farm can be constructed or renovated if the construction or renovation of that swine house satisfies all of the following requirements:

(1) The construction or renovation of the swine house does not result in an increase in the permitted capacity of the swine farm, as measured in the annual steady state live weight capacity of the swine farm.

(2) The construction or renovation of the swine house does not result in requiring an increase in the total permitted capacity of the animal waste management systems located at the swine farm.

(3) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, for any swine house that fails to meet any siting requirement for a swine house under G.S. 106-803, the construction or renovation of the swine house does not result in any portion of the constructed or renovated swine house being located any closer to the building or the property that is the object of the siting requirement that the swine house fails to meet.

(4) Regardless of the footprint of the existing swine house, renovation or construction of a swine house shall not be allowed in the 100-year floodplain.

(c) A swine house that is a component of a preexisting swine farm can be constructed or renovated such that it results in a portion of the constructed or renovated swine house being located closer to a residence, school, hospital, church, or a property boundary than is allowed under subdivision (3) of subsection (b) of this section if written permission is given by the owner or owners of the property directly affected by the siting requirements specified under G.S. 106-803 and recorded with the register of deeds.

(d) This section does not apply to the construction or renovation of a swine house that is a component of a new swine farm.

(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article, a farm digester system that is a component of a preexisting swine farm may be constructed or renovated if the construction or renovation of the farm digester system satisfies all of the following requirements:

(1) The construction or renovation of the farm digester system does not result in an increase in the permitted capacity of the swine farm, as measured by the annual steady state live weight capacity of the swine farm.

(2) The construction or renovation of the farm digester system does not result in requiring an increase in the total permitted capacity of the animal waste management system or systems located at the swine farm.

(3) The construction or renovation of the farm digester system shall comply with the siting requirements set out in G.S. 106-803 to the maximum extent practicable. Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, construction or renovation of the farm digester system shall not result in any portion of the constructed or renovated farm digester system being located closer to the building, property, or well that is the object of the siting requirement than any existing component of the animal waste management system that fails to meet the siting requirements of G.S. 106-803.

(4) Renovation or construction of a farm digester system shall not be allowed in the 100-year floodplain. (2011-118, s. 1; 2015-241, s. 14.30(u); 2021-78, s. 11(g).)