§ 130A-295.3.  Environmental compliance review requirements for applicants and permit holders.

(a) For purposes of this section, "applicant" means an applicant for a permit and a permit holder and includes the owner or operator of the facility, and, if the owner or operator is a business entity, applicant also includes: (i) the parent, 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 a direct or indirect interest in the applicant, other than a minority shareholder of a publicly traded corporation who has no involvement in management or control of the corporation or any of its parents, subsidiaries, or affiliates.

(b) The Department shall conduct an environmental compliance review of each applicant for a new permit and permit amendment under this Article. The environmental compliance review shall evaluate the environmental compliance history of the applicant for a period of five years prior to the date of the application and may cover a longer period at the discretion of the Department. The environmental compliance review of an applicant may include consideration of the environmental compliance history of the parents, subsidiaries, or other affiliates of an applicant or parent that is a business entity, including any business entity or joint venturer with a direct or indirect interest in the applicant, and other facilities owned or operated by any of them. The Department shall determine the scope of the review of the environmental compliance history of the applicant, parents, subsidiaries, or other affiliates of the applicant or parent, including any business entity or joint venturer with a direct or indirect interest in the applicant, and of other facilities owned or operated by any of them. An applicant for a permit shall provide environmental compliance history information for each facility, business entity, joint venture, or other undertaking in which any of the persons listed in this subsection is or has been an owner, operator, officer, director, manager, member, or partner, or in which any of the persons listed in this subsection has had a direct or indirect interest as requested by the Department.

(c) The Department shall determine the extent to which the applicant, or a parent, subsidiary, or other affiliate of the applicant or parent, or a joint venturer with a direct or indirect interest in the applicant, has substantially complied with the requirements applicable to any activity in which any of these entities previously engaged, and has substantially complied with federal and State laws, regulations, and rules for the protection of the environment. The Department may deny an application for a permit if the applicant has a history of significant or repeated violations of statutes, rules, orders, or permit terms or conditions for the protection of the environment or for the conservation of natural resources as evidenced by civil penalty assessments, administrative or judicial compliance orders, or criminal penalties.

(d) A permit holder shall notify the Department of any significant change in its environmental compliance history or other information required by G.S. 130-295.2(g). The Department may reevaluate the environmental compliance history of a permit holder and may modify or revoke a permit or require issuance of a new permit. (2007-550, s. 6(a); 2015-241, s. 14.20(d); 2015-286, s. 4.9(c); 2017-10, s. 3.1(c).)