H259 - 2023 Appropriations Act. (SL 2023-134)

Overview: Section 8.16 of S.L. 2023-134 appropriates funds to the North Carolina Collaboratory (Collaboratory) for the following matters related to per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS):

• Programs related to management of aqueous film-forming foams (AFFF) containing PFAS used by local fire departments and for other PFAS-related research, including:
• To conduct a voluntary buyback program for stocks of PFAS-containing AFFF owned or stored by local fire departments, which can include the purchase and distribution of replacement PFAS-free foams.
• To develop, acquire, analyze, and deploy facilities and technologies to safely store and destroy PFAS-containing AFFF.
• To provide competitive research grants for (i) human exposure and other studies intended to assess the long-term health risk to firefighters and other emergency response personnel and their family members from exposure to PFAS-containing AFFF and related PFAS-containing materials and (ii) other research related to PFAS in water and air, PFAS toxicology and human exposure, and the mitigation, removal, or destruction of PFAS and PFAS-containing materials.
• To fund upgrades to laboratory space at the Textile Protection and Comfort Center at North Carolina State University to accommodate aerosol studies that simulate airborne PFAS particulate exposure.
• Water-related research for emerging compounds, water quality improvements, or other discretionary research deemed important to the State by the Collaboratory.
• Other PFAS research projects, including a multiyear human exposure study related to PFAS in North Carolina counties identified with higher than average PFAS exposure risks from inhalation, ingestion, and dermal exposure.

The Collaboratory must include updates regarding this research in the statutorily required annual report to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Agriculture and Natural and Economic Resources, the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services, and the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee.

This section became effective July 1, 2023.