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TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING CHAPTER 59 TO TITLE 44 SO AS TO ESTABLISH THE CATAWBA RIVER BASIN ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND THE CATAWBA RIVER BASIN BI-STATE COMMISSION, AND PROVIDE FOR THEIR DUTIES, POWERS, AND FUNCTIONS.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Title 44 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
Section 44-59-10. As used in this chapter:
(1) 'Basin' means the Catawba River Basin.
(2) 'Catawba River Basin' means that land area designated as the Catawba River Basin by the North Carolina Department of Environmental and Natural Resources and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.
(3) 'Commission' means the Catawba River Basin Bi-State Commission.
(4) 'Committee' means the Catawba River Basin Advisory Committee.
Section 44-59-20. There is established the Catawba River Basin Bi-State Commission. The commission shall be a permanent body composed of members from the State of North Carolina and the State of South Carolina. The purpose of the commission shall be to:
(1) provide guidance and make recommendations to local, state, and federal legislative and administrative bodies, and to others as it considers necessary and appropriate, for the use, stewardship, and enhancement of the water, and other natural resources, for all citizens within the Catawba River Basin;
(2) provide a forum for discussion of issues affecting the basin's water quantity and water quality, and issues affecting other natural resources;
(3) promote communication, coordination, and education among stakeholders within the Catawba River Basin;
(4) identify problems and recommend appropriate solutions;
(5) undertake studies and prepare, publish, and disseminate information through reports, and in other forms, related to water quantity, water quality, and other natural resources in the basin.
Section 44-59-30. (A) The Catawba River Basin Bi-State Commission shall consist of fourteen members with the Governor of each state appointing five members and these members appointing the remainder to be equally divided between the two states. Members shall serve for terms of four years and until their successors are appointed and qualify. Vacancies shall be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term in the same manner of original selection.
(B) All members appointed to the commission shall reside within the basin's watershed.
(C) The commission shall render its first report no later than January 31, 2005.
Section 44-59-40. (A) The North Carolina Department of Environmental and Natural Resources and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control shall provide staff support and facilities to the commission.
(B) All agencies of the State of North Carolina and the State of South Carolina shall cooperate with the commission and, upon request, shall assist the commission in fulfilling its responsibilities. The North Carolina Secretary of Environmental and Natural Resources and the Director of the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control or their designees shall each serve as the liaison between their respective state agencies and the commission.
Section 44-59-50. Members of the Bi-State Commission and the advisory committee shall elect a chairman, vice chairman, and those other officers as they deem necessary with the chairmanship to be rotated between the States of North Carolina and South Carolina.
Section 44-59-60. A Catawba River Basin Advisory Committee is hereby established to assist the Bi-State Commission in the performance of its duties. The advisory committee shall be abolished at the time the Bi-State Commission renders its first report. The advisory committee shall have the following functions and duties:
(1) to develop rules and procedures for the conduct of its business or as may be necessary to perform its duties and carry out its objectives including, but not limited to, calling meetings and establishing voting procedures. Rules and procedures developed pursuant to this item must be effective upon an affirmative vote by a majority of the committee members;
(2) to establish standing and ad hoc committees, which must be constituted in a manner to ensure a balance between recognized interests and states. The committee shall determine the purpose of each standing or ad hoc committee;
(3) to determine via report to Bi-State Commission the optimum approach to comprehensively and collaboratively provide recommendations for integrated river management including, but not limited to, the total assimilative capacity of the basin. The report shall include water quality, water quantity, inter-basin transfer, water usage, sewer discharge, affects of drought and flooding, land-use patterns from a regional Bi-State perspective.
Section 44-59-70.(A) The advisory committee shall be composed of fourteen members as follows:
(1) two members of the North Carolina House of Representatives, whose districts include a part of the North Carolina portion of the Catawba River Basin, to be appointed by the Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives;
(2) two members of the North Carolina Senate, whose districts include a part of the North Carolina portion of the Catawba River Basin, to be appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the North Carolina Senate;
(3) two members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, to serve ex officio, whose districts include a part of the South Carolina portion of the Catawba River Basin, to be appointed by the Speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives;
(4) two members of the South Carolina Senate, to serve ex officio, whose districts include a part of the South Carolina portion of the Catawba River Basin, to be appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the South Carolina Senate;
(5) one representative from Duke Power Company to be determined by Duke Power;
(6) one representative representing current active Marine Commissions in North Carolina (Lake Norman, Lake Wylie, and Mountain Island) along the Catawba River, to be determined by the Marine Commissions;
(7) one member of the Bi-State Catawba River Task Force who shall be the current chairman or a designee of the chairman if necessary to balance the membership of the committee;
(8) one member of the Carolinas Partnership, determined by the partnership;
(9) one member from North Carolina representing a land trust to be appointed by the North Carolina legislative members of the committee;
(10) one member from South Carolina representing a water or sewer municipal utility to be appointed by the South Carolina legislative members of the committee.
(B) State legislative members appointed to the advisory committee shall serve terms coterminous with their terms of office. All other members shall serve for the duration of the advisory committee. Appointments to fill vacancies must be made for the remainder of the unexpired terms. Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments.
(C) Members of the advisory committee appointed under items (5) and (6) of subsection (A) shall be residents of North Carolina, and members appointed under items (7) and (8) of subsection (A) shall be residents of South Carolina.
Section 44-59-80. The members of the advisory committee and Bi-State Commission shall serve without compensation.
Section 44-59-90. The advisory committee and Bi-State Commission may obtain information and data upon request from all state officers, agents, agencies, and departments of the States of North Carolina and South Carolina while in discharge of their duties.
Section 44-59-100. The North Carolina Department of Environmental and Natural Resources and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control shall provide the same staffing and other support to the advisory committee as they provide to the Bi-State Commission."
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor and upon approval of a comparable act by the Governor of North Carolina establishing the Catawba River Basin Bi-State Commission and advisory committee.
This web page was last updated on Thursday, June 25, 2009 at 10:19 A.M.