North Carolina Attorney General Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of attorney general opinions issued in North Carolina, with full citations and the original source on every page.
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Can the Governor reappoint Environmental Management Commission members to consecutive terms, and if not, are the Commission's decisions still legally binding?
The AG concluded yes on both questions. The EMC statute § 143B-283(b) is ambiguous on reappointments; it lacks the express prohibition that the General Assembly used in other commission statutes (Sedi…
Does the NC Environmental Policy Act require the state to prepare an environmental impact document when developing a fishery management plan under the Fisheries Reform Act of 1997, or when adopting the rules that implement those plans?
No. The NC Environmental Policy Act requires an environmental document only when an agency takes a 'final agency decision' on a specific project or program that uses public money or public land. Fishe…
Does Senate Bill 194 clarifying that NC can charge continuing air quality penalties from the date a violation began (not from the date the notice of violation arrived) need to pass, or is the current statute already clear?
It needs to pass. Although the state and AG have consistently read the air statute the same way as the water and groundwater statutes (penalty runs from the date of violation), some violators are argu…
When the state issues an NPDES water-quality permit, can the Environmental Management Commission require the applicant to study how the project will combine with other nearby projects (like other hog farms) to impact water quality?
Yes. The AG concluded that N.C.G.S. § 143-215.1(c)(1) gives the EMC and the Division of Environmental Management broad authority to request 'any information' the agency considers necessary to evaluate…
Can the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission make farms, developments, and other 'non-point' polluters follow specific best management practices in watersheds where existing water quality is below the standard, like the Neuse River?
Yes. The 1995 NC AG opinion concluded the EMC had authority under both the water classification statute (G.S. 143-214.1, including a supplemental Use Restoration Waters classification) and the stormwa…
Can people who live downstream in another state and would lose water because of a North Carolina interbasin transfer participate in the EMC permit hearing or challenge the certificate after it's issued?
Yes on both counts. The interbasin transfer statute lets anyone submit comments at the public hearing, with no residency requirement, and the NC Administrative Procedure Act lets any aggrieved person …
Did the NC Environmental Management Commission have legal authority to use funds from the High Unit Cost Wastewater Account to address failures of low-pressure pipe (LPP) sewer systems, given the 1994 budget bill's 'low wealth areas' language?
Yes. The AG concluded that the 1994 budget bill's 'low wealth areas' phrase did not exclude grants based on county wealth criteria. The phrase simply re-affirmed the existing sliding-scale eligibility…
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Attorney general opinions in North Carolina are written by the North Carolina Attorney General's office in response to questions from state agencies, legislators, and prosecutors. They are not binding like court decisions, but courts and agencies treat them as persuasive guidance on how state law applies. Every opinion above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the full original text.