Unless a different meaning is required by the context, the following definitions apply to this Article and Articles 21A and 21B of this Chapter:

(1)        “Area of the State” means a municipality, a county, a portion of a county or a municipality, or other substantial geographic area of the State designated by the Commission.

(2)        “Commission” means the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission.

(3)        “Department” means the Department of Environmental Quality.

(4)        “Person” includes individuals, firms, partnerships, associations, institutions, corporations, municipalities and other political subdivisions, and governmental agencies.

(5)        “Secretary” means the Secretary of Environmental Quality.

(6)        “Waters” means any stream, river, brook, swamp, lake, sound, tidal estuary, bay, creek, reservoir, waterway, or other body or accumulation of water, whether surface or underground, public or private, or natural or artificial, that is contained in, flows through, or borders upon any portion of this State, including any portion of the Atlantic Ocean over which the State has jurisdiction. ?(1987, c. 827, s. 152A; 1989, c. 727, s. 218(103); 1989 (Reg. Sess., 1990), c. 1004, s. 19(b); 1991 (Reg. Sess., 1992), c. 1028, s. 1; 1997-443, s. 11A.119(a); 2015-241, s. 14.30(u), (v).)

Terms Used In North Carolina General Statutes 143-212

  • following: when used by way of reference to any section of a statute, shall be construed to mean the section next preceding or next following that in which such reference is made; unless when some other section is expressly designated in such reference. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories, so called; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include the said district and territories and all dependencies. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3