There is hereby established under the control and direction of the Department an Oil or Other Hazardous Substances Pollution Protection Fund which shall be a nonlapsing, revolving fund consisting of any moneys appropriated for such purpose by the General Assembly or that shall be available to it from any other source. The moneys shall be used to defray the expenses of any project or program for the containment, collection, dispersal or removal of oil or other hazardous substances discharged to the land or waters of this State, or discharged into waters outside the territorial limits of the State which affect land and waters or related uses within the State; to assess damages for injury to, destruction of, or loss of use of natural resources; and to develop and implement plans for restoration, rehabilitation, replacement, or acquisition of the equivalent of the natural resources injured by the discharge. In addition to any moneys that shall be appropriated or otherwise made available to it, the fund shall be maintained by fees, charges, or other moneys except for the clear proceeds of civil penalties paid to or recovered by or on behalf of the Department under the provisions of this Part. Any moneys paid to or recovered by or on behalf of the Department as fees, charges, or other payments as damages authorized by this Part except for the clear proceeds of civil penalties shall be paid to the Oil or Other Hazardous Substances Pollution Protection Fund in an amount equal to the sums expended from the fund for the project or activity.

The clear proceeds of civil penalties provided for in this section shall be remitted to the Civil Penalty and Forfeiture Fund in accordance with N.C. Gen. Stat. § 115C-457.2 (1973, c. 534, s. 1; c. 1262, s. 23; 1979, c. 535, s. 20; 1989, c. 656, s. 4; 1993, c. 402, s. 10; 1998-215, s. 67(b).)

Terms Used In North Carolina General Statutes 143-215.87

  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Department: shall mean the Department of Environmental Quality. See North Carolina General Statutes 143-215.77
  • Discharge: shall mean , but shall not be limited to, any emission, spillage, leakage, pumping, pouring, emptying, or dumping of oil or other hazardous substances into waters of the State or into waters outside the territorial limits of the State which affect lands, waters or uses related thereto within the territorial limits of the State, or upon land in such proximity to waters that oil or other hazardous substances is reasonably likely to reach the waters, but shall not include amounts less than quantities which may be harmful to the public health or welfare as determined pursuant to N. See North Carolina General Statutes 143-215.77
  • Oil: shall mean oil of any kind and in any form, including, but specifically not limited to, petroleum, crude oil, diesel oil, fuel oil, gasoline, lubrication oil, oil refuse, oil mixed with other waste, oil sludge, petroleum related products or by-products, and all other liquid hydrocarbons, regardless of specific gravity, whether singly or in combination with other substances. See North Carolina General Statutes 143-215.77
  • 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
  • Waters: shall mean any stream, river, creek, brook, run, canal, swamp, lake, sound, tidal estuary, bay, reservoir, waterway, wetlands, or any other body or accumulation of water, surface or underground, public or private, natural or artificial, which is contained within, flows through, or borders upon this State, or any portion thereof, including those portions of the Atlantic Ocean over which this State has jurisdiction. See North Carolina General Statutes 143-215.77
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