130A-309.64. Scrap Tire Disposal Program; other Department activities related to scrap tires.

(a) The Department may make grants to units of local government to assist them in disposing of scrap tires. To administer the grants, the Department shall establish procedures for applying for a grant and the criteria for selecting among grant applicants. The criteria shall include the financial ability of a unit of local government to provide for scrap tire disposal, the severity of a unit of local government's scrap tire disposal problem, the effort made by a unit of local government to ensure that only tires generated in the normal course of business in this State are provided free disposal, and the effort made by a unit of local government to provide for scrap tire disposal within the resources available to it.

(b) A unit of local government is not eligible for a grant under subsection (a) of this section unless its costs for disposing of scrap tires for the six-month period preceding the date the unit of local government files an application for a grant exceeded the amount the unit of local government received during that period from the proceeds of the scrap tire tax under G.S. 105-187.19. A grant to a unit of local government for scrap tire disposal may not exceed the unit of local government's unreimbursed cost for the six-month period.

(c) The Department may support a position to provide local governments with assistance in developing and implementing scrap tire management programs designed to complete the cleanup of nuisance tire collection sites and prevent scrap tires generated from outside of the State from being presented for free disposal in the State.

(d) The Department may clean up scrap tire collection sites that the Department has determined are a nuisance. The Department may use funds to clean up a nuisance tire collection site only if no other funds are available for that purpose.

(e) The Department shall include in the report to be delivered to the Environmental Review Commission on or before January 15 of each year pursuant to G.S. 130A-309.06(c) a description of the implementation of the North Carolina Scrap Tire Disposal Act under this Part for the fiscal year ending the preceding June 30. The description of the implementation of the North Carolina Scrap Tire Disposal Act shall include a list of the recipients of grants under subsection (a) of this section and the amount of each grant for the previous 12-month period. The report also shall include the amount of funds used to clean up nuisance sites under subsection (d) of this section.

(f) It is the intent of the General Assembly to allow the Department to satisfy grant obligations that extend beyond the end of the fiscal year.

(g) The Department may adopt any rules necessary to implement this section.