Newly amended rules went into effect Thursday for coastal recreational water quality monitoring to help protect public health.
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The following rules were readopted by the Marine Fisheries Commission in November 2020 under a state-mandated periodic review schedule:
- Update biological standards for the state Division of Marine Fisheries’ Recreational Water Quality Program to align with new federal performance criteria.
- Ensure equal protection for swimmers by requiring the same bacteriological threshold to trigger public health advisories for all swimming locations, regardless of usage frequency.
- Modify terminology and the public notification process to reduce delays and confusion, without generating an increased frequency of swimming advisories for the public.
Other changes to the rules are technical. Two rules were repealed because they duplicated requirements.
Text of the readopted rules can be found on the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission’s Rules and Regulations webpage.
For more information about changes to the Recreational Water Quality Program rules, email the division’s Recreational Water Quality Program manager Erin Bryan-Millush at erin.bryan-millush@ncdenr.gov or call 252-808-8153.
For more information about the rulemaking process, email division’s rules coordinator Catherine Blum at Catherine.Blum@ncdenr.gov.
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