Amends GS 90A-73 by prohibiting members of the North Carolina On-Site Wastewater Contractors and Inspectors Certification Board from serving more than two consecutive three-year terms. Applies to terms beginning on or after July 1, 2026.

Amends GS 90A-77, as amended, by specifying that the requirement to be met in order to be awarded an on-site wastewater inspector certification that allows an applicant to complete the approved education requirements for the grade IV contractor instead of the specified experience requirements does not apply to a person certified as a grade II contractor. Also adds to the requirements to be met in order to receive an on‑site wastewater contractor or inspector certification that the individual must hold sufficient general liability coverage and professional liability coverage for the project as well as errors and omissions coverage, where applicable.

Amends GS 90A-78 to also require a contractor, inspector, Authorized On-Site Wastewater Evaluator, or Private Compliance Inspector renewing a certification to submit proof that they hold sufficient liability coverage, as required above. Makes conforming changes.

Amends GS 130A-335 by prohibiting a local board of health from adopting any more stringent modifications or additions to wastewater system rules unless the local board of health has entered into an agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) under GS 143-300.8 (defense of local sanitarians), and DHHS has reviewed and approved the modification or addition. Requires DHHS to adopt rules of evidence to determine the validity of proposals from local boards of health seeking modifications or additions to rules established by the Commission based solely on the necessity to protect the public health. Requires DHHS, in evaluating the validity of a local health department's proposed modifications or additions under (c)(3) (requiring a wastewater system subject to approval under rules of the Commission to be reviewed and approved under rules of a local board of health when DHHS has found that the local board’s rules concerning wastewater collection, treatment, and disposal systems are at least as stringent as rules adopted by the Commission and are sufficient and necessary to safeguard the public health), to hold public hearings and set out notice requirements. Requires DHHS to make its findings available to the public before approving or denying a proposed modification or addition. Requires DHHS to review all approved rules adopted by a local health department under this provision every four years and rescind approval for any rule DHHS finds is unnecessary to protect the public health. Makes conforming changes. Makes improvement permits for which a plat or site plan (was plat) is provided valid without expiration (was, improvement permits for which a site plan is provided were valid for five years). Requires displaying a statement on an application permit and permit that an Improvement Permit or a Construction Authorization is subject to revocation or amendment if the intended use, design daily flow, or site conditions change. Makes conforming changes to GS 130A-336 and also adds that DHHS or the local health department may delay the start of construction of any wastewater system until a verification shows that site conditions are unchanged from the issuance of the improvement permit, except that the verification must not include a geological soil assessment; allows the system’s owner to accept or decline the findings of a reassessment of the soils on the site.

Amends GS 130A-337 to also allow an applicant to contract with a licensed engineer instead of a certified Authorized On-Site Wastewater Evaluator to conduct any required verifications or inspections; makes conforming changes. Requires that the installation or repair of a wastewater system be done according to the Improvement Permit and the Construction Authorization, including any noted site modification conditions, or that the specified written verifications be received, before the local health department must issue an operation permit authorizing the residence, place of business, or place of public assembly to be occupied and for the system to be placed into use or reuse. Adds that a local health department may not withhold issuance of an operation permit if the wastewater system was installed or repaired pursuant to the Improvement Permit, Construction Authorization, and any noted conditions at the time of issuance unless the system owner agrees to additional conditions in the operation permit; requires these additional conditions to be recorded in the operation permit.

Establishes the seven-member Private Drinking Water Well Task Force, consisting of the specified members, to study and issue a report to recommend streamlining private drinking water well rules to the Environmental Management Commission. Sets out issues that must be considered. Sets out requirements about meetings, election of a chair, and quorum. Requires a report to the specified NCGA committees and the Environmental Management Commission by December 31, 2025, and terminates the Task Force upon the earlier of the date it transmits its report or December 31, 2025.

Amends GS 87-97, by allowing either the local health department or a person certified both as a well contractor and as either a Level IV contractor, inspector, or Authorized On-Site Wastewater Evaluator to conduct a field investigation to evaluate the site on which a private drinking water well is proposed to be located before issuing a permit. Specifies that the well contractor of record for a proposed well site cannot perform the field investigation. Specifies that the Department of Environmental Quality and its authorized agents and local health departments are not liable for site evaluations performed by a certified well contractor.