By Nick Younger, 2016 Stanback Intern

In January of this year, the North Carolina Rules Review Commission (RRC) ruled 15A NCAC 04B .0126(e) to be unnecessary. If you know what this means, huzzah! However, if you don’t know what this means, I’ll explain.

First, what is the NC Rules Review Commission? Simply put, the RRC reviews rules. The Commission approves rulings and internal guidelines adopted by state agencies, judging their necessity, clarity, and compliance with both the law and proper authority. The Commission acts as an important check and balance on state agencies by conducting internal department reviews of the agencies and then evaluating the rules put in place by them. As an essential “rules watchdog,” the RRC keeps agencies from implementing and maintaining superfluous and ineffective rules. The RRC is like your mother who every summer goes through your old clothes and asks if you really wear that old high school football shirt because it’s been four years since you graduated and you are just postponing the inevitable and reliving glory days.

This obscure executive agency acts as a conduit of democratic energy, as the RRC requires agencies to consider public comments when making determinations on rules, and must submit these comments to the Commission in reports detailing the review of their rules. The Commission gives rules one of three distinctions:

Unnecessary

Necessary without substantive public interest; or

Necessary with substantive public interest.

Rules deemed “necessary with substantive public interest” basically means that it is needed because it has value or enough people support it. An agency doesn’t need to respond directly to a person’s public comment but must respond to the merits of the comment in the agency’s report submitted to the RRC. Therefore, the people’s voice is heard and that agency must evaluate that rule in regards to the comment. Exercising your civic privileges never felt so real.

At some point, the Commission reviews all state agencies rules. In September 2016 (aka next month), the RRC will begin hearing administrative hearing on Environmental Quality will begin; here, the RRC will review rules specifically on Sedimentation Control (rules protecting our waterways from pollution run-off via development, fertilizer, etc.)Currently, many rules have either been repealed sometime in the past or are being considered unnecessary for the upcoming review. It’s important that we pay attention to which rules the Commission votes to repeal, as it could have a real, negative impact on our environment and drinking water sources. Next week, I’ll talk specifically about specific rules the NC League of Conservation Voters is watching in this process.