Water/Wastewater Affordability and Capacity Act.

Added 'metropolitan water district' and 'metropolitan water and sewerage district' to the list of entities authorized to sell water systems to private companies.

Clarified that a public hearing is required for external rate increases only if they exceed the internal rates by more than 25%; increases within this limit do not require a hearing.

Added effective dates for the new sections, specifying when the sale rules and rate limitations apply to new contracts and rate schedules.

The short title and act description were updated to emphasize water and wastewater affordability and capacity rather than just on-site wastewater changes.

All provisions regarding the creation, membership, term limits, and certification requirements for the On-Site Wastewater Contractors and Inspectors Certification Board were removed.

New sections were added requiring public hearings and public interest determinations before a local government can sell a water or sewer system to a private company.

New criteria were established for evaluating sales, including the physical condition of the system, need for repairs, grant availability, purchaser financial ability, and projected customer rate affordability.

New rules were added stating that money from the sale of a water or sewer system must first be used for debt reduction and repaying federal grants before any other use.

Added new certification conditions for Private Compliance Inspectors, requiring five years of experience and prohibiting employment by local health departments.

Updated inspector certification requirements to explicitly include grade IV contractor, Authorized On-Site Wastewater Evaluator, or subsurface operator certifications as a minimum two-year prerequisite.

Added an alternative education pathway for applicants to satisfy experience requirements by completing approved grade IV contractor education instead of gaining work experience.

The internal bill identifier was changed from H376-v-2 to H376-v-3 to reflect the updated version of the committee substitute.

The bill title and introductory act text were updated to explicitly include the private drinking water well program alongside on-site wastewater provisions.

A new requirement was added mandating that applicants for certification renewal must provide proof of sufficient liability coverage.

The text was restructured to fix a formatting error where inspector certification requirements were incorrectly placed in the wrong section of the original draft.

Established the North Carolina On-Site Wastewater Contractors and Inspectors Certification Board with nine appointed members and defined term limits.

Mandated that Private Compliance Inspectors must have at least five years of experience and cannot be employed by a local health department.

Created specific certification pathways for Grade IV contractors, inspectors, Authorized Evaluators, and Private Compliance Inspectors, including new education and experience requirements.

Set the effective date for new Board terms to begin on or after July 1, 2026.

Added administrative fields for signatures and voting results to the amendment record.