RALEIGH, NC (Feb. 28, 2025) – NFIB filed an amicus brief in the case N.C. Department of Environmental Quality v. N.C. Farm Bureau Federation, Inc. at the Supreme Court of North Carolina. The case concerns whether permit conditions, specifically those proposed for general permits for animal waste disposal, are “rules” under the North Carolina Administrative Procedure Act (NCAPA), and thus subject to the statutory procedures required by the rulemaking process. NFIB filed the brief with the North Carolina Chamber Legal Institute.

“Allowing these permit conditions to go into effect without rulemaking on a semantic technicality will have disastrous consequences for North Carolina’s small business farmers,” said Gregg Thompson, NFIB North Carolina State Director. “Any requirement, mandate, or condition that can hurt small businesses, farmers, consumers, employers, and the state’s economy on such a scale without first being checked by the rulemaking process is a flagrant breach of the law and a dangerous precedent to set.”

NFIB’s brief argues two main points: 1) In creating these permit conditions, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, Division of Water Resources is violating the NCAPA and undermining the separation of powers, 2) Small businesses will suffer if agencies are allowed to enact rules without following NCAPA procedures.

The NFIB Small Business Legal Center protects the rights of small business owners in the nation’s courts. NFIB is currently active in more than 40 cases in federal and state courts across the country and in the U.S. Supreme Court.