Updated::Upcoming Changes to NC Law Will Remove Cemetery Protections

Updates on HB383 sec 11:

The bill was passed on June 26 with the language that places old abandoned family cemeteries as well as historic archealogical relics at possibly more risk than before. The following language of HB385 Section 11 is taken directly form the Legislative Reporting Service at UNC School of Government. 

The wording below is the version that passed. The concerning portions are highlighted in yellow as restrictions to the OSA  that did not exist previously.

Part XI

Removes all of former Part XI (amending various statutes related to coastal development) and replaces it with the following new content.

Section 11

Adds new GS 113A-113.1 (requiring the Office of State Archeology [OSA] to provide information to owners and prospective purchasers in areas of environmental concern). Requires OSA to, upon request of an owner or prospective purchaser of land located in an area of environmental concern, to provide the owner or prospective purchaser with information as to any known or suspected archaeological or historical significance of the property, including any supporting evidence. Beginning either October 1, 2024, or 60 days after the provision described below is reported as approved, specifies that if OSA has informed the requesting party that there is no known or suspected archaeological or historical significance associated with the property, then prohibits OSA for a period of three years thereafter from adding a condition to a permit that requires or restricts a permittee's activity with respect to the property based on any archaeological or historical significance of the property unless a new finding or study indicates otherwise. If a new finding or study reveals information to support imposition of such a condition in a permit issued within the three-year period, requires OSA to notify the prospective purchaser or owner of the finding or study prior to imposition of the condition. 

Requires OSA to apply for any State, federal, or private grant funding available to purchase properties within areas of environmental concern of exceptional archaeological or historical significance to the State.

Requires the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), by no later than August 1, 2024, to prepare and submit GS 113A-113.1 to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for approval. Requires DEQ to report to the Environmental Review Commission quarterly on its activities under GS 113A-113.1 starting September 1, 2024, and ending when the NCGA repeals the reporting requirement. Effective August 1, 2024.

Obviously, this change and any further changes the legislature tries to make in the future concerning older lost or abandoned cemeteries and historical relics bears close watching. Oversight is being restricted. Stay vigilant if you have old NC cemeteries in your family. Keep them cared for and kept up!

Originally published 6/21/2024:

Folks, today I am speaking to you as a concerned citizen and a descendant of many great North Carolinian settler ancestors. Unmarked, lost and abandoned grave sites all over NC are in peril due to this upcoming law change.

We need your attention to this under the radar legislative maneuver. Efforts by developers and the NC General Assembly to lessen the powers of the State Office of Archaeology are afoot. Revisions to HB 385 Sec 11 are up before the GA right now in their summer short session that ends July 31. There is still time to act, but act soon. Please contact your representative with your concerns.

As stated in the linked WRAL report titled Homebuilders would have an easier time bulldozing archeological sites, under new NC proposal:

Under current state law, developers who discover unmarked graves must halt construction until they’re cleared by the county medical examiner or the state archaeologist. And if those bones — or any other archeological finds they dig up — are determined to contain some historic value that the project could harm or destroy, then state law requires construction permits to be denied.

Language in the revised law seeks to insert a portion that would revoke a permit after approval if material of archaeological significance is found after the initial permit is approved and guarantee developers full rights to develop unhindered for the following three years.

This revision removes the previously guaranteed protection of gravesites all over NC. I attempted to reference the law as it stands now from its home at the NC Office of Archaeology, but the public page for Cemetery Protection where that information resides has been pulled from public access. I reference this law often in answering cemetery queries and this is the first time I have seen this "Access Denied" message. This is a sad state of affairs.

click image to read highlighted text of revision. p.11

You can read this version of the upcoming changes and note there is a required initial query

to the State Office of Archaeology (SOA) in which they should report any known or suspected archaelogical or historical significance to the enquirer. A report only... no preliminary survey. This is different than what happens historically. You should also note that in the event that suspected artifacts are found, the current legal version requires halting development to survey and assess the findings for archaelogical or historical significance has been removed.

The legislature is totally stripping the SOA of its stewardship and oversight at the behest of developers with deep pockets who want to save their money and time more than our North Carolina heritage as described in the WRAL link above and this report from Axios - NC developers seek to build on land with up to 3,000-year-old Native American remains. The legislators are using sleight of hand to do this out of the public eye by using the summer session when most are busy and by shuttering the current version of the law on the SOA website.

Consider that this change of law protecting cemeteries will be in effect all over the state. Also, consider that this current provision as it stands today protects not only ancient Native American grounds and artifacts in our state but also small, abandoned cemeteries in each and every one of the 100 counties of NC. That puts at peril all currently lost and waiting to be rediscovered gravesites of enslaved African American, other Native American tribes, lower income/potter's field cemeteries, and rural family plots.

It is unconscionable that the NC General Assembly - our representives - would place cash and developers over our history and heritage, but they are in the process as you read this. If you have ancestors buried anywhere in NC you should be following this bill. Please don't hesitate to act. This will happen quickly. Contact your representatives in the NC General Assembly quickly. Let them know we are watching.

-Cyndi Deal

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