Section 4.7 of Session Law 2024-49 states:
“All local health departments shall enter into an annual agreement with the Department to provide environmental health services in accordance with Chapter 130A of the General Statutes. The annual agreement shall include a requirement for quality assurance for all environmental health services.”
The “annual agreement” referenced above is interpreted as the Consolidated Agreement. Per the FY26 Consolidated Agreement, all local health departments (LHDs) are required to submit Quality Assurance (QA) Plans to the Environmental Health (EH) Section, Division of Public Health, by January 1, 2026, for the following program areas:
- Onsite Wastewater
- Private Drinking Water Wells
- Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention
- Tattoos
- Public Swimming Pools
- Child Care and School Buildings
The EH Section, in collaboration with the North Carolina Environmental Health Supervisors Association (NCEHSA) and the North Carolina Association of Local Health Directors (NCALHD), has developed standardized QA policies and templates to assist LHDs in meeting these requirements. These documents, available at the link below, represent the minimum standards that each LHD must meet.
LHDs are welcome to exceed these minimum standards. However, if a department chooses to adopt the templates as-is, they may place them on local letterhead and submit them directly to the EH Section for approval.
QA Documents:
CLPP, Tattoo, Pools, Childcare, OSWW, Wells
QA Members: