15a ncac 03o .0504      SUSPENSION AND REVOCATION OF PERMITS

(a)  All commercial and recreational permits issued under Article 14A, Article 14B, and Article 25A of Chapter 113, and rules of the Marine Fisheries Commission shall be subject to suspension and revocation. For the purpose of this Rule and in accordance with G.S. 150B-2, "permit" includes "certification" and "certificate of compliance".

(b)  If a license is required to hold a permit:

(1)           all permits shall be suspended or revoked if the permittee's license privilege has been suspended or revoked as set forth in G.S. 113-171 and Rule .0114 of this Subchapter. The duration of the permit suspension or revocation shall be the same as the license suspension or revocation.

(2)           in the event a person makes application for a new permit during any period of license or permit suspension, no new permit shall be issued during the suspension period.

(3)           in the case of revocation of license privileges, the former licensee shall not be eligible to apply for reinstatement of a revoked permit while license privileges are revoked.

(c)  If a license is not required to hold a permit, in the case of revocation of a permit, the former permittee shall not be eligible to apply for reinstatement of a revoked permit for a period of six months.

(d)  It shall be unlawful to violate any permit condition. For violation of permit conditions as specified on the permit, permits may be suspended or revoked according to the following schedule:

(1)           violation of one permit condition in a three-year period, permit shall be suspended for 10 days.

(2)           violation of two permit conditions in a three-year period, permits shall be suspended for 30 days.

(3)           violation of three permit conditions in a three-year period, permits shall be revoked for a period not less than six months.

(4)           violation of any permit conditions as set forth in 15A NCAC 03J .0505(a), permits may be revoked and the former permittee may not be eligible to apply for any future Pound Net Set Permits.

If several permit conditions are violated as a result of a single transaction or occurrence, the permit violations shall be treated as a single violation for the purpose of suspension or revocation.

(e)  Permit designees shall not be permitted to participate in a permit operation during any period they are under license suspension or revocation.

(f)  If violation of permit conditions requires suspension or revocation of a permit, the Fisheries Director shall cause the permittee to be served with written notice of the intent to commence suspension or revocation. If the permittee is not an individual, the written notice shall be served upon any responsible individual affiliated with the corporation, partnership, or association. The notice of the intent to commence suspension or revocation shall be served by an inspector or other agent of the Department or by certified mail, and shall state the grounds upon which it is based.

(g)  The Fisheries Director shall order summary suspension of a permit if he or she finds that the public health, safety, or welfare requires emergency action. Upon such determination, the Fisheries Director shall issue an order giving the reasons for the emergency action. The effective date of the order shall be the date specified on the order or the date of service of a certified copy of the order at the last known address of the permittee, whichever is later.

(h)  Upon service of a notice of suspension or revocation of a permit, it shall be unlawful to fail to surrender any permit so suspended or revoked.

(i)  It shall be unlawful to fail to surrender a permit issued by the Division in error immediately upon service of a notice by an agent of the Fisheries Director to surrender the permit.

(j)  It shall be unlawful to fail to remove all gear, markers, and devices associated with an Aquaculture Operation Permit within 30 days after expiration of the Aquaculture Operation Permit, termination of a shellfish lease for which the Aquaculture Operation Permit was issued, or notice by the Fisheries Director that an existing Aquaculture Operation Permit has been revoked or denied. Similar requirements for gear removal for a Pound Net Set Permit are described in 15A NCAC 03J .0505.

History Note:        Authority G.S. 113-134; 113-171; 113-182; 113-202; 113-221.2; 143B-289.52; 150B-3; S.L. 2010-145;

Temporary Adoption Eff. May 1, 2000;

Eff. April 1, 2001;

Readopted Eff. March 15, 2023.