Current Status Introducing Body:House Bill Number:3432 Primary Sponsor:Corning Committee Number:20 Type of Legislation:GB Subject:Mining exploration Residing Body:House Current Committee:Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Environmental Affairs Computer Document Number:BBM/10125JM.93 Introduced Date:19930209 Last History Body:House Last History Date:19930209 Last History Type:Introduced, read first time, referred to Committee Scope of Legislation:Statewide All Sponsors:Corning Waites Type of Legislation:General Bill
Bill Body Date Action Description CMN Leg Involved
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3432 House 19930209 Introduced, read first time, 20
referred to Committee
View additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.
TO AMEND SECTION 48-20-50, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE SOUTH CAROLINA MINING ACT AND CERTIFICATES OF EXPLORATION, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT AN EXPLORER ENGAGING IN EXPLORATION INVOLVING AN AFFECTED AREA GREATER THAN TWO ACRES IS REQUIRED TO OBTAIN AN OPERATING PERMIT IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTIONS 48-20-60 AND 48-20-70, AS WELL AS SECTION 48-20-75 (ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT), PROVIDE THAT, IF THE EXPLORER DOES NOT RECEIVE NOTIFICATION OF DENIAL OF THE CERTIFICATE WITHIN SIXTY, RATHER THAN FIFTEEN, CALENDAR DAYS OF THE TENDERING OF THE APPLICATION, THE APPLICATION IS APPROVED, PROVIDE THAT, IF THE CERTIFICATE IS DENIED, THE EXPLORER MUST BE GIVEN AN ADDITIONAL TEN, RATHER THAN THIRTY, CALENDAR DAYS EITHER TO APPEAL OR TO MODIFY ITS APPLICATION FOR RECONSIDERATION, PROVIDE THAT PUBLIC NOTICE AND PUBLIC HEARING REQUIREMENTS OF CHAPTER 20 OF TITLE 48 APPLY TO AN APPLICATION FOR A CERTIFICATE AND THE PROCESSING AND GRANTING OF THE CERTIFICATE, DELETE PROVISIONS TO THE EFFECT THAT THE APPLICATION FOR A CERTIFICATE, AS WELL AS THE CERTIFICATE, IF ANY, AND ANY MATERIAL SUBMITTED WITH THE APPLICATION, MUST BE TREATED AS CONFIDENTIAL TRADE SECRETS AND PROPRIETARY BUSINESS INFORMATION, AND PROVIDE THAT THE APPLICATION, THE CERTIFICATE, IF ANY, AND ANY MATERIAL SUBMITTED WITH THE APPLICATION ARE NOT EXEMPT FROM DISCLOSURE AND CONSTITUTE PART OF THE PUBLIC RECORD; TO AMEND SECTIONS 48-20-60 AND 48-20-70, RELATING TO OPERATING PERMITS UNDER THE MINING ACT, SO AS TO REFERENCE THE REQUIREMENT OF AN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT, AND PROVIDE THAT AN OPERATING PERMIT MUST BE DENIED UPON FINDING THAT THE MINING OPERATION WILL CONSTITUTE A SUBSTANTIAL PHYSICAL HAZARD TO A PRIVATE ROAD OR OTHER PRIVATE PROPERTY; TO AMEND THE 1976 CODE BY ADDING SECTION 48-20-75 SO AS TO REQUIRE THE SUBMISSION OF AN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL BEFORE AN OPERATING PERMIT MAY BE ISSUED UNDER THE MINING ACT; TO AMEND SECTION 48-20-80, RELATING TO MODIFICATION OF AN OPERATING PERMIT, SO AS TO REFERENCE THE REQUIREMENT FOR AN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT, AND PROVIDE THAT AN OPERATING PERMIT MAY BE MODIFIED TO INCLUDE LAND NEIGHBORING THE AFFECTED OR PERMITTED LAND AND OTHER LANDS; TO AMEND THE 1976 CODE BY ADDING SECTION 48-20-85 SO AS TO REQUIRE THE SUBMISSION OF AN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL BEFORE AN OPERATING PERMIT ISSUED UNDER THE MINING ACT MAY BE MODIFIED; TO AMEND THE 1976 CODE BY ADDING SECTION 48-20-87 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT AN APPEAL TO THE COURTS MUST BE TAKEN FROM ANY DECISION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL TO APPROVE OR DISAPPROVE, OR TO MODIFY OR REFUSE TO MODIFY, AN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT UNDER SECTIONS 48-20-75 OR 48-20-85, RESPECTIVELY, PROVIDE FOR WHO MAY APPEAL, AND PROVIDE FOR WHERE THE APPEAL MAY BE FILED; AND TO AMEND THE 1976 CODE BY ADDING SECTION 48-20-95 SO AS TO EXEMPT THE PROPOSED OPERATOR OR THE OPERATOR OF ANY SANDPIT OR ROCK QUARRY FROM THE REQUIRED ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENTS OF SECTIONS 48-70-75 AND 48-20-85.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Section 48-20-50 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 454 of 1990, is amended to read:
"Section 48-20-50. A certificate of exploration issued by the department is required for exploration activities in an affected area of two acres or less and involving the development of open pits, trenches, open cuts, or tunneling. A certificate of exploration is not required for exploration activity on an area already covered by an operating permit or for (1) drilling core holes, (2) drilling bore holes, or (3) conducting geophysical and geochemical sampling and analysis.
An explorer engaging in exploration regulated pursuant to this section shall make a written application to the department for a certificate of exploration. The application must be on a form furnished by the department and must state fully the information requested. The applicant may be required to furnish other information as may be necessary to the department in order to enforce this chapter adequately. If the explorer does not receive notification of denial of the certificate of exploration within fifteen sixty calendar days of the tendering of the application, the application is approved. If the certificate of exploration is denied, the department shall state the reasons, and the explorer must be given an additional thirty ten calendar days to either appeal the decision as set forth in Section 48-20-190 or modify its application for reconsideration by the department.
The application must be accompanied by a reclamation plan on forms furnished by the department. The department shall approve reclamation plans in accordance with Section 48-20-90.
Public notice and public hearing requirements of this chapter do not apply to an application for a certificate of exploration or and the processing or and granting of the certificate. The department shall treat the application for a certificate of exploration and the certificate, if any, and any material submitted with the application, as confidential trade secrets and proprietary business information of the applicant. The application and the certificate, if any, and any material submitted with the application is are not exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act and is not constitute part of the public record.
Upon approval of an application for a certificate of exploration, the department shall require a performance bond or other security in an amount, and pursuant to requirements, set forth in Section 48-20-110.
An explorer engaging in exploration involving an affected area greater than two acres is required to obtain an operating permit in accordance with the procedures set forth in Sections 48-20-60, and 48-20-70, and 48-20-75."
SECTION 2. Section 48-20-60 of the 1976 Code, as added by act 454 of 1990, is amended to read:
"Section 48-20-60. No operator may engage in mining without having first obtained from the department an operating permit which covers the affected land and which has not been terminated, revoked, suspended for the period in question, or otherwise invalidated.
An operating permit may be modified to include land neighboring the affected or permitted land in accordance with procedures set forth in Section 48-20-80. A separate operating permit is required for each mining operation that is not on land neighboring a mining operation for which the operator has a valid permit.
No operating permit may be issued except in accordance with the procedures set forth in Section 48-20-70 and Section 48-20-75. No operating permit may be modified except in accordance with the procedures set forth in Section 48-20-80 or Section 48-20-150 and Section 48-20-85.
An appeal from the department's decision regarding an operating permit may be taken to the council, as provided by Section 48-20-190.
No operating permit becomes effective until the operator has deposited with the department an acceptable performance bond or other security pursuant to Section 48-20-110. If at any time the bond or other security, or any part of it, lapses for a reason other than a release by the department, and the lapsed bond or security is not replaced by the operator within thirty days after notice of the lapse, the operating permit to which it pertains must be suspended until such time as the reason for the suspension is remedied and written documentation of the remedy is provided to the department.
An operating permit must be granted and remain valid unless the operating permit terminates as set forth in this chapter or until revoked by the department under the provisions of Section 48-20-160. If the mining operation terminates and the reclamation required under the approved reclamation plan is completed, the permit terminates. Termination of an operating permit does not relieve the operator of any obligations which he has incurred under his approved reclamation plan or otherwise. Where the mining operation itself has terminated, no operating permit is required in order to carry out reclamation measures under the reclamation plan.
An operating permit may be suspended or revoked for cause pursuant to Section 48-20-160."
SECTION 3. Section 48-20-70 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 454 of 1990, is amended to read:
"Section 48-20-70. An operator desiring to engage in mining shall make written application to the department for an operating permit. The application must be on a form furnished by the department and must state fully the called for information. The applicant may be required to furnish other information as may be necessary to the department in order to enforce this chapter adequately.
The application must be accompanied by a reclamation plan which meets the requirements of Section 48-20-90 and by an environmental impact statement meeting the requirements of Section 48-20-75. No operating permit may be issued until the plan has been approved by the department pursuant to Section 48-20-90 or until the environmental impact statement has been approved both by the Department of Health and Environmental Control, in accordance with Section 48-20-75, and the Land Resources Conservation Commission.
The application for an operating permit must be accompanied by a signed agreement, in a form specified by the department, that if a bond forfeiture is ordered pursuant to Section 48-20-170, the department and its representatives and its contractors may make whatever entries on the permitted land and take whatever actions necessary to carry out reclamation which the operator has failed to complete.
The department shall publish notice of an application for an operating permit or a substantial modification of an operating permit in a newspaper of general circulation in the area of the proposed mining activity and, to the extent practicable, shall notify the public of the application. The department shall afford all interested parties reasonable opportunity to submit data, views, or arguments orally or in writing regarding the proposed mining activity. Opportunity for public hearing must be granted if requested by ten persons or by a governmental subdivision or agency or by an association having not less than ten members and if the request for a hearing is based on sufficient technical reasons. The request for a public hearing must be made within fifteen calendar days from the latest date of public notice of an application. The department shall consider fully all written and oral submissions respecting the mining activity before final action by the department on the application for an operating permit.
The department shall grant or deny the operating permit requested as expeditiously as possible but in no event later than sixty calendar days after the application form and any supplemental information required has have been filed with the department. Priority consideration must be given to applicants who submit evidence that the mining proposed is for supplying materials for highway maintenance or highway construction. Nothing in this paragraph may be construed to eliminate the requirement for an environmental impact statement, except as provided in Section 48-20-95.
The department shall deny an operating permit upon finding that:
(1) a requirement of this chapter or a regulation promulgated under it is to be violated by the proposed operation;
(2) the operation will have undue adverse effects on wildlife or freshwater, estuarine, or marine fisheries;
(3) the operation will violate standards of air quality, surface water quality, or
groundwater quality which have been promulgated by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control;
(4) the operation will constitute a substantial physical hazard to a neighboring dwelling house, school, church, hospital, commercial or industrial building, public or private road, or other public or private property;
(5) the operation will have a significantly adverse effect on the purposes of a publicly-owned park, publicly-owned forest, or publicly-owned recreation area;
(6) previous experience with similar operations indicates a substantial possibility that the operation will result in substantial deposits of sediment in stream beds or lakes, landslides, or acid water pollution; or
(7) the operator has not corrected all violations which he may have committed under an operating permit or certificate of exploration and which resulted in:
(a) revocation of his permit;
(b) forfeiture of part or all of his bond or other security;
(c) conviction of a misdemeanor under Section 48-20-230;
(d) any other court order issued under Section 48-20-230; or
(e) issuance of a notice of uncorrected violations.
In the absence of any such finding, an operating permit must be granted.
An operating permit issued must be conditioned expressly on compliance with all requirements of the approved reclamation plan for the operation, the environmental impact statement, and with further reasonable and appropriate requirements and safeguards of the department to assure that the operation complies fully with the requirements and objectives of this chapter. The conditions may include a requirement of visual screening, vegetative or otherwise, so as to screen the view of the operation from public highways, public parks, or residential areas, if the department finds the screening to be feasible and desirable. Violation of the conditions must be treated as a violation of this chapter and constitutes a basis for suspension or revocation of the operating permit.
An operator wishing modification of the terms and conditions of an operating permit or of the approved reclamation plan shall submit a request for modification in accordance with the provisions of Section 48-20-80 and Section 48-20-85.
If the department denies an application for an operating permit, it shall notify the operator in writing, stating the reasons for its denial and modifications in the application which would make it acceptable. The operator may modify his application or file an appeal, as provided in Section 48-20-190, but the appeal may not be accepted more than thirty days after notice of disapproval has been mailed to him at the address shown on his application.
Upon approval of an application, the department shall set the amount of the performance bond or other security which is to be required pursuant to Section 48-20-110. The operator shall have sixty days following the mailing of the notification in which to deposit the required bond or security with the department. The operating permit may not be issued until receipt of this deposit.
In addition to the applicant, all individuals and organizations requesting in writing to be notified of final action concerning an operating permit must be notified by the department. The time limits for taking appeal may not be extended because of the timing of notices sent pursuant to this paragraph.
When one operator succeeds to the interest of another in an uncompleted mining operation, by virtue of a sale, lease, assignment, or otherwise, the department may release the first operator from the duties imposed upon him by this chapter with reference to the operation and transfer the operating permit to the successor operator if both operators have complied with the requirements of this chapter and if the successor operator assumes the duties of the first operator with reference to reclamation of the land and posts a suitable bond or other security."
SECTION 4. Chapter 20 of Title 48 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 48-20-75. Before any operating permit may be issued under this chapter, the proposed operator shall first submit an environmental impact statement to the Department of Health and Environmental Control demonstrating no adverse impact to any public or private lands, any surface or subsurface water, or air quality by the proposed mining operation in the county or counties where the mining operation is proposed to be carried out and in every other county bordering the county or counties of the proposed mining operation. The environmental impact statement must specifically show that no harmful gas, liquid, or chemical will be used in the proposed mining operation and that no dangerous, or potentially dangerous, gas, liquid, or chemical proposed to be utilized in the mining operation will have any adverse health effect on persons, animals, waters, or vegetation in each of the counties concerned. The Department of Health and Environmental Control shall conduct a public hearing in each of the counties concerned, after public notice of the hearing, on the adequacy of the environmental impact statement and shall prescribe by regulation the procedure for the hearing and the format and contents of the environmental impact statement. The environmental impact statement must receive the approval of the Department of Health and Environmental Control before the proposed operator may submit it, along with his application for a mining permit, to the Land Resources Conservation Commission. The Department of Health and Environmental Control may conduct its own environmental impact study and prepare its own impact statement or may request some other agency, whether public or private or state or federal, to conduct an environmental impact study and issue the impact statement. The environmental impact statement, as approved initially by the Department of Health and Environmental Control and, subsequently, by the Land Resources Conservation Commission, constitutes a condition of the mining operation imposed on the mining operator. The costs of any environmental impact study and impact statement must be borne by the applicant for the permit."
SECTION 5. Section 48-20-80 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 454 of 1990, is amended to read:
"Section 48-20-80. An operator engaged in mining under an operating permit may apply for modification of the permit. The application must be in writing upon forms furnished by the department and must state fully the called-for information. The applicant may be required to furnish other information as may be necessary to the department to enforce this chapter adequately. It is not necessary to resubmit information which has not changed since the time of a prior application if the applicant states in writing that the information has not changed, except as provided in Section 48-20-85.
A modification under this section may affect the land area covered by the operating permit, the approved reclamation plan coupled with the operating permit, or other terms and conditions of the permit. An operating permit may be modified to include land neighboring the affected or permitted land but not and other lands. The reclamation plan may be modified if the department determines that the modified plan fully meets the standards set forth in Section 48-20-90 and that the modifications are generally consistent with the basis for issuance of the original operating permit. Other terms and conditions may be modified only if the department determines that the permit as modified meets the requirements of Sections 48-20-60 and 48-20-70.
In lieu of a modification, an operator may apply for a new permit in the manner prescribed by Sections 48-20-60, and 48-20-70, and 48-20-75.
No modification of a permit becomes effective until required changes have been made in the performance bond or other security posted under the provisions of Section 48-20-110 to assure the performance of obligations assumed by the operator under the permit and reclamation plan."
SECTION 6. Chapter 20 of Title 48 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 48-20-85. Before any operating permit issued under this chapter may be modified the operator seeking the modification must first submit an environmental impact statement to the Department of Health and Environmental Control demonstrating no adverse impact to any public or private lands, any surface or subsurface water, or air quality by the proposed modification of the permit in the county or counties where the mining operation is carried out and in every other county bordering the county or counties of the mining operation. The environmental impact statement must specifically show that no harmful gas, liquid, or chemical will be used in the mining operation and that no dangerous, or potentially dangerous, gas, liquid, or chemical utilized or to be utilized in the mining operation will have any adverse health effect on persons, animals, waters, or vegetation in each of the counties concerned. The Department of Health and Environmental Control shall conduct a public hearing in each of the counties concerned, after public notice of the hearing, on the adequacy of the environmental impact statement and shall prescribe by regulation the procedure for the hearing and the format and content of the environmental impact statement. The environmental impact statement must receive the approval of the Department of Health and Environmental Control before the operator may submit it, along with his application for modification of the mining permit, to the Land Resources Conservation Commission. The Department of Health and Environmental Control may conduct its own environmental impact study and prepare its own impact statement or may request some other agency, whether public or private or state or federal, to conduct an environmental impact study and issue the impact statement. The environmental impact statement, as approved initially by the Department of Health and Environmental Control and, subsequently, by the Land Resources Conservation Commission, constitutes a condition of the mining operation imposed on the mining operator. The costs of any environmental impact study and impact statement must be borne by the mining operator."
SECTION 7. Chapter 20 of Title 48 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 48-20-87. An appeal to the courts must be taken from any decision of the Department of Health and Environmental Control to approve or disapprove, or to modify or refuse to modify, an environmental impact statement under Section 48-20-75 or 48-20-85, respectively. The appellant may be any person who is aggrieved and is directly affected by the decision of the Department of Health and Environmental Control, and the appeal may be filed in the Court of Common Pleas for Richland County or for the county in which the principal mining operation is to be conducted."
SECTION 8. Chapter 20 of Title 48 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 48-20-95. Notwithstanding the provisions of Sections 48-20-75 and 48-20-85 or any other provision of this chapter, the proposed operator or the operator of any sandpit or any rock quarry is exempted from the required environmental impact statements of Sections 48-20-75 and 48-20-85."
SECTION 9. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.