Current Status Bill Number:1194 Type of Legislation:General Bill GB Introducing Body:Senate Introduced Date:19980415 Primary Sponsor:Courtney All Sponsors:Courtney Drafted Document Number:jud9067.ctc Residing Body:Senate Current Committee:Medical Affairs Committee 13 SMA Subject:Toxic chemicals, procedure to establish financial assurance from hazardous waste generator or processor, Nuclear Waste
Body Date Action Description Com Leg Involved
______ ________ _______________________________________ _______ ____________
Senate 19980415 Introduced, read first time, 13 SMA
referred to Committee
View additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.
TO AMEND CHAPTER 56, TITLE 44, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE SOUTH CAROLINA HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT ACT, BY ADDING ARTICLE 7, SO AS TO ESTABLISH PROCEDURES FOR OBTAINING FINANCIAL ASSURANCE FROM A GENERATOR OF HAZARDOUS WASTE OR A PROCESSOR OF TOXIC CHEMICALS; BY ADDING SECTION 44-56-610, SO AS TO INCLUDE DEFINITIONS; BY ADDING SECTION 44-56-620, SO AS TO REQUIRE FINANCIAL ASSURANCE FROM A PERSON WHO GENERATES HAZARDOUS WASTE OR PROCESSES TOXIC CHEMICALS AND TO PROVIDE THAT THIS SECTION APPLIES TO ACTIVITY COMMENCED AFTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SECTION; BY ADDING SECTION 44-56-630, SO AS TO PROVIDE PENALTIES FOR A PERSON WHO HAS FAILED TO PROVIDE FINANCIAL ASSURANCE; AND BY ADDING SECTION 44-56-640, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL SHALL PROMULGATE REGULATIONS NECESSARY FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS ARTICLE.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Chapter 56, Title 44 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
Section 44-56-610. As used in this article:
(1) 'Clean-up' means testing of a site to determine the presence of hazardous waste or toxic chemicals and any response action necessary to remedy actual or potential damage to public health, the public welfare, or the environment.
(2) 'Department' means the Department of Health and Environmental Control.
(3) 'Director' means the director of the department or his authorized agent.
(4) 'Generation' means the act or process of producing waste materials.
(5) 'Hazardous waste' means any waste, or combination of wastes, of a solid, liquid, contained gaseous, or semisolid form which because of its quantity, concentration, or physical, chemical, or infectious characteristics may in the judgment of the department:
(a) cause, or significantly contribute to an increase in mortality or an increase in serious irreversible, or incapacitating reversible illness; or
(b) pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported, or disposed of, or otherwise managed. These wastes may include, but are not limited to, those which are toxic, corrosive, flammable, irritants, strong sensitizers, persistent in nature, assimilated, or concentrated in tissue, or which generate pressure through decomposition, heat, or other means. The term does not include solid or dissolved materials in domestic sewage, or solid dissolved materials in irrigation return flows, or industrial discharges which are point sources subject to NPDES permits under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act or the Pollution Control Act of South Carolina or source, special nuclear, or byproduct material as defined in the Atomic Energy Act of 1954.
(6) 'Person' means any individual, partnership, corporation, association, or other entity.
(7) 'Response action' means any cleanup, containment, inspection, or closure of a site ordered by the director as necessary to remedy actual or potential damages to public health, the public welfare, or the environment.
Section 44-56-620. (A) No person may generate hazardous waste for which an EPA identification number is required, and the department may not issue an EPA identification number to any person, until the person has provided the department with financial assurance as required by this section.
(B) No person may manufacture, process, or use in a manufacturing process any toxic chemical subject to Section 313 of the Federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, until the person has provided the department with financial assurance as required by this section.
(C) Financial assurance required by this section must be a bond, escrow, insurance coverage, or other financial assurance in a form and amount which the department determines is sufficient to guarantee the availability of adequate funds for clean-up of the site and of any adjoining land to which waste may have migrated from the site.
(1) The amount of the financial assurance required by the department must bear a reasonable relation to the potential clean-up costs arising from the activities of the person. In determining the amount of the financial assurance, the department shall consider:
(a) the amount and type of hazardous waste to be generated or toxic chemical to be manufactured, processed, or used;
(b) the person's plans for handling, storing, transporting, and disposal of the hazardous waste or toxic chemical, insofar as the activity affects the potential for contamination of the site;
(c) physical characteristics of the site that affect the ease of testing for the presence of hazardous wastes or toxic chemicals, the ease of cleaning up the site, and the potential for migration to adjoining land; and
(d) other factors affecting the probable costs of properly closing the facility.
(2) The financial assurance shall not be in the form of a corporate guarantee unless after paying the amount of the financial assurance, the corporation could still meet the standards set forth in Section 33-6-400(c).
(D) Financial assurance as required by this section must be maintained until closure, abandonment, or interruption of operation of the facility, and thereafter until the department determines that the site and adjoining land to which substances may have migrated from the site are not contaminated by hazardous waste or toxic chemicals arising from the activities of the person. A site is contaminated if hazardous wastes, including toxic chemicals that are contained on the site or have been released into the environment, are present on the site in an amount such that response action is required in order to remedy actual or potential damages to public health, the public welfare, or the environment.
(E) This section applies only to hazardous waste for which a person is required to obtain an EPA identification number after the effective date of this statute and to a person who commences the manufacture, processing, or use of toxic chemicals after the effective date of this section.
Section 44-56-630. Any officer or board member of a corporation, or any partner or owner of an unincorporated business, who has actual or constructive knowledge that the corporation or business has failed to report to the department as required by Section 44-56-130(1) or has failed to provide the department with financial assurance as required by Section 44-56-620, and fails to take reasonable action to assure compliance with these requirements is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than twenty-five thousand dollars per day or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both.
Section 44-56-640. The department shall promulgate regulations necessary for the implementation of this article."
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.