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TO AMEND CHAPTER 87, TITLE 44, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE CRITERIA FOR ISSUANCE OF ASBESTOS ABATEMENT LICENSES, SO AS TO REVISE THE DEFINITION OF "ASBESTOS ABATEMENT ENTITY" AND "ASBESTOS PROJECT"; TO DELETE PROVISIONS ESTABLISHING LICENSURE FEES AND TO AUTHORIZE THE DEPARTMENT TO ESTABLISH SUCH FEES IN REGULATION SUFFICIENT TO COVER REASONABLE COSTS OF ADMINISTERING THE ASBESTOS PROGRAM AND TO DEFINE "COSTS"; AND TO INCREASE THE MAXIMUM CIVIL PENALTY FOR VIOLATIONS FROM ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS TO TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Chapter 87 of Title 44 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
Section 44-87-10. As used in this chapter:
(1) 'Asbestos abatement entity' means any individual, partnership, firm, association, corporation, sole proprietorship, or other business concern, as well as any an employee or member of a governmental, religious, or social organization or union with one or more employees or members which performs asbestos removal or encapsulation, that is involved in asbestos abatement.
(2) 'Asbestos project' means any an activity involving the removal, encapsulation, enclosure, renovation, repair, demolition, or other disturbance of friable asbestos containing materials associated with abatement, including inspection, design, air monitoring, in-place management, encapsulation, enclosure, renovation, repair, removal, any other disturbance of regulated asbestos-containing materials, and demolition of a regulated facility.
(3) 'Contractor' means any an individual partnership, corporation, or other business concern that performs asbestos abatement for a building facility owner but that which is not a permanent employee of the building facility owner.
(4) 'Department' means the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.
Section 44-87-20. (A) Asbestos abatement entities performing asbestos projects shall, before beginning work on a project, obtain an asbestos abatement project license from the department. The license must be obtained for each project, and the fee for the license is must be based on the square footage or , linear footage, or volume of asbestos involved in the in-placement management, removal, encapsulation, enclosure, renovation, repair, or any other disturbance of regulated asbestos-containing materials to be removed as follows:
(1) for projects, excluding special projects, removing less than two hundred fifty square feet or linear feet of asbestos-twenty-five dollars;
(2) for projects removing between two hundred fifty and ten thousand square feet or linear feet of asbestos-ten cents for each square foot or linear foot;
(3) for projects removing more than ten thousand square feet or linear feet-one thousand dollars.
The department shall retain the fees imposed by this section.
(B) The department may prescribe appropriate license application forms and may require attachment thereto documentation to be attached to the application which is sufficient to verify that the appropriate fee is paid. The department may by regulation define a category of special projects and prescribe alternate procedures and fees for licensing special projects.
The department shall retain the fees imposed by this section.
Section 44-87-30. Contractors, supervisors, workers, air sampling professionals, and consultants engaged in an asbestos project shall obtain an annual license from the department according to the following schedule:
(1) contractor - one hundred dollars;
(2) supervisor - fifty dollars;
(3) worker - ten dollars;
(4) air sampling professional - one hundred dollars;
(5) consultant - one hundred dollars. Licenses are valid for one year from the date of issue. An asbestos abatement entity involved in an asbestos project other than a demolition shall obtain a license from the department. The department may prescribe license application forms and may require attachment thereto documentation to be attached to the application which is sufficient to verify that the appropriate fee is paid. The department by regulation may define other categories and requirements for licensing of personnel who perform asbestos abatement work on special projects.
The department shall retain the fees imposed by this section.
Section 44-87-40. (A) The department may promulgate and enforce regulations to implement this chapter and to prescribe standards of performance for asbestos removal operations and criteria for obtaining the licenses required by this chapter.
(B) The department by regulation may establish fees sufficient to cover reasonable costs associated with the development, processing, and administration of the asbestos program. These costs may include, but are not limited to, staff, equipment, training, legal services, inspection and investigations, and enforcement activities.
Section 44-87-50. In addition to any other penalties provided by law or regulation, any A person violating the provisions a provision of this chapter may be assessed a civil penalty by the department in an amount not exceeding one ten thousand dollars for each violation."
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
This web page was last updated on Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at 2:24 P.M.