H 3824 Session 110 (1993-1994)
H 3824 General Bill, By Canty, G. Brown, J. Brown, Cobb-Hunter, Kennedy,
W.D. Keyserling, J.T. McElveen, M. McLeod, J.H. Neal, T.F. Rogers, Scott,
C.Y. Waites and L.S. Whipper
A Bill to amend the Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976, by adding Chapter
57, Title 44 so as to enact the "Environmental Equity Act of 1993"; to require
the Department of Health and Environmental Control to identify environmental
high risk areas containing high levels of toxic chemicals; to authorize toxic
chemical user fees and to establish a technical assistance grant program; to
require the Department to report significant adverse impacts of toxic chemical
environmental pollution on human health and to recommend means to correct
these adverse impacts; and to require that a facility siting demographic
description must be submitted with an applicant seeking approval for siting a
toxic chemical facility and that the siting may not be approved if it does not
conform to the purposes and requirements of this Chapter.
04/01/93 House Introduced and read first time HJ-9
04/01/93 House Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Natural
Resources and Environmental Affairs HJ-10
A BILL
TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976,
BY ADDING CHAPTER 57, TITLE 44 SO AS TO ENACT THE
"ENVIRONMENTAL EQUITY ACT OF 1993"; TO
REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL TO IDENTIFY ENVIRONMENTAL
HIGH RISK AREAS CONTAINING HIGH LEVELS OF TOXIC
CHEMICALS; TO AUTHORIZE TOXIC CHEMICAL USER FEES
AND TO ESTABLISH A TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE GRANT
PROGRAM; TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT TO REPORT
SIGNIFICANT ADVERSE IMPACTS OF TOXIC CHEMICAL
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION ON HUMAN HEALTH AND TO
RECOMMEND MEANS TO CORRECT THESE ADVERSE
IMPACTS; AND TO REQUIRE THAT A FACILITY SITING
DEMOGRAPHIC DESCRIPTION MUST BE SUBMITTED WITH AN
APPLICANT SEEKING APPROVAL FOR SITING A TOXIC
CHEMICAL FACILITY AND THAT THE SITING MAY NOT BE
APPROVED IF IT DOES NOT CONFORM TO THE PURPOSES AND
REQUIREMENTS OF THIS CHAPTER.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. This act may be cited as the "Environmental Equity
Act of 1993".
SECTION 2. Title 44 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"CHAPTER 57
Environmental Equity
Section 44-57-10. This chapter may be cited as `The Environmental
Equity Act'.
Section 44-57-20. As used in this chapter:
(1) `Environmental high risk area' or `high risk area' means a tract
with the highest toxicity of chemicals present in the most recent
five-year period using the most recent data as compiled by the
Department of Health and Environmental Control and the Environmental
Protection Agency's Toxic Release Inventory.
(2) `Tract' means an area identified and designated in the State by
the U. S. Census Bureau in the latest Census available.
(3) `Toxic chemicals' includes:
(a) hazardous substances defined in Section 101(14) of the
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability
Act of 1980;
(b) a pollutant for which air quality standards have been issued
pursuant to the Clean Air Act;
(c) a pollutant for which water quality standards have been issued
pursuant to the Clean Water Act;
(d) materials registered pursuant to the Federal Insecticide,
Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act; and
(e) substances subject to reporting requirements pursuant to the
Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act.
(4) `Toxic chemical facility' or `facility' means a facility that stores,
uses, processes, treats, disposes, or releases a toxic chemical that is
subject to a permit, inspection or review, or registration requirement
under state law or these federal laws: the Solid Waste Disposal Act, the
Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide,
and Rodenticide Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act Hazard
Communication Standard, or a facility subject to the reporting
obligations under the Emergency Planning and Community
Right-to-Know Act.
Section 44-57-30. The purposes of this chapter are to:
(1) collect data on and assess the effects of toxic chemicals on
human health so that impacts on different individuals and groups can be
understood;
(2) identify those areas that are subject to the highest concentrations
of toxic chemicals;
(3) ensure that groups or individuals residing in an area impacted by
toxic chemicals may have access to information to enhance public
awareness and to facilitate public participation relative to the presence
and remediation of these chemicals in the area;
(4) curtail activities found to have a significant adverse impact on
human health in those areas of highest impact; and
(5) ensure that significant adverse health impacts that may be
associated with toxic chemical environmental pollution are not
distributed inequitably or in a discriminatory manner.
Section 44-57-40. (A) The Department of Health and
Environmental Control shall promulgate in regulation, pursuant to the
Administrative Procedures Act, a list of tracts in rank order of the
toxicity of chemicals in each tract during the most recent five years that
data is available with adjustments to account for relative toxicity and
distinctions made for chemicals that are stored, used, processed, treated,
disposed, or released. The one hundred tracts with the highest toxicity
of chemicals are designated as high risk areas. The department
biennially shall review and, if necessary, revise the list of tracts and the
high risk areas.
(B) The regulations also shall contain the methods by which these
toxicity calculations are to be computed, including the assumptions to
be used when the precise concentrations of toxic chemicals are not
known and the criteria to be used to account for relative toxicity.
(C) The department biennially shall review and, if necessary, revise
the list of tracts contained in regulation and promulgated pursuant to
subsection (A).
Section 44-57-50. The department shall establish in regulation toxic
chemical user fees to be assessed against toxic facilities in
environmental high risk areas in the State. These fees must be remitted
to the State Treasurer to be held separate and distinct in an
interest-bearing account, the interest from which must be attributed to
this account to fund the grant program established pursuant to Section
44-57-60.
Section 44-57-60. The department shall establish a grant program
to be funded by the user fees provided for in Section 44-57-50 for the
purpose of awarding technical assistance grants. These grants are to
enable individuals, citizens groups, and governmental agencies in high
risk areas to obtain an independent study of the impact of a toxic
chemical facility in the area so as to provide this information to the
public and to facilitate public participation, as provided for in the
Adminiatrative Procedures Act, in the development of regulations
including, but not limited to, the development of procedures and
methods for computations used to identify high risk areas and used in
the review and remediation of adverse health impacts affected by
environmental pollution related to toxic chemical facilities. Only one
grant may be given at one time to a single high risk area.
Section 44-57-70. The department's Office of Minority Health
annually shall report to the General Assembly on the nature and extent,
if any, of acute and chronic impacts on human health in environmental
high risk areas as compared to other tracts in the State. These impacts
shall include, but are not limited to, cancer, birth deformities, infant
mortality rates, and respiratory diseases. The report shall seek to:
(1) isolate the impacts of environmental pollution related to the
presence of toxic chemical facilities in the area;
(2) segregate the effects of other factors, such as health care
availability and substance abuse;
(3) rank the relative risks posed by toxic chemicals present in
environmental high risk areas and by the varied sources of toxic
chemicals, both individually and cumulatively;
(4) take into account the need to remedy the impacts of toxic
chemical pollution in high risk areas; and
(5) evaluate the levels below which the storage, use, processing,
treatment, disposal, or release of toxic chemicals, either individually or
cumulatively, must be reduced to avoid adverse impacts on human
health.
Section 44-57-80. (A) If the Office of Minority Health report
required under Section 44-57-70 identifies significant adverse impacts
of toxic chemical environmental pollution on human health in
environmental high risk areas as a group, within six months of this
report being submitted, the Department of Health and Environmental
Control shall submit to the General Assembly legislative
recommendations to remedy and prevent these impacts. These
recommendations shall include, but are not limited to:
(1) expansion of the facilities or toxic chemicals subject to this
chapter;
(2) the means to redress regulatory loopholes that may
inadvertently or otherwise exempt chemicals and facilities from the
purview of this chapter;
(3) measures such as taxes or restrictions in environmental high
risk areas on toxic chemical activities subject to this chapter, regardless
of whether facilities are in compliance with existing law.
(B) If the Office of Minority Health report identifies significant
adverse impacts of toxic chemical environmental pollution on human
health in an environmental high risk area, a moratorium must be
imposed on siting or permitting a new facility in that area. The
moratorium must be imposed until the department determines that a
significant reduction in levels of these chemicals, as provided for in
Section 48-57-70(5), has been attained in the high risk area.
Section 44-57-90. (A) As part of an application for a permit for the
siting of a toxic chemical facility, the applicant shall submit a facility
site demographics description to the department using only the most
recently publicly available data provided by the United States Census
Bureau and which must include:
(1) a breakdown of the population by race and ethnicity,
percentages of persons under five years of age and of persons over
sixty-five years of age, and the percent of persons below the federal
poverty level;
(2) the census tract in which the facility is located;
(3) all contiguous census tracts;
(4) the county and municipality, if any, in which the facility is to
be located.
(B) In determining whether to approve the toxic chemical facility
siting, the department shall consider the demographics contained in the
description and may not approve the siting if it does not conform to the
purposes and requirements of this article.
(C) The facility site demographics description may be in the form of
a one page chart and must be available to the public from the
department."
SECTION 3. Within nine months of this act's effective date the
department shall have initiated the process of promulgating regulations
required by Chapter 57, Title 44, as added by Section 2 of this act.
SECTION 4. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
-----XX----- |