S 1194 Session 112 (1997-1998)
S 1194 General Bill, By Courtney
A BILL 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.
04/15/98 Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-7
04/15/98 Senate Referred to Committee on Medical Affairs SJ-7
A BILL
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:
"Article 7
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.
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