H 3432 Session 110 (1993-1994)
H 3432 General Bill, By R.S. Corning and C.Y. Waites
A Bill 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
02/09/93 House Introduced and read first time HJ-12
02/09/93 House Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Natural
Resources and Environmental Affairs HJ-13
A BILL
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.
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