S 678 Session 111 (1995-1996)
S 0678 General Bill, By Lander, Elliott, Gregory, Leventis, Matthews and
Waldrep
Similar(H 3907)
A Bill to amend Title 44, Chapter 56, Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976,
relating to hazardous waste, by adding Article 4 so as to provide for
drycleaning facility discharge rehabilitation, to create the Drycleaning
Facility Restoration Trust Fund and provide for its uses, to establish
procedures for receiving site rehabilitation funds, to require drycleaning
facilities to register and pay fees, to establish surcharges for conducting a
drycleaning business or for producing or importing drycleaning solvents, and
to establish the Drycleaning Advisory Council and to provide for its
membership and duties.
03/29/95 Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-7
03/29/95 Senate Referred to Committee on Agriculture and Natural
Resources SJ-7
A BILL
TO AMEND TITLE 44, CHAPTER 56, CODE OF LAWS OF
SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO HAZARDOUS
WASTE, BY ADDING ARTICLE 4 SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR
DRYCLEANING FACILITY DISCHARGE REHABILITATION,
TO CREATE THE DRYCLEANING FACILITY RESTORATION
TRUST FUND AND PROVIDE FOR ITS USES, TO ESTABLISH
PROCEDURES FOR RECEIVING SITE REHABILITATION
FUNDS, TO REQUIRE DRYCLEANING FACILITIES TO
REGISTER AND PAY FEES, TO ESTABLISH SURCHARGES
FOR CONDUCTING A DRYCLEANING BUSINESS OR FOR
PRODUCING OR IMPORTING DRYCLEANING SOLVENTS,
AND TO ESTABLISH THE DRYCLEANING ADVISORY
COUNCIL AND TO PROVIDE FOR ITS MEMBERSHIP AND
DUTIES.
Whereas, the General Assembly finds that:
(1) Drycleaning solvents have been discharged in the past at
drycleaning facilities as part of the normal operation of these
facilities.
(2) Discharges of drycleaning solvents at drycleaning facilities
have occurred and are occurring and that discharges pose a threat to
the quality of the groundwaters and inland surface waters of this
State.
(3) Where contamination of the ground or surface water has
occurred, remedial measures have often been delayed for long
periods while determinations as to liability and the extent of
liability are made and that delays result in the continuation and
intensification of the threat to the public health, safety, and welfare,
in greater damage to the environment, and in significantly higher
costs to contain and remove the contamination.
(4) Resources must be generated by the drycleaning industry
and related industries in South Carolina to provide funds to
rehabilitate sites contaminated by the release of drycleaning solvents
and to provide liability immunity for eligible members of the
industries. Now, therefore,
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South
Carolina:
SECTION 1. Title 44, Chapter 56 of the 1976 Code is amended
by adding:
"Article 4
Drycleaning Facility Discharge Rehabilitation
Section 44-56-410. As used in this article:
(1) `Department' means the Department of Health and
Environmental Control.
(2) `Discharge' means leakage, seepage, or other release.
(3) `Drycleaning facility' means a commercial establishment
located in this State that operates or has at some time in the past
operated in whole or in part for the purpose of cleaning clothing
and other fabrics utilizing a process which involves the use of
drycleaning solvents. `Drycleaning facility' includes laundry
facilities that are using or have used drycleaning solvents as part of
their cleaning process, but does not include, textile mills or uniform
rental and linen supply facilities.
(4) `Drycleaning solvents' means nonaqueous solvents used in
the cleaning of clothing and other fabrics and includes
perchloroethylene (also known as tetrachloroethylene) and Stoddard
solvent, and their breakdown products. `Drycleaning solvents'
includes only solvents originating from use at a drycleaning facility
or by a wholesale supply facility.
(4) `Dry drop-off facility' means a commercial retail store that
receives from customers clothing and other fabrics for drycleaning
at an off-site drycleaning facility and does not clean the clothing or
fabrics at the store utilizing drycleaning solvents.
(6) `Employee' means an individual employed at an active
drycleaning facility.
(7) `Person' means any individual, partnership, corporation,
association, or other entity.
(8) `Wholesale supply facility' means a commercial
establishment that supplies drycleaning solvents to drycleaning
facilities.
Section 44-56-420. (A) There is created in the state treasury a
separate and distinct account called the `Drycleaning Facility
Restoration Trust Fund' which must be administered by the
Department of Health and Environmental Control and which must
be expended for the purposes of this chapter. Judgments,
recoveries, reimbursements, loans, and other fees and charges
related to the implementation of this section, the tax revenues
levied, collected, and credited pursuant to Section 44-56-480, and
the registration fees collected pursuant to Section 44-56-470 must
be credited to the fund. Charges against the fund must be made in
accordance with the provisions of this section. The State accepts no
financial responsibility as a result of the creation of the fund. The
creation of the fund creates no burden upon the State to provide
monies for the fund by any mechanisms other than as provided in
this section. At no time shall monies from the general fund be
obligated to supplement the fund. The State may recover to the
fund any funds expended from the fund which were not utilized in
accordance with this article.
(B) Whenever incidents of contamination by drycleaning
solvents related to the operation of drycleaning facilities or
wholesale supply facilities pose a threat to the environment or the
public health, safety, or welfare, the department shall obligate
monies available in the fund pursuant to this section to provide for:
(1) the prompt investigation and assessment of the
contaminated sites; however, the owner or operator of a drycleaning
facility or wholesale supply facility must pay for the cost of the
investigation and assessment up to the amount of the owner's or
operator's deductible, and the department only shall provide monies
that exceed the owner's or operator's deductible;
(2) the expeditious treatment, restoration, or replacement of
potable water supplies;
(3) the rehabilitation of contaminated drycleaning facility
sites, which consist of rehabilitation of affected soil, groundwater,
and surface waters, using the most cost-effective alternative that is
reliable and feasible technologically and that provides adequate
protection of the public health, safety, and welfare and minimizes
environmental damage in accordance with the site selection and
rehabilitation criteria established by the department, except that
nothing in this chapter may be construed to authorize the
department to obligate funds for payment of costs which may be
associated with, but are not integral to, site rehabilitation;
(4) the maintenance and monitoring of contaminated sites;
(5) the inspection and supervision of activities described in
this section;
(6) the expenses of administering the fund by the department
including the employment of department staff to carry out the
department's duties described in this article;
(7) the payment of reasonable costs of restoring property as
nearly as practicable to the conditions which existed before
activities associated with contamination assessment or remedial
action, as determined by the department.
(C) The fund may not be used to:
(1) restore sites which are contaminated by solvents normally
used in drycleaning operations if the activities at a site are not
related to the operation of a drycleaning facility or wholesale supply
facility;
(2) restore sites that are contaminated by drycleaning solvents
being transported to or from a drycleaning facility or wholesale
supply facility or that are contaminated as a result of the delivery of
drycleaning solvents to a drycleaning facility or wholesale supply
facility on or after January 1, 1996. However, the fund may be
used for the purposes set forth in Section 44-56-420(B) for sites
that are contaminated by drycleaning solvents as a result of the
delivery of drycleaning solvents to a drycleaning facility or
wholesale supply facility before January 1, 1996, if the
contamination did not result from gross negligence.
(3) fund any costs related to the restoration of a site that is
proposed for listing or is listed on the State Priority List or on the
National Priority List pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, as amended by
the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986, or
any site that is required to obtain a permit pursuant to the Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act, as amended.
(4) pay any costs associated with a fine, penalty, or action
brought against the owner or operator of a drycleaning facility or
wholesale supply facility under local, state, or federal law;
(5) pay any costs incurred before July 1, 1995, for the
remediation of a contaminated site;
(6) pay any costs to landscape or otherwise artificially
improve a contaminated site;
(7) pay any costs related to the restoration of a wholesale
supply storage site which is contaminated by Stoddard solvent and
other hydrocarbon-based chemicals;
(8) pay any costs related to contamination assessment where
no contamination from drycleaning solvents is discovered.
(D) The department may obtain an environmental liability
insurance policy with a credible insurance company when a policy
is available. The sole purpose of the policy is to initiate site
rehabilitation at a site where the contamination from drycleaning
solvents poses a clear, substantial, and present danger to a public
water supply provided that the Drycleaning Restoration Fund is
deemed to be insolvent for site rehabilitation of this public
emergency. The policy must be paid for by the interest generated
by the fund. Interest generated by the fund must be used for
paying premiums for the policy based on a competitive bid. The
State Treasurer shall select the insurance company and provide
oversight and dispersement of the policy funds.
(E) The department shall promulgate regulations that provide for
an initial contamination assessment to determine whether a
drycleaning facility or wholesale supply facility is contaminated by
drycleaning solvents. Payment for the initial assessment is as
provided for in subsection (B), and site rehabilitation portions of the
program must be administered through direct payments to
contractors actually accomplishing the site rehabilitation and not
through reimbursement to drycleaning or wholesale supply facility
owners or operators.
(F) If the fund becomes insolvent and the letter of credit has
been completely expended and the department declares a site is an
emergency, the owner or operator of the drycleaning facility or
warehouse is liable for the cost of that cleanup. However, once the
fund becomes solvent and it repays the letter of credit, the owner or
operator who paid for the cleanup must be reimbursed for the costs
incurred to clean up the site through annual payments which may
not exceed five percent of the total fund's average annual balance.
Section 44-56-430. (A) If the State Treasurer determines that the
fund is insolvent, an environmental surcharge must be levied on
every person for the privilege of engaging in the business of
laundering and drycleaning clothing and other fabrics in this State
at a rate of one-half percent on all gross sales for a minimum of
one year. When the State Treasurer determines that the fund is
solvent the one-half percent surcharge must be suspended.
(B) The surcharge imposed by this section is due on the first
day of the month succeeding the month in which the charge is
imposed and must be paid before the twenty-first day of each
month. The surcharge must be reported on forms and in the
manner prescribed in regulation by the Department of Revenue and
Taxation. The proceeds of the surcharge, after deducting the
administrative costs incurred by the Department of Revenue and
Taxation in administering, auditing, collecting, distributing, and
enforcing the surcharge, must be remitted to the State Treasurer and
credited to the fund and must be used as provided in Section
44-56-420. For the purposes of this section, the proceeds of the
surcharge include all funds collected and received by the
Department of Revenue and Taxation including interest and
penalties on delinquent surcharges.
The Department of Revenue and Taxation shall administer,
collect, and enforce the surcharge imposed under this section
pursuant to the procedures for administration, collection, and
enforcement of the general stated sales tax imposed under Title 12,
except as provided in this subsection. These procedures include,
but are not limited to, those regarding the filing of consolidated
returns, the granting of sale for resale exemptions, and the interest
and penalties on delinquent taxes. The surcharge must not be
included in the computation of estimated taxes, and the dealer's
credit for collecting taxes or fees does not apply.
Section 44-56-440. (A) To encourage participation in the fund,
the Board of the Department of Health and Environmental Control
shall establish a moratorium on administrative and judicial actions
by the department concerning drycleaning facilities and wholesale
supply facilities resulting from the discharge of drycleaning solvents
to soil or waters of the State. This moratorium applies only to
those facilities deemed eligible as defined in this section. The
board may review and determine the appropriateness of the
moratorium at least annually. This review shall include, but is not
limited to, consideration of these factors:
(1) the solvency of the fund as described in Section
44-56-420;
(2) prioritization of the sites;
(3) public health concerns related to the sites;
(4) eligibility of the sites;
(5) corrective action plans submitted to the department.
After review, the board may suspend all or a portion of the
moratorium if necessary.
(B) A drycleaning facility or wholesale supply facility that is
being operated as a drycleaning facility or wholesale supply facility
at the time a request for determination of eligibility is filed and at
which there is contamination from drycleaning solvents is eligible
under this section regardless of when the contamination was
discovered if the drycleaning facility or wholesale supply facility:
(1) has registered with the department;
(2) is determined by the department to be in compliance with
department regulations regulating drycleaning facilities or wholesale
supply facilities at the time a determination of eligibility is
requested;
(3) has third-party liability insurance when and if the
insurance becomes available at a reasonable cost, as determined by
the Drycleaning Advisory Council and if the insurance covers
liability for contamination that occurred both before and after the
effective date of the policy;
(4) has provided documented evidence of contamination by
drycleaning solvents;
(5) after December 1, 1996, demonstrates current certification
pursuant to Section 44-56-470(D).
(C) A drycleaning facility or wholesale supply facility that
ceases to be operated as a drycleaning facility or wholesale supply
facility before the time a request for determination of eligibility is
filed and at which there is contamination from drycleaning solvents
is eligible under this section regardless of when the contamination
was discovered provided the owner or operator of the drycleaning
facility or wholesale supply facility provides documented evidence
of the contamination by drycleaning solvents.
(D) A drycleaning facility that has been contaminated as a result
of the discharge of drycleaning solvents by a supplier of solvents
during the delivery of drycleaning solvents to a drycleaning facility
first must utilize the insurance of the supplier to the full extent of
the coverage for site rehabilitation before any funds may be
expended from the fund for the rehabilitation of that portion of the
site which was contaminated by the discharge during delivery.
(E) An eligible owner or operator of a drycleaning solvent
contamination site must pay a deductible in accordance with the
following:
(1) for those drycleaning facilities which are being operated
as drycleaning facilities and which employ:
(a) up to four employees, the deductible is five thousand
dollars;
(b) from five to ten employees, the deductible is ten
thousand dollars;
(c) more than ten employees, the deductible is fifteen
thousand dollars;
(2) for those drycleaning facilities which have ceased to be
operated as drycleaning facilities, there is no deductible;
(3) for wholesale supply facilities, the deductible is
twenty-five thousand dollars;
(4) for drycleaning facilities which are abandoned at which
persons or entities are no longer involved in the drycleaning
industry and never paid into the fund, the deductible is twenty-five
thousand dollars;
(5) for a contaminated site which is no longer operated as a
drycleaning plant site and the existing owner is involved in the
drycleaning industry and has paid into the fund, the deductible is
ten thousand dollars.
(F) An owner of a drycleaning facility or wholesale supply
facility seeking eligibility under this subsection shall submit an
application for determination of eligibility to the department on
forms provided by the department. The department shall review the
application and request any additional information within ninety
days. The department shall notify the applicant within one hundred
eighty days as to whether the facility is eligible.
(G) Eligibility under this subsection applies to the site of the
drycleaning facilities or wholesale supply facilities. A determination
of eligibility or ineligibility is not affected by the subsequent
conveyance of the ownership of the drycleaning facilities or
wholesale supply facilities.
(H) This section does not apply to a site where the department
has been denied site access to implement this section or to
drycleaning facilities owned or operated by a local government or
by the state or federal government.
(I) A site owned by an owner of a drycleaning facility also at
any time subsequent to July 1, 1996, misrepresented the number of
employees upon which the registration fee provided for in Section
44-56-460 is based is not eligible for funds under this section.
Section 44-56-450. (A) In order to identify drycleaning facilities
and wholesale suppliers which have experienced contamination
resulting from the discharge of drycleaning solvents and to assure
the most expedient rehabilitation of these sites, the owners and
operators of drycleaning facilities and wholesale suppliers are
encouraged to detect and report contamination from drycleaning
solvents related to the operation of drycleaning facilities or
wholesale supply facilities. The department shall establish
reasonable guidelines for the written reporting of drycleaning
contamination and shall distribute forms to registrants and to other
interested parties upon request to be used for this purpose.
(B) A report of drycleaning solvent contamination at a
drycleaning facility made to the department by a person in
accordance with this article or regulations promulgated under this
article may not be used directly as evidence of liability for the
discharge in a civil or criminal trial arising out of the discharge.
Section 44-56-460. (A) The fund must be used to rehabilitate
sites that pose a significant threat to the public health, safety, or
welfare. The department shall promulgate regulations to establish
priorities for state-conducted rehabilitation at contaminated
drycleaning facilities or wholesale supply facilities sites based upon
factors that include, but are not limited to:
(1) the degree to which human health, safety, or welfare
may be affected by exposure to the contamination;
(2) the size of the population or area affected by the
contamination;
(3) the present and future uses of the affected aquifer or
surface waters, with particular consideration as to the probability
that the contamination is substantially affecting or will migrate to
and substantially affect a known public or private source of potable
water; and
(4) the effect of the contamination on the environment.
(B) The department shall establish criteria by regulation for
the purpose of determining, on a site-specific basis, the
rehabilitation program tasks that comprise a site rehabilitation
program and the level at which a rehabilitation program task and a
site rehabilitation program may be deemed completed. Criteria for
determining completion of site rehabilitation program tasks and site
rehabilitation programs must be based upon the factors set forth in
subsection (A)(1) and these factors:
(1) individual site characteristics, including natural
rehabilitation processes;
(2) applicable state water quality standards;
(3) whether deviation from state water quality standards or
from established criteria is appropriate, based upon the degree to
which the desired rehabilitation level is achievable and can be
reasonably and cost-effectively implemented within available
technologies or control strategies, except that, where a state water
quality standard is applicable, the deviation may not result in the
application of standards more stringent than the standard.
(4) it is recognized that restoration of groundwater
resources contaminated with certain drycleaning solvents, such as
perchloroethylene, may not be achievable using currently available
technology. In situations where available technology is not
anticipated to meet water quality standards, the department, at its
discretion, is encouraged to use innovative technology including,
but not limited to, technology which has been field tested through
the federal innovative technology program and which has
engineering and cost data available.
(5) Nothing in this section may be construed to restrict the
department from temporarily postponing completion of a site
rehabilitation program for which drycleaning restoration funds are
being expended whenever the postponement is considered necessary
in order to make funds available for rehabilitation of a drycleaning
facility or wholesale supply facility site with a higher priority
status.
(C) The department may not expend from the fund yearly more
than five percent of the average annual balance of the fund to pay
for the costs at any one eligible site for the activities described in
Section 44-56-420(B).
(D) The department shall promulgate regulations necessary for
the implementation of this section.
Section 44-56-470. (A) An owner or operator of a
drycleaning facility shall register each facility owned and in
operation with the department by July 1, 1996, pay initial
registration fees by October 1, 1996, and pay annual renewal
registration fees as established by department regulations each
subsequent year.
(B) An owner of a drycleaning facility shall submit to the
department an initial and annual registration fee for each
drycleaning facility. The fee for a drycleaning facility with:
(1) up to four employees is seven hundred fifty dollars;
(2) five to ten employees is one thousand, five hundred
dollars;
(3) eleven or more employees is two thousand, two hundred
fifty dollars.
The fee must be paid within thirty days after receipt of billing by
the department.
(C) Revenue derived from the registration fees must be
submitted to the State Treasurer and credited to the Drycleaning
Facility Restoration Trust Fund.
(D) Before December 1, 1996, an operator of a drycleaning
facility shall receive certification from the International Fabricare
Institute, the Neighborhood Cleaners Association, or some other
comparable nationally recognized drycleaning industry association
certifying that the operator has demonstrated a level of competency
to operate a drycleaning facility in accordance with the highest
standards of the drycleaning industry.
(E) Before December 31, 1998, an owner of a drycleaning
facility shall install dikes or other containment structures around
each machine or item of equipment in which drycleaning solvents
are used. The dikes or containment structures must be capable of
containing one-third of the capacity of the total tank capacity of
each machine. To the extent practicable, an owner of a drycleaning
facility shall seal or otherwise render impervious those portions of
all diked floor surfaces upon which any drycleaning solvents may
leak, spill, or otherwise be released.
Section 44-56-480. (A) Beginning July 1, 1995, an
environmental surcharge is levied on the privilege of producing in,
importing into, or causing to be imported into the State
perchloroethylene (tetrachloroethylene) and Stoddard solvent. A
surcharge of ten dollars per gallon on perchloroethylene and two
dollars per gallon on Stoddard solvent is levied on each gallon to be
used for drycleaning purposes when first imported into or produced
in the State.
(B) A person producing in, importing into, or causing to be
imported into this State perchloroethylene and Stoddard solvent for
sale, use, or otherwise must register with the Department of
Revenue and Taxation and become licensed for the purposes of
remitting the surcharge pursuant to this section. The person must
register as a producer or importer of perchloroethylene or Stoddard
solvent. Persons operating at more than one location only are
required to have a single registration. The fee for registration is
thirty dollars. Failure to timely register is a misdemeanor and,
upon conviction, the person must be fined up to one thousand
dollars or imprisoned up to thirty days.
(C) The surcharge imposed by this section is due on the first
day of the month succeeding the month of production, importation,
or removal from a storage facility and must be paid on or before
the twentieth day of the month. The surcharge must be reported on
forms and in the manner prescribed by the Department of Revenue
and Taxation by regulation.
(D) A person subject to the surcharge under this section or a
person who sells surcharge-paid perchloroethylene or Stoddard
solvent, other than a retail dealer, must separately state the amount
of the surcharge paid on a charge ticket, sales slip, invoice, or other
tangible evidence of the sale or must certify on the sales document
that the surcharge required pursuant to this section has been paid.
(E) All perchloroethylene and Stoddard solvent to be used for
drycleaning purposes which are imported, produced, or sold in this
State are presumed to be subject to the surcharge imposed by this
section. A person, except the final retail consumer, who has
purchased perchloroethylene or Stoddard solvent for use in
drycleaning for sale, use, consumption, or distribution in this State
must document that the surcharge imposed by this section has been
paid or must pay the surcharge directly to the Department of
Revenue and Taxation in accordance with subsection (C).
(F) An annual fee based on the number of employees, as
defined in Section 44-56-410, must be remitted to each drycleaning
facility. The annual fee for facilities having one to four employees
is seven hundred fifty dollars. The annual fee for facilities having
five to eleven employees is one thousand, five hundred dollars.
The annual fee for facilities having eleven or more employees is
two thousand, two hundred fifty dollars.
(G) The surcharge imposed by this section must be remitted to
the Department of Revenue and Taxation. The payment must be
accompanied by the forms as the Department of Revenue and
Taxation prescribes. The proceeds of the surcharge, after deducting
the administrative costs incurred by the Department of Revenue and
Taxation in administering, auditing, collecting, distributing, and
enforcing the surcharge, must be remitted by the Department of
Revenue and Taxation to the State Treasurer to be credited to the
Drycleaning Facility Restoration Trust Fund and must be used as
provided in Section 44-56-420. For the purposes of this section,
the proceeds of the surcharge include all funds collected and
received by the Department of Revenue and Taxation, including
interest and penalties on delinquent surcharges.
(H) The Department of Revenue and Taxation shall administer,
collect, and enforce the surcharge authorized under this section
pursuant to the same procedures used in the administration,
collection, and enforcement of the general state sales tax imposed
under Title 12
except as provided in this section. Provisions of Title 12 regarding
the department's authority to audit and make assessments, the
keeping of books and records, and interest and penalties on
delinquent taxes apply. The surcharge may not be included in the
computation of estimated taxes nor does the dealer's credit for
collecting taxes or fees apply to the surcharge.
(I) The Department of Revenue and Taxation may employ
persons and incur other related expenses using only monies
available in the fund. The Department of Revenue and Taxation
may promulgate regulations and prescribe and shall publish forms
as may be necessary to effectuate the purposes of this section.
(J) The Department of Revenue and Taxation may establish
audit procedures and assess delinquent surcharges.
(K) Perchloroethylene and Stoddard solvent used for drycleaning
exported from the first storage facility at which it is held in this
State by the producer or importer is exempt from the surcharge
pursuant to this section. Anyone exporting perchloroethylene or
Stoddard solvent on which the surcharge has been paid may apply
for a refund or credit. The Department of Revenue and Taxation
may require information as it considers necessary in order to
approve the refund or credit.
(L) The Department of Revenue and Taxation may authorize:
(1) a quarterly return and payment when the surcharge
remitted by the licensee for the preceding quarter did not exceed
one hundred dollars;
(2) a semiannual return and payment when the surcharge
remitted by the licensee for the preceding six months did not exceed
two hundred dollars;
(3) an annual return and payment when the surcharge
remitted by the licensee for the preceding twelve months did not
exceed four hundred dollars.
Section 44-56-490. (A) There is created the Drycleaning
Advisory Council to advise the Department of Health and
Environmental Control on matters relating to regulations and
standards which affect drycleaning and related industries.
(B) The council is composed of:
(1) six representatives of the drycleaning industry;
(2) one representative of the wholesale industry;
(3) one representative of the real estate industry;
(4) one hydrogeologist;
(5) one representative of drinking water consumers;
(6) one representative of the banking industry;
(7) one representative from the Department of Health and
Environmental Control;
(8) one representative from the Department of Revenue and
Taxation.
(C) Members enumerated in subsection (B)(1) through (6) must
be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the
Senate and shall serve terms of two years and until their successors
are appointed and qualify. The representative of the Department of
Health and Environmental Control must be appointed by the
Director of the department and the representative of the Department
of Revenue and Taxation must be appointed by the Director of the
Department of Revenue and Taxation, and both serve ex officio and
for terms of two years and until their successors are appointed and
qualify. The chairman of the council must be elected by the
members of the council at the first meeting of each new term.
(D) The council and the department shall create a mechanism in
which consultants' credentials, work objectives and plans, proposed
costs ranging from assessment, cleanup, and monitoring are outlined
and submitted in writing for the council and the department's
approval. The department shall establish a list of those vendors
who are qualified to perform work to be financed by the fund.
Vendors must be recertified every two years."
SECTION 2. Notwithstanding Section 44-56-490(C) of the 1976
Code, as added by Section 1 of this act, the term for members
initially appointed to the Drycleaning Advisory Council is for three
years and the six representatives of the drycleaning industry must be
appointed by the Governor from nominations submitted by the
South Carolina Drycleaning Council, Inc.
SECTION 3. This act is repealed July 1, 2015, unless
reauthorized by the General Assembly.
SECTION 4. This act takes effect July 1, 1995.
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