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S. 709
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Senators Mescher, Grooms and Leventis
Document Path: l:\council\bills\nbd\11660ac05.doc
Companion/Similar bill(s): 3922
Introduced in the Senate on April 6, 2005
Currently residing in the Senate Committee on Medical Affairs
Summary: Mercury Switch Removal Act of 2005
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS
Date Body Action Description with journal page number
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4/6/2005 Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-4
4/6/2005 Senate Referred to Committee on Medical Affairs SJ-4
View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
TO AMEND TITLE 44, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO HEALTH, BY ADDING CHAPTER 18 SO AS TO ENACT THE "MERCURY SWITCH REMOVAL ACT OF 2005" IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE REDUCTIONS OF MERCURY IN THE ENVIRONMENT THROUGH REMOVAL AND COLLECTION OF MERCURY SWITCHES FROM MOTOR VEHICLES WEIGHING LESS THAN TWELVE THOUSAND POUNDS; TO PROVIDE THAT EVERY MANUFACTURER OF MOTOR VEHICLES SOLD IN THIS STATE TO WHICH THIS CHAPTER APPLIES SHALL DEVELOP A MERCURY MINIMIZATION PLAN TO BE FILED WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL; TO PROVIDE FOR CERTAIN COSTS WITH REGARD TO THE COLLECTION AND RECOVERY OF MERCURY SWITCHES TO BE PAID BY THE VEHICLE MANUFACTURER; TO PROVIDE FOR OTHER RELATED PROVISIONS PERTAINING TO THE RECYCLING, STORAGE, AND DISPOSAL OF MERCURY SWITCHES, INCLUDING DESIGNATING MERCURY SWITCHES AS UNIVERSAL WASTE AND REQUIRING THE DEPARTMENT TO PROMULGATE REGULATIONS FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF THESE SWITCHES; AND TO PROVIDE PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Title 44 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
Section 44-18-110. This chapter is known and may be cited as the 'Mercury Switch Removal Act of 2005'.
Section 44-18-120. The purpose of this chapter is to reduce the quantity of mercury in the environment by removing mercury switches from end-of-life vehicles and by creating a collection and recovery program for mercury switches removed from end-of-life vehicles in the State of South Carolina.
Section 44-18-130. As used in this chapter:
(1) 'Capture rate' means the annual removal, collection, and recovery of mercury switches as a percentage of the total number of mercury switches available for removal from end-of-life vehicles.
(2) 'Department' means the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.
(3) 'Director' means the director of the Department of Health and Environmental Control.
(4) 'End-of-life vehicle' means a vehicle that is sold, given, or otherwise conveyed to a vehicle recycler or scrap recycling facility for the purpose of recycling.
(5) 'Manufacturer' means a person, firm, association, partnership, corporation, governmental entity, organization, combination, or joint venture that is the last person in the production or assembly process of a new vehicle that utilizes mercury switches, or in the case of an imported vehicle, the importer or domestic distributor of the vehicle.
(6) 'Mercury minimization plan' means a plan for removing, collecting, and recovering mercury switches from end-of-life vehicles that is prepared pursuant to Section 44-18-140.
(7) 'Mercury switch' means each mercury-containing capsule, commonly known as a 'bullet', that is part of a convenience light switch assembly or part of an anti-lock braking system assembly installed in a vehicle. An anti-lock braking system assembly may contain more than one mercury switch.
(8) 'Person' means an individual, corporation, company, firm, partnership, association, trust, joint-stock company or trust, venture, or municipal, state, or federal government or agency, or any other legal entity, however organized.
(9) 'Scrap recycling facility' means a fixed location where machinery and equipment are utilized for processing and manufacturing scrap metal into prepared grades and whose principal product is scrap iron, scrap steel, or nonferrous metallic scrap for sale for remelting purposes.
(10) 'Vehicle' means a passenger automobile or passenger car, station wagon, truck, van, or sport utility vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of less than twelve thousand pounds.
(11) 'Vehicle recycler' means an individual or entity engaged in the business of acquiring, dismantling, or destroying six or more end-of-life vehicles in a calendar year for the primary purpose of resale of their parts.
Section 44-18-140. (A) Within ninety days after the effective date of this chapter, every manufacturer of vehicles sold within this State, individually or as part of a group, shall develop, in consultation with the Department of Health and Environmental Control, a mercury minimization plan prepared pursuant to this section and submit the mercury minimization plan to the Director of the Department of Health and Environmental Control for review and approval pursuant to Section 44-18-150.
(B) The mercury minimization plan prepared and submitted pursuant to this section must include the following at a minimum:
(1)(a) information identifying the make, model, and year of vehicles including current or anticipated future production models that may contain one or more mercury switches;
( i) a description of the mercury switches;
(ii) a system to mark vehicles to be processed for shredding or crushing to indicate presence or absence of mercury switches;
(iii) the location of these mercury switches; and
(iv) the safe and environmentally sound methods for removal of mercury switches from end-of-life vehicles;
(b) to the extent a manufacturer is uncertain as to the content of a switch installed during the manufacture of a vehicle, the mercury minimization plan shall presume that the switch is a mercury switch;
(2) educational materials to assist a vehicle recycler or a scrap recycling facility in undertaking a safe and environmentally sound method for the removal of the mercury switches from end-of-life vehicles, including information on the hazards related to mercury and the proper handling of mercury;
(3) a proposal for the method of storage or disposal of the mercury switches, including the method of packaging and shipping mercury switches to authorized recycling, storage, or disposal facilities;
(4) a proposal for the storage of mercury switches collected and recovered from end-of-life vehicles if environmentally appropriate management technologies are not available; and
(5) a plan for implementing and financing the system in accordance with subsection (D).
(C) To the extent practicable, a mercury minimization plan must utilize the existing end-of-life vehicle recycling infrastructure. If the existing end-of-life infrastructure is not utilized, the mercury minimization plan must include the reasons for establishing a separate infrastructure.
(D)(1) A mercury minimization plan must provide for the financing of the removal, collection, and recovery system for mercury switches installed in vehicles manufactured by the manufacturer and its predecessors and affiliates as provided in this subsection.
(2) These costs must be borne by the manufacturers of vehicles sold in the State, ensuring that additional financial burdens are not placed on automobile dealers or businesses dealing with end-of-life vehicles. The manufacturers shall develop a method that ensures the prompt payment to vehicle recyclers, scrap recycling facilities, and the department for costs associated with mercury switch removal and disposal. Costs include, but are not limited to:
(a) a minimum of five dollars for each mercury switch removed by a vehicle recycler pursuant to Section 44-18-160(A) as partial compensation for the labor and other costs incurred by a vehicle recycler in the removal of the mercury switch;
(b) a minimum of five dollars for each mercury switch removed by a scrap recycling facility pursuant to Section 44-18-160(B) as partial compensation for the labor and other costs incurred by a scrap recycling facility in the removal of the mercury switch;
(c) one dollar for each mercury switch removed by a vehicle recycler pursuant to Section 44-18-160(A) or by a scrap recycling facility pursuant to Section 44-18-160(B) as partial compensation to the department for costs incurred in administering and enforcing the provisions of this chapter;
(d) packaging in which to transport mercury switches to recycling, storage, or disposal facilities;
(e) shipping of mercury switches to recycling, storage, or disposal facilities;
(f) recycling, storage, or disposal of the mercury switches;
(g) the preparation and distribution to vehicle recyclers and scrap recycling facilities of the educational materials required pursuant to subsection (B)(2); and
(h) maintenance of all appropriate recordkeeping systems.
(E) Within thirty days after the effective date of this chapter, every manufacturer of vehicles sold within the State, individually or as part of a group, shall provide to vehicle recyclers and scrap recycling facilities containers suitable for storing mercury switches until the time that vehicle recyclers and scrap recycling facilities can be reimbursed pursuant to this section.
(F) Manufacturers of vehicles sold within the State shall provide vehicle recyclers or scrap recycling facilities with reimbursement for each mercury switch in the amount established pursuant to this section regardless of when these switches were removed from the vehicles, if the vehicle recyclers or scrap recycling facilities maintain the records required by Section 44-18-160.
(G) Manufacturers shall indemnify, defend, and hold harmless vehicle recyclers and scrap recycling facilities for any liabilities arising from the release of the mercury from the mercury-added components after the components are transferred to the manufacturer or its agent or contractor.
Section 44-18-150. (A)(1) Within one hundred twenty days after receipt of a mercury minimization plan, the Director of the Department of Health and Environmental Control shall approve, disapprove, or conditionally approve the entire mercury minimization plan. The director may solicit input from representatives of vehicle recyclers, scrap recycling facilities, and other stakeholders, as the director considers appropriate.
(2)(a) If the entire mercury minimization plan is approved, the manufacturer shall begin implementation within thirty days after receipt of approval or as otherwise agreed to by the director.
(b) If the entire mercury minimization plan is disapproved, the director shall notify the manufacturer as to the reasons for the disapproval. The manufacturer has thirty days after receiving this notification to submit a new mercury minimization plan.
(3)(a) The director may approve those parts of a mercury minimization plan that meet the requirements of Section 44-18-140 and disapprove the parts that do not comply with the requirements of Section 44-18-140.
(b) The manufacturer shall implement the approved parts of the mercury minimization plan within thirty days after receiving approval or as otherwise agreed to by the director and submit a revised mercury minimization plan for the disapproved parts within thirty days after receiving notification of the disapproval of the director.
(c) The director shall review and approve, conditionally approve, or disapprove a revised mercury minimization plan within thirty days after receiving the plan.
(4)(a) If at the conclusion of the time period of one hundred twenty days after receipt of a mercury minimization plan the director has neither approved nor disapproved the mercury minimization plan pursuant to subsection (A)(2)(a) or (b), the mercury minimization plan must be considered to be conditionally approved.
(b) Subject to any modifications, required by the director, a manufacturer shall implement a conditionally effective mercury minimization plan within thirty days after receipt of approval or as otherwise agreed to by the director.
(B) At the conclusion of a time period of two hundred forty days after the effective date of this chapter, the director shall reserve the right to complete, on behalf of a manufacturer, any portion of a mercury minimization plan that has not been approved pursuant to this section.
(C) The director may review a mercury minimization plan approved pursuant to this section and recommend modifications to the plan at any time upon a finding that the approved mercury minimization plan is deficient or not accomplishing the purposes set out in this chapter in any material respect.
Section 44-18-160. (A) Commencing thirty days after the approval or conditional approval of a mercury minimization plan pursuant to Section 44-18-150, a vehicle recycler that sells, gives, or otherwise conveys ownership of an end-of-life vehicle to a scrap recycling facility for recycling shall remove all mercury switches identified in the approved mercury minimization plan from the end-of-life vehicle before delivery to a scrap recycling facility, unless a mercury switch is inaccessible due to significant damage to the vehicle in the area surrounding the location of the mercury switch, in which case the damage must be noted on the normal business records of the vehicle recycler who delivered the end-of-life vehicle to the scrap recycling facility.
(B) Notwithstanding subsection (A), a scrap recycling facility may agree to accept an end-of-life vehicle containing mercury switches that has not been intentionally flattened, crushed, baled, or shredded, in which case the scrap recycling facility is responsible for removing the mercury switches identified in the mercury minimization plan approved pursuant to Section 44-18-150 before the end-of-life vehicle is intentionally flattened, crushed, baled, or shredded.
(C)(1) A vehicle recycler or scrap recycling facility that removes mercury switches pursuant to subsections (A) and (B) shall maintain records documenting the number of:
(a) mercury switches collected;
(b) end-of-life vehicles containing mercury switches;
(c) end-of-life vehicles processed for recycling;
(d) the makes and models of vehicles from which mercury switches were removed; and
(e) mercury switches collected from each make.
(2) These records must be made available for review by the department upon the request of the department.
(D) A person must not represent that mercury switches have been removed from an end-of-life vehicle being sold, given, or otherwise conveyed for recycling if that person has not removed the mercury switches or arranged with another person to remove the mercury switches.
(E) Upon removal, mercury switches must be collected, stored, transported, and otherwise handled in accordance with the:
(1) mercury minimization plan approved pursuant to Section 44-18-150; and
(2) provisions of other applicable regulations concerning waste disposal.
(F) A scrap recycling facility or other person that receives an intentionally flattened, crushed, or baled end-of-life vehicle is not in violation of this section if a mercury switch is found in the vehicle after its acquisition.
Section 44-18-170. (A) One year after the implementation of a mercury minimization plan approved pursuant to Section 44-18-150, and annually thereafter, a manufacturer subject to Section 44-18-140 shall report individually or as part of a group to the director concerning the implementation of the mercury minimization plan. The report must include, but is not limited to:
(1) a detailed description and documentation of the capture rate achieved, with the goal of achieving a mercury switch capture rate of at least ninety percent, consistent with the principle that mercury switches must be recovered unless the mercury switch is inaccessible due to significant damage to the end-of-life vehicle in the area surrounding where the mercury switch is located;
(2) a description of additional or alternative actions that may be implemented to improve the mercury minimization plan and its implementation if a mercury switch capture rate of at least ninety percent is not achieved;
(3) the number of mercury switches collected, the number of end-of-life vehicles containing mercury switches, the number of end-of-life vehicles processed for recycling, and a description of how the mercury switches were managed; and
(4) a description of the amounts paid to cover the costs of implementing the mercury minimization plan.
(B) The director may discontinue the requirement for the annual report pursuant to subsection (A) upon a finding that mercury switches in end-of-life vehicles manufactured by a particular manufacturer no longer pose a significant threat to the environment or to public health.
Section 44-18-180. (A) One year after the implementation of a mercury minimization plan approved pursuant to Section 44-18-150, and annually thereafter, a manufacturer subject to Section 44-18-140 shall report individually or as part of a group to the director concerning the steps being taken by manufacturers to design vehicles and their components for recycling. The report must include, but is not limited to:
(1) a list of all vehicle components that contain mercury in the manufacturer's vehicles in each of the previous three model years, the current model year, and the next upcoming model year;
(2) design changes that each manufacturer has implemented or is implementing to reduce or eliminate all sources of mercury listed in compliance with subsection (A)(1) from its vehicles, the amount of any reductions, and the year in which mercury will be eliminated from each of the vehicle components listed in compliance with item(1);
(3) policies that each manufacturer has implemented to ensure that its vehicles are designed to be recycled in a safe, cost effective, and environmentally sound manner using existing technologies and infrastructures;
(4) a list of all:
(a) complaints and reports that the manufacturer has received within the last twelve months from vehicle recyclers, scrap recycling facilities, government entities, or organizations representing any of the persons; or
(b) other facts and circumstances that have made the manufacturer aware that the manufacturer's vehicles contain vehicle components or are designed in such a way that present environmental risks that make it uneconomical to recycle the vehicles or components; and
(5) the design or manufacturing changes that the manufacturer has implemented or is implementing to reduce or remove any environmental risks listed in compliance with subsection (A)(4) and the year in which design changes will eliminate the environmental risk listed in compliance with subsection (A)(4).
(B) The department may conduct hearings from time to time as the director considers appropriate to evaluate the steps manufacturers are taking to design for recycling, and to recommend additional legislative action as may be appropriate in order to promote vehicle recycling for the purpose of preserving scarce resources and the safe and efficient reduction of solid waste.
Section 44-18-190. (A) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for purposes of this chapter, mercury switches are designated as "universal waste" and the Department of Health and Environmental Control shall promulgate regulations for the management and regulation of mercury switches commensurate with universal waste requirements and the provisions of this chapter.
(B) The department may promulgate such other regulations as the department considers necessary to effectuate and implement the purposes and intent of this chapter.
Section 44-18-200. (A) A person who violates any provision of this chapter or any regulation promulgated pursuant to this chapter relating to storage or disposal of mercury switches is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be punished by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars or by a term of imprisonment not exceeding sixty days, or both. Each violation constitutes a separate offense."
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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