South Carolina General Assembly
117th Session, 2007-2008

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Bill 3977

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter


(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

Indicates Matter Stricken

Indicates New Matter

AMENDED

May 2, 2007

H. 3977

Introduced by Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs Committee

S. Printed 5/2/07--H.

Read the first time April 25, 2007.

            

A BILL

TO AMEND SECTION 44-2-40, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE SUPERB FUND, SO AS TO DELETE THE REQUIREMENT THAT THE UNDERGROUND STORAGE TANK REGISTRATION AND ANNUAL RENEWAL FEE BE ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS; AND TO AMEND SECTION 44-2-60, RELATING TO THE REGISTRATION OF UNDERGROUND STORAGE TANKS AND CERTAIN FEES, SO AS TO PROVIDE THE AMOUNT OF REGISTRATION AND LATE FEE REVENUE USED FOR ADMINISTRATION MAY NOT EXCEED THE TOTAL AMOUNT COLLECTED FROM SUCH FEES ANNUALLY, AMONG OTHER THINGS.

Amend Title To Conform

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION    1.    Section 44-2-40(D) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"(D)    The Superb Account and the Superb Financial Responsibility Fund shall provide combined coverage for site rehabilitation and third party claims, respectively, not to exceed one million dollars per occurrence. The estimated cost of site rehabilitation must be reserved from the combined coverage before payment of third party claims.

The underground storage tank owner or operator must be responsible for the first twenty-five thousand dollars per occurrence for releases of petroleum and petroleum products from underground storage tanks reported to the department subsequent to July 1, 1993.

Nothing in this chapter establishes or creates any liability or responsibility on the part of the department or the State as administrators of the Superb Account and the Superb Financial Responsibility Fund to pay any costs for site rehabilitation or third party claims from any source other than the Superb Account and the Superb Financial Responsibility Fund created by this chapter, and the department and the State as administrators of the Superb Account and the Superb Financial Responsibility Fund have no liability or responsibility to make payments for cleanup costs or third party claims if the funds are insufficient. If the funds are insufficient to make the payments at the time the claim is filed, these claims must be paid in the order of filing at such time as monies accrue in each account, respectively.

The one hundred dollar underground storage tank registration and annual renewal fee may be used by the department for the administration of the underground storage tank program established by this chapter and its activities as trustees of the Superb Account and the Superb Financial Responsibility Fund, exclusive of legal costs outlined in subsection (C)."

SECTION    2.    Section 44-2-60(A) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"(A)    The owner or operator of an underground storage tank which stores or is intended to store a regulated substance shall register the tank with the department. The owner or operator of the tank shall display a registration certificate listing all registered tanks at a facility and in plain view in the office or the kiosk of the facility where the tanks are registered. Upon application for a registration certificate, the owner or operator shall pay to the department an initial registration fee of one hundred thirty-five dollars a tank; however, the department may prorate the initial registration fees on a daily basis for underground storage tanks installed on or after July 1, 1997. The owner or operator shall pay to the department an annual renewal fee of one hundred thirty-five dollars a tank a year. No person may place a regulated substance and no owner or operator may cause a regulated substance to be placed into an underground storage tank for which the owner or operator does not hold a currently valid registration. The department may not issue a registration certificate until all past and present fees and penalties owed on a tank are paid. The department may not issue a registration certificate to any owner or operator who has not complied with all terms of a consent or final administrative order issued under Section 44-2-140.

All fees are due to the department within thirty days of billing. The department shall issue a late notice, with no penalty due, to an underground storage tank owner or operator who has unpaid fees thirty days after billing. An owner or operator who fails to pay the fees within sixty days of the initial billing must pay a ten percent penalty in addition to the ten percent penalty for any fees remaining unpaid ninety days after the initial billing. An owner or operator with unpaid fees ninety days after the initial billing is subject to additional enforcement action as provided for in Section 44-2-140.

The department may not disburse Superb Account or Superb Financial Fund monies to any person or persons for the rehabilitation of a petroleum or petroleum product release from any underground storage tank or underground storage tank system where all past and present fees and penalties owed on the applicable tank have not been paid.

The funds generated by the registration and late penalty fees may be used by the department for administration of the provisions of this chapter and for administration of the underground storage tank regulatory program established by this chapter. The amount used for administration may not exceed three million dollars a year the total amount collected from funds received by federal grants, interest accrued by the fund, and registration and late penalty fees."

SECTION    3.    If any section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause, phrase, or word of this act is for any reason held to be unconstitutional or invalid, such holding shall not affect the constitutionality or validity of the remaining portions of this act, the General Assembly hereby declaring that it would have passed this act, and each and every section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause, phrase, and word thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more other sections, subsections, paragraphs, subparagraphs, sentences, clauses, phrases, or words hereof may be declared to be unconstitutional, invalid, or otherwise ineffective.

SECTION    4.    This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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