A bill

 

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ENACTING THE "SCHOOL SAFETY AND HAZARD BUFFERS ACT"; BY ADDING ARTICLE 5 TO CHAPTER 23, TITLE 59, SO AS TO ESTABLISH MINIMUM SCHOOL SAFETY SETBACKS FROM INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING, AND HAZARDOUS MATERIAL FACILITIES, TO DEFINE TERMS, TO PROHIBIT THE CONSTRUCTION OR OPERATION OF FACILITIES HANDLING DANGEROUS SUBSTANCES WITHIN CERTAIN DISTANCES OF ANY PUBLIC SCHOOL, TO REQUIRE PUBLIC NOTICE AND TRANSPARENCY, TO PROVIDE FOR ENFORCEMENT AND PENALTIES, AND TO DIRECT THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES TO PROMULGATE REGULATIONS.

 

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

 

SECTION 1.  This act may be cited as the "School Safety and Hazard Buffers Act."

 

SECTION 2.  Chapter 23, Title 59 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

 

Article 5

 

School Safety and Hazard Buffers

 

    Section 59-23-510. The General Assembly finds:

    (1) South Carolina's continued industrial and economic growth has led to an increase in the number of manufacturing and processing facilities located near residential areas and schools.

    (2) Many industrial, advanced manufacturing, and storage facilities use, process, or store hazardous substances that can pose immediate or long-term risks to public health and safety, including fire, explosion, air or water contamination, or toxic exposure.

    (3) Children are particularly vulnerable to these risks due to their developing lungs, immune systems, and susceptibility to environmental pollutants.

    (4) Certain facilities, such as those involved in solar panel, semiconductor, and battery manufacturing, or any process involving acids, bases, flammable gases, toxic chemicals, radioactive materials, or biological hazards, may not be classified as "heavy industrial" under local zoning, yet still create substantial danger.

    (5) It is the intent of the General Assembly to ensure a safe and reasonable buffer zone between any school and any facility that poses environmental, chemical, biological, explosive, or radiological risks; to close zoning loopholes that allow hazardous operations near schools; and to promote public transparency and safety for all South Carolinians, especially children.

 

    Section 59-23-520. For purposes of this section:

    (1) "Department" means the Department of Environmental Services.

    (2) "School" means any public or private K-12 school, including its buildings, playgrounds, athletic fields, transportation facilities, or other property owned, leased, or controlled by a school district for student instruction, athletics, or activities.

    (3) "Property boundary of a school" means the outer perimeter of any parcel owned, leased, or used by a school.

    (4) "Industrial facility" means any site engaged in manufacturing, processing, assembly, storage, distribution, or waste handling that uses or produces chemicals, fuels, solvents, or other hazardous materials including, but not limited to:

       (a) chemical processing or blending plants;

       (b) petroleum, gas, or fuel storage or transfer terminals;

       (c) plastics, rubber, or synthetic material manufacturing;

       (d) metal plating, coating, or finishing operations;

       (e) food or agricultural chemical manufacturing;

       (f) paint, adhesive, or solvent manufacturing or storage;

       (g) waste treatment, incineration, or disposal facilities; or

       (h) similar operations that generate, store, or use hazardous materials.

    (5) "Advanced manufacturing facility" means a facility engaged in high-technology or precision manufacturing that involves the use of chemicals or materials that may be toxic, flammable, reactive, corrosive, or explosive including, but not limited to:

       (a) solar panel or photovoltaic cell manufacturing;

       (b) semiconductor or microchip fabrication;

       (c) battery or energy storage system production;

       (d) aerospace component manufacturing; or

       (e) chemical or materials research and development involving regulated substances.

    (6) "Hazardous facility" means any site, building, or structure where hazardous materials are used, manufactured, stored, processed, or transported in quantities that may present a risk to public health or safety, including:

       (a) facilities subject to the federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA), 42 U.S.C. Section 11001, et seq.;

       (b) facilities regulated under the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Risk Management Program, 40 C.F.R. Part 68;

       (c) facilities possessing chemicals of interest as listed in the Appendix A of the Department of Homeland Security Chemical Facility Antiterrorism Standards, 6 C.F.R. Section 27;

       (d) facilities using or storing hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) under Section 112(b) of the Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. Section 7412(b);

       (e) facilities storing or using explosive, pyrophoric, or reactive substances, including compressed gases, peroxides, and oxidizers;

       (f) facilities handling radioactive materials under the jurisdiction of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission or the Department of Health and Environmental Control; or

       (g) facilities engaged in biological or medical manufacturing using select agents or infectious materials regulated by the Centers for Disease Control or the United States Department of Agriculture.

    (7) "Regulated hazardous chemical" means any substance listed under any of the authorities referenced in item (6) or any other chemical that, in the judgment of the department, poses a significant risk of acute or chronic exposure to human health or the environment if released.

    (8) "Storage" means the use, containment, or presence of a regulated hazardous chemical in tanks, vessels, drums, process equipment, or containers for more than twenty-four consecutive hours.

    (9) "New facility" means:

       (a) any facility for which an initial state or local permit to construct, operate, or modify is issued after July 1, 2026;

       (b) any facility for which a certificate of occupancy has not been issued before July 1, 2026, regardless of when construction began or a permit was approved; or

       (c) any existing facility that increases its production capacity, processing area, or maximum hazardous chemical inventory by twenty-five percent or more after July 1, 2026.

For purposes of this item, a "certificate of occupancy" includes any state or local authorization allowing the facility to commence or expand operations.

    (10) "Offsite consequence analysis" means the modeled distance to a toxic endpoint, flammable overpressure, or thermal radiation endpoint under EPA regulations in 40 C.F.R. Part 68 or equivalent methodologies approved by the department.

 

    Section 59-23-530. (A) No person may construct or operate a new industrial, advanced manufacturing, or hazardous facility within 1,500 feet of the property boundary of any school.

    (B) No person may construct, expand, or operate a facility that uses or stores one or more regulated hazardous chemicals above threshold quantities within 2,640 feet of the property boundary of any school.

    (C) The department shall determine applicability of this article based on the actual use of chemicals, materials, or processes at the facility, and not solely on zoning classification or local designation as "light industrial," "commercial," or otherwise.

    (D) A facility subject to EPA's Risk Management Program or similar requirements may not be permitted or expanded if its offsite consequence analysis shows that any toxic, flammable, or explosive endpoint intersects a school property boundary, unless the applicant demonstrates, through enforceable controls approved by the department, that such endpoint is fully contained within the facility boundary.

    (E) Setbacks shall be measured as the shortest straight-line distance from the nearest point of a facility's process area, storage tank, railcar offloading area, or waste handling unit to the nearest point on a school property boundary.

 

    Section 59-23-540. (A) Any applicant for a permit involving the construction or operation of a facility using or storing regulated hazardous chemicals within one mile of a school shall:

       (1) provide written notice to the department, the affected school district, the local governing body, and the local emergency planning committee at least sixty days before filing any application for construction or operating approval;

       (2) submit a comprehensive safety and environmental risk assessment, including potential release modeling, prevailing wind and water flow analyses, emergency evacuation zones, and mitigation measures; and

       (3) publish public notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the affected area describing the facility type, general operations, and chemical categories proposed for use.

    (B) The department shall make such notices publicly available and invite comments from the affected school district, the local emergency planning committee, and the general public before issuing any construction or operating permit.

    (C) The department shall maintain an online database identifying all industrial, advanced manufacturing, and hazardous facilities within one mile of any school, including chemical types and threshold categories, consistent with public disclosure rules under EPCRA.

 

    Section 59-23-550. (A) A facility lawfully operating before July 1, 2026, is not required to cease operations solely due to the setback requirements; however:

       (1) it may not expand operations or chemical storage capacity that increases potential hazards to nearby schools;

       (2) it shall provide the department and the affected school district an updated emergency response plan within twelve months; and

       (3) it shall implement risk-reduction measures, such as improved containment, ventilation, or monitoring systems, as directed by the department.

    (B) The department may require continuous air or fence-line monitoring for any existing facility located within one mile of a school where the potential exists for airborne, explosive, or toxic emissions.

 

    Section 59-23-560. This article does not apply to:

    (1) school laboratory or classroom use of small chemical quantities for educational purposes;

    (2) emergency generators or small fuel storage below fifty-five gallons;

    (3) municipal water or wastewater utilities storing treatment chemicals below federal threshold quantities; or

    (4) agricultural operations outside municipal limits storing fertilizers, fuels, or pesticides below regulatory thresholds and not classified as industrial or hazardous facilities.

 

    Section 59-23-570. (A) The department shall enforce this article and may deny, suspend, or revoke any state or local permit for violation.

    (B) Any person who constructs, expands, or operates a facility in violation of Section 59-23-530 is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed twenty-five thousand dollars per day, per violation, and the department may seek injunctive relief to halt operations.

    (C) Each day a violation continues constitutes a separate offense.

    (D) The department shall coordinate with local emergency management, school districts, and fire authorities to ensure preparedness and chemical inventory awareness.

 

    Section 59-23-580. Before July 1, 2027, the department shall promulgate regulations to implement this article, including:

    (1) procedures for setback measurement and hazard classification;

    (2) formats for risk assessments and public notifications;

    (3) minimum containment and engineering controls;

    (4) guidelines for fence line and air monitoring; and

    (5) automatic incorporation of updates to federal chemical and hazard lists issued by the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Homeland Security, or Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

 

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 on July 1, 2026.

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