A bill

 

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 44-55-20, RELATING TO WATER, SEWAGE, WASTE DISPOSAL DEFINITIONS, SO AS TO DEFINE "FLOURIDE"; AND BY ADDING SECTION 44-55-35 SO AS TO PROHIBIT THE ADDITION OF FLUORIDE TO A PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM OR TO WATER THAT WILL BE INTRODUCED INTO A PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM.

 

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

 

SECTION 1.  Section 44-55-20 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

 

    Section 44-55-20.  As used in this article:

    (1) "Board" means the South Carolina Board of Health and Environmental Control which is charged with responsibility for implementation of the Safe Drinking Water Act.

    (2) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of the department or his authorized agent.

    (3) "Community water systems" means a public water system which serves at least fifteen service connections used by year-round residents or regularly serves at least twenty-five year-round residents. This may include, but is not limited to, subdivisions, municipalities, mobile home parks, and apartments.

    (4) "Construction permit" means a permit issued by the department authorizing the construction of a new public water system or the expansion or modification of an existing public water system.

    (5) "Contamination" means the adulteration or alteration of the quality of the water of a public water system by the addition or deletion of any substance, matter, or constituent except as authorized pursuant to this article.

    (6) "Cross-connection" means any actual or potential connection or structural arrangement between a public water system and any other source or system through which it is possible to introduce into any part of the potable system any used water, industrial fluid, gas or substance other than the intended potable water with which the system is supplied. Bypass arrangements, jumper connections, removable sections, swivel or changeover devices, and other temporary or permanent devices through which or because of which backflow can or may occur are considered to be cross-connections.

    (7) "Department" means the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, including personnel authorized and empowered to act on behalf of the department or board.

    (8) "Fluoride" means a chemical compound that contains the fluoride ion and is used to fluoridate drinking water, including:

       (a) fluorosilicic acid;

       (b) sodium fluorosilicate; or

       (c) sodium fluoride.

    (8)(9) "Human consumption" means water used for drinking, bathing, cooking, dish washing, and maintaining oral hygiene or other similar uses.

    (9)(10) "Noncommunity water system" means a public water system which serves at least fifteen service connections or regularly serves an average of at least twenty-five individuals daily at least sixty days out of the year and does not meet the definition of a community water system.

    (10)(11) "Nontransient noncommunity water system" means a public water system that is not a community water system and that regularly serves at least twenty-five of the same persons over six months per year.

    (11)(12) "Operating permit" means a permit issued by the department that outlines the requirements and conditions under which a person must operate a public water system.

    (12)(13) "Person" means an individual, partnership, copartnership, cooperative, firm, company, public or private corporation, political subdivision, government agency, trust, estate, joint structure company, or any other legal entity or its legal representative, agent, or assigns.

    (13)(14) "Public water system" means:

       (a) any publicly or privately owned waterworks system which provides water, whether bottled, piped, or delivered through some other constructed conveyance for human consumption, including the source of supply whether the source of supply is of surface or subsurface origin;

       (b) all structures and appurtenances used for the collection, treatment, storage, or distribution of water delivered to point of meter of consumer or owner connection;

       (c) any part or portion of the system, including any water treatment facility, which in any way alters the physical, chemical, radiological, or bacteriological characteristics of the water;  however, a public water system does not include a water system serving a single private residence or dwelling. A separately owned system with its source of supply from another waterworks system must be a separate public water system. A connection to a system that delivers water by a constructed conveyance other than a pipe must not be considered a connection if:

           (i) the water is used exclusively for purposes other than residential uses consisting of drinking, bathing, and cooking or other similar uses;

           (ii) the department determines that alternative water to achieve the equivalent level of public health protection provided by the applicable State Primary Drinking Water Regulations is provided for residential or similar uses for drinking and cooking;  or

           (iii) the department determines that the water provided for residential or similar uses for drinking, cooking, and bathing is centrally treated or treated at the point of entry by the provider, a pass-through entity, or the user to achieve the equivalent level of protection provided by the applicable State Primary Drinking Water Regulations.

    (14)(15) "State water system" means any water system that serves less than fifteen service connections or regularly serves an average of less than twenty-five individuals daily.

    (15)(16) "Transient noncommunity water system" means a noncommunity water system that does not regularly serve at least twenty-five of the same persons over six months a year.

    (16)(17) "Well" means a bored, drilled or driven shaft, or a dug hole, whose depth is greater than the largest surface dimension, from which water is extracted or injected. This includes, but is not limited to, wells used for water supply for irrigation, industrial and manufacturing processes, or drinking water, wells used for underground injection of waste for disposal, storage, or drainage disposal, wells used in mineral or geothermal recovery, and any other special process wells.

    (17)(18) "Well driller" means an individual, corporation, partnership, association, political subdivision, or public agency of this State who is licensed with the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation for constructing wells and is in immediate supervision of and responsible for the construction, development, drilling, testing, maintenance, repair, or abandonment of any well as defined by this chapter. This term does include owners constructing or abandoning wells on their own property for their own personal use only, except that these owners are not required to be licensed by the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation for construction wells.

 

SECTION 2.  Chapter 55, Title 44 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

 

    Section 44-55-35.  (A) Fluoride may not be added to a public water system or to water that will be introduced into a public water system.

    (B) A political subdivision may not enact or enforce an ordinance that requires or permits the addition of fluoride to a public water system or to water that will be introduced into a public water system.

    (C) Licensed bottled water class operators may not add fluoride to the water that they provide for human consumption. Bottled water imported into the State for sale may not contain fluoride.

 

SECTION 3.  This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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