H 4693 Session 112 (1997-1998)
H 4693 General Bill, By Sharpe, Davenport, Limehouse, Littlejohn and W. McLeod
A BILL TO AMEND TITLE 48, CHAPTER 2, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976,
RELATING TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION FUND, BY ADDING ARTICLE 3 SO AS TO
ENACT THE ENVIRONMENTAL EMERGENCY FUND ACT WHICH CREATES THE "ENVIRONMENTAL
EMERGENCY FUND", DEFINES "ENVIRONMENTAL EMERGENCIES", REQUIRES THAT ALL FINES
AND PENALTIES COLLECTED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL,
NOT OTHERWISE DESIGNATED, TO BE CREDITED TO THE FUND, ESTABLISHES A ONE
HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLAR CAP FOR THE FUND, AND PROVIDES FOR THE USE OF THESE
FUNDS; TO DESIGNATE SECTIONS 48-2-10 THROUGH 48-2-90 AS ARTICLE 1, CHAPTER 2,
TITLE 48 ENTITLED "ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION FUND"; TO RENAME TITLE 48, CHAPTER
2 AS "ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION FUNDS".
02/25/98 House Introduced and read first time HJ-20
02/25/98 House Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Natural
Resources and Environmental Affairs HJ-20
03/18/98 House Committee report: Favorable with amendment
Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environmental
Affairs HJ-3
03/19/98 House Amended HJ-16
03/19/98 House Read second time HJ-16
03/19/98 House Unanimous consent for third reading on next
legislative day HJ-16
03/20/98 House Read third time and sent to Senate HJ-2
03/24/98 Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-10
03/24/98 Senate Referred to Committee on Medical Affairs SJ-10
05/28/98 Senate Committee report: Favorable Medical Affairs SJ-17
06/02/98 Senate Amended SJ-83
06/02/98 Senate Read second time SJ-83
Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter
AMENDED
June 2, 1998
H. 4693
Introduced by Reps. Sharpe, Davenport, Littlejohn, McLeod and
Limehouse
S. Printed 6/2/98--S.
Read the first time March 24, 1998.
A BILL
TO AMEND TITLE 48, CHAPTER 2, CODE OF LAWS OF
SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION FUND, BY ADDING
ARTICLE 3 SO AS TO ENACT THE ENVIRONMENTAL
EMERGENCY FUND ACT WHICH CREATES THE
"ENVIRONMENTAL EMERGENCY FUND",
DEFINES "ENVIRONMENTAL EMERGENCIES",
REQUIRES THAT ALL FINES AND PENALTIES COLLECTED
BY THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL
CONTROL, NOT OTHERWISE DESIGNATED, TO BE
CREDITED TO THE FUND, ESTABLISHES A ONE HUNDRED
THOUSAND DOLLAR CAP FOR THE FUND, AND PROVIDES
FOR USE OF THESE FUNDS; TO DESIGNATE SECTIONS
48-2-10 THROUGH 48-2-90 AS ARTICLE 1, CHAPTER 2, TITLE
48 ENTITLED "ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
FUND"; TO RENAME TITLE 48, CHAPTER 2 AS
"ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION FUNDS".
Amend Title To Conform
Whereas, the General Assembly finds that:
(1) Environmental emergencies occur which require immediate
and comprehensive response from the State to deter pollution and
protect the public's health;
(2) Existing response capabilities are limited and do not provide
an instrument for exigencies that may require an immediate
availability of funds for certain activities which do not fall into any
existing program;
(3) The utilization of environmental penalties for such a fund
represents a sound fiscal and conscientious use of limited funds for
immediate threats to the environment and public health. Now,
therefore,
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South
Carolina:
SECTION 1. Chapter 2, Title 48 of the 1976 Code is amended by
adding:
" Article 3
Emergency Environmental Fund
Section 48-2-310. This article may be cited as the 'Environmental
Emergency Fund Act'.
Section 48-2-320. (1) 'Commissioner' means the Commissioner
of the Department of Health and Environmental Control;
(2) 'Department' means the Department of Health and
Environmental Control;
(3) 'Environmental Emergency' means a situation, to be
determined by the commissioner, that constitutes an immediate threat
to the environment or public health, or both, and providing
immediate, but temporary relief to the situation may require the
expenditure of funds to effect a solution, provide temporary relief, or
retain the services of appropriate technical personnel or contractors;
(4) 'Fund' means the 'Environmental Emergency Fund'
established pursuant to this article ;
(5) 'Responsible party' means a person determined to be legally
responsible for any environmental pollution or threat to public health
which requires expenditures from the fund.
Section 48-2-330. (A) There is created within the Department of
Health and Environmental Control a restricted account to be known
as the Environmental Emergency Fund.
(B) The fund must be financed through the collection and deposit
of fines and penalties levied by the department. However, a fine or
penalty collected under any statute which provides explicitly for
distribution of the fine or penalty, other than to the general fund
including, but not limited to, those penalties distributed to the
counties pursuant to Section 48-1-350, must not be deposited in the
fund.
(C) Fines and penalties must be credited to the fund until the fund
reaches one hundred thousand dollars, at that time all subsequent
fines and penalties must be deposited to the general fund or as
otherwise prescribed by law. At no time shall the balance in the fund
exceed one hundred thousand dollars, and no more than one
hundred thousand dollars may be deposited to the fund in any fiscal
year.
(D) Interest accruing to the fund must be remitted to the general
fund of the State.
Section 48-2-340. (A) The department, through the commissioner
or the commissioner's designee, shall certify that funding for a
specific emergency was necessary to protect the environment or
public health, or both. Annually, the department shall prepare an
independent accounting of all revenue in the fund. The report must
be submitted to the Chairman of the Board of the Department of
Health and Environmental Control and must be made available to the
public upon request.
(B) Nothing in this section precludes the department from seeking
appropriate enforcement action, including civil penalties and
recovery of costs expended from the fund against a party determined
to be responsible for the environmental emergency. Costs recovered
pursuant to an enforcement action must be deposited in the fund in
accordance with the limitation prescribed in Section 48-2-330."
SECTION 2. Sections 48-2-10 through 48-2-90 are designated as
Article 1, Chapter 2, Title 48 of the 1976 Code and entitled
"Environmental Protection Fund". Chapter 2, Title 48 of
the 1976 Code is renamed "Environmental Protection
Funds".
SECTION 3. The Code Commissioner shall change all references
in Article 1, Chapter 2, Title 48 of the 1976 Code, as designated in
Section 2 of this act, from "Chapter" to
" Article " and shall change other cross references from
Chapter 2, Title 48 to Article 1, Chapter 2, Title 48.
SECTION 4. Section 58-5-720 of the 1976 Code is amended to
read:
"Section 58-5-720. The commission shall hereafter, prior to
the granting of authority or consent to any water or sewer utility
regulated by the commission, for the construction, operation,
maintenance, acquisition, expansion, or improvement of any
facility or system, prescribe as a condition to such consent or
approval that the utility shall file with the commission a bond with
sufficient surety, as shall be approved by the commission, in an
amount not less than ten twenty-five thousand
dollars and not more than fifty one hundred
thousand dollars payable to the commission and conditioned upon the
provision by the utility of adequate and sufficient service within its
service area or deliver to the commission certificates of deposit, with
such endorsement as required by the commission, of federal or state
chartered banks or savings and loan associations who maintain an
office in this State and whose accounts are insured by either the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or the Federal Savings and
Loan Insurance Corporation. Such certificates of deposit shall not
exceed the amount covered by insurance. The commission shall have
the right, upon notice and hearing, to declare all or any part of the
bond or certificate of deposit forfeited upon a determination by the
commission that the utility shall have willfully
wilfully failed to provide such service without just cause or
excuse and that such failure has continued for an unreasonable length
of time. A further condition of such bond or certificate of deposit
shall be the provision for payment to the commission of any fine or
penalty imposed or assessed by the commission against the utility
under the provisions of Section 58-5-710."
SECTION 5. The amendment to Section 58-5-720 of the 1976
Code, as contained in this act, takes effect upon the South Carolina
Public Service Commission promulgating the appropriate regulations
necesssary to implement Section 58-5-720, as amended.
SECTION 6. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
-----XX----- |