Title 48, Environmental Protection and Conservation

(A) The department shall review the report, the actions, or proposed actions to correct the violations and the proposed compliance schedule. The department may: (1) approve the actions and the compliance schedule as submitted; (2) propose different actions or compliance schedule;…

(A) If the participant diligently pursues compliance and corrects the violations that are disclosed in a report in accordance with Sections 48-56-130 and 48-56-140, the department may not commence an enforcement action for the violations. (B) The department may not commence an en…

(A) Except as provided in subsection (B), the department shall make any record, report, or other information obtained in the administration of this section available to the public pursuant to the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act. (B) The department shall keep confidentia…

As used in this chapter: (1) "Approval" means a permit, license, or other approval issued by the department under South Carolina environmental law. (2) "Cooperative agreement" means an agreement entered into under Section 48-56-30. (3) "Department" means the South Carolina Depart…

The department is authorized to administer a pilot program under which it may enter into not more than ten cooperative agreements with eligible participants to implement and evaluate the use of innovative environmental approaches. The cooperative agreement shall: (1) identify the…

Participation in the pilot program is limited to facilities that are members or are eligible to be members of the South Carolina Environmental Excellence Program and that are issued at least one approval under South Carolina environmental law.

The department may grant a participant a variance from a requirement in South Carolina environmental law that would otherwise apply to a facility covered by a cooperative agreement if the variance does one or more of the following: (1) achieves measurable emissions reductions or …

Applications submitted for participation in the program must include a draft cooperative agreement that satisfies Section 48-56-30. An applicant must establish an interested persons group that includes residents of the area in which the facility proposed to be covered by the agre…

(A) The department shall review each application submitted under Section 48-56-60. Upon completion of the review, the department shall decide whether to enter into negotiations with the applicant to finalize the cooperative agreement. If the application involves federal environme…

(A) The department may amend a cooperative agreement with the consent of the participant or when there is a change in South Carolina environmental law. (B) The department may revoke a cooperative agreement at the request of the participant. (C) The department may, after an opport…

(A) The department shall provide at least 30 days for public comment on the proposed issuance or revocation of a cooperative agreement and in other instances as the department deems appropriate. (B) The department shall prepare a public notice of a proposed action under subsectio…

(A) The General Assembly finds that the protection of the environment rests principally on the public's voluntary compliance with environmental laws; that voluntary compliance is most effectively achieved through the implementation of regular self-evaluative activities such as au…

(A) If a person or entity makes a voluntary disclosure of an environmental compliance violation of the state's laws, or the federal, regional, or local counterpart or extension of these laws, that person has the burden of proving that the disclosure is voluntary by establishing t…

No state or local governmental rule, regulation, guidance, policy, or permit condition may circumvent or limit the privileges established by this chapter or the exercise of the privileges or the presumption and immunity established by this chapter.

As used in this chapter: (1) "Department" means the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. (2) "Environmental audit" means a voluntary, internal evaluation or review of one or more facilities or an activity at one or more facilities regulated under federal…

(A) An environmental audit report or any part of an environmental audit report is privileged and, therefore, immune from discovery and is not admissible as evidence in a civil or administrative penalty action, except as provided in Sections 48-57-40 and 48-57-50. These documents …

(A) The privilege provided for in Section 48-57-30 does not apply to the extent that it is expressly waived in writing by the owner or operator of a facility at which an environmental audit was conducted and who prepared or caused to be prepared the audit report as a result of th…

In order to assert at any time in the future the privilege established in Section 48-57-30, the facility conducting the environmental audit shall, upon inspection by the department of the facility or no later than ten working days after completion of the department's inspection, …

In an administrative proceeding before an administrative law judge, the department may seek by motion a declaratory ruling on the issue of whether an environmental audit report is privileged. The administrative law judge shall revoke the privilege granted in Section 48-57-30 to a…

The privilege provided for in Section 48-57-30 is not applicable in any criminal proceeding.

A party asserting the privilege provided for in Section 48-57-30 has the burden of proving that the materials claimed as privileged constitute an environmental audit report as defined by Section 48-57-20 and also of proving that compliance has been achieved or will be achieved th…

The parties may at any time stipulate to entry of an order directing that specific information contained in an environmental audit report is or is not subject to the privilege. In the absence of an on-going proceeding, where the parties are not in agreement, the department may se…

Nothing in this chapter limits, waives, or abrogates: (1) the scope or nature of any statutory or common law privilege, including the work-product privilege or the attorney-client privilege; (2) any existing ability or authority under state law to challenge privilege; or (3) the …

This chapter may be cited as the "South Carolina Conservation Bank Act".

Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, an easement acquired in whole or in part with trust funds must provide for public access consistent with the uses permitted by the terms of the easement.

(A) Trust funds may be used only by eligible trust fund recipients for the acquisition of interests in land, including closing costs. Trust funds may not be used to pay general operating expenses of eligible trust fund recipients, nor may trust funds be used for the management or…

Neither this section nor Section 48-59-90 may be repealed, amended, or otherwise modified except by an affirmative two-thirds vote of the total membership of both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

The provisions of this chapter must not be construed to eliminate or unreasonably restrict hunting, fishing, farming, forestry, timber management, or wildlife habitat management, as regulated by the laws of this State, upon lands for which interests in lands are obtained pursuant…

When trust funds are used to purchase a conservation easement on land, the conservation easement will be the controlling legal document regarding what is and what is not permitted upon the land, how the land will be preserved, and what rights are vested with the eligible trust fu…

(A) There is established in the State Treasury the Working Farmland Protection Fund for the purpose of providing permanent protection to working farmland properties whose continued availability to commercial agricultural businesses is essential to the long-term future of the econ…

The General Assembly finds that: (1) South Carolina is experiencing rapid land development and economic growth which has benefited the state's people and economy, but has also led to the loss of forestlands, farmlands, wildlife habitats, outstanding natural areas, beaches and pub…

As used in this chapter: (1) "Bank" means the South Carolina Conservation Bank. (2) "Board" means the governing board of the bank. (3) "Trust fund" means the South Carolina Conservation Bank Trust Fund established pursuant to Section 48-59-60. (4) "Eligible trust fund recipient" …

(A) There is established the South Carolina Conservation Bank. The bank is governed by a seventeen-member board selected as follows: (1) the Chairman of the Board for the Department of Natural Resources, the Chairman of the South Carolina Forestry Commission, the Commissioner of …

(A) The bank is established and authorized to: (1) award grants to eligible trust fund recipients for the purchase of interests in land, so long as the grants advance the purposes of this chapter and meet criteria contained in Section 48-59-70; (2) make loans to eligible trust fu…

To receive and hold revenues of the bank, there is created in the State Treasury separate and distinct from all other funds the South Carolina Conservation Bank Trust Fund. Earnings on the trust fund are retained in the trust fund and unexpended trust fund revenues at the end of …

(A) An eligible trust fund recipient may apply for a grant or loan from the trust fund to acquire a specific interest in land identified in its application. An application must not be submitted to the board without the written consent of the owner of the interest in land identifi…

(A) The interests in lands acquired with funds from the trust fund must be held by an eligible trust fund recipient. (B) The bank may not hold or possess any interest in land or other interest in real property, except for mortgage interests as security for loans made from the tru…

Funds from the trust fund may not be used to acquire interests in lands or other interests in real property through the exercise of any power of eminent domain or condemnation proceeding.

Section effective until December 31, 2029. This chapter may be cited as the "South Carolina Manufacturer Responsibility and Consumer Convenience Information Technology Equipment Collection and Recovery Act".

Section effective until December 31, 2029. The General Assembly finds: (1) Televisions, computing, and printing devices are critical to the development of this state's economy and the promotion of the quality of life of the citizens of this State. (2) Many of these televisions, c…

Section effective until December 31, 2029. The department shall provide information to the public on its Internet website regarding the provisions of the chapter and the prohibition on disposing of covered devices in a solid waste landfill. The department also shall provide infor…

Section effective until December 31, 2029. The department may conduct audits and inspection of a computer or television manufacturer, retailer, or recoverer to determine compliance with this chapter's provisions, and may establish by regulation administrative fines for violations…

Section effective until December 31, 2029. Financial and proprietary information submitted to the department pursuant to this chapter is exempt from public disclosure.

Section effective until December 31, 2029. The department shall include in its annual solid waste report information provided by manufacturers on recovery programs offered pursuant to this chapter.

Section effective until December 31, 2029. (A) Covered devices must be recovered in a manner that complies with all applicable federal, state, and local requirements. Collection and storage of covered devices must be performed in accordance with best management practices. (B) All…

Section effective until December 31, 2029. (A) By November 1, 2022, and by November first of each year thereafter for that program year, a person acting as a collector under a manufacturer electronic waste program shall register with the department by completing and submitting to…