(a) In determining the use of the fund for a particular governmental response action, the department shall consider the relative risk of danger to public health or welfare or the environment and the hazard potential of the substances involved including potential for fire, explosions, release of harmful air contaminants, direct human contact, contamination of surface water or groundwater including those used for drinking water supplies, and damages to sensitive ecosystems. With approval of the Hazardous Waste Management Select Oversight Committee, as established under § 44-56-840, funds specified for governmental response actions must be available to the department for personnel and operating costs to implement its program for conducting these response actions. The department must, concurrent with taking a governmental response action, initiate the appropriate administrative action to exhaust any applicable liability insurance or other financial assurance mechanisms which have been provided by the responsible party and, where appropriate, funds available through P.L. 96-510. Use of the Fund for a response action is not stayed by any action for recovery. The department must initiate any legal actions which reasonably may result in recovery from the parties liable for the conditions necessitating the response action. Any funds recovered in relation to a response action from whatever source are to be placed in the Fund.

(b) The Department shall annually make a report to the General Assembly on the activities and response actions that have been carried out under the auspices of the Contingency Fund. The Department shall annually provide a report to the committees of each House with oversight of industry and natural resources on its program to identify and clean up uncontrolled hazardous waste sites. The appropriate committees shall have the authority to study the transportation and disposal of hazardous waste in South Carolina.

Terms Used In South Carolina Code 44-56-180

  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Department: means the Department of Health and Environmental Control, including personnel thereof authorized by the board to act on behalf of the department or board. See South Carolina Code 44-56-20
  • Disposal: means the discharge, deposit, injection, dumping, spilling, leaking, or placing of any hazardous waste into or on any land or water so that such substance or any constituent thereof may enter the environment or be emitted into the air or discharged into any waters, including groundwater. See South Carolina Code 44-56-20
  • Hazardous waste: means any waste, or combination of wastes, of a solid, liquid, contained gaseous, or semisolid form which because of its quantity, concentration, or physical, chemical, or infectious characteristics may in the judgment of the department:

    a. See South Carolina Code 44-56-20
  • Hazardous waste management: means the systematic control of the collection, source separation, storage, transportation, processing, treatment, recovery, and disposal of hazardous wastes. See South Carolina Code 44-56-20
  • Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
  • Response action: is a ny cleanup, containment, inspection, or closure of a site ordered by the director as necessary to remedy actual or potential damages to public health, the public welfare, or the environment. See South Carolina Code 44-56-20
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