South Carolina Code 44-56-470. Eligibility for funds
(B) A wholesale supply facility, new drycleaning facility, or existing drycleaning facility is deemed eligible under this section only if:
Terms Used In South Carolina Code 44-56-470
- Department: means the Department of Health and Environmental Control. See South Carolina Code 44-56-410
- Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
- Drycleaning facility: includes laundry facilities that are using or have used drycleaning solvent as part of their cleaning process but does not include textile mills, uniform rental and linen supply facilities, or drycleaning facilities owned or operated by a local, state, or federal government. See South Carolina Code 44-56-410
- Drycleaning solvent: includes solvent that has been recycled for use at a drycleaning facility and applies only to those solvents used at a drycleaning facility or handled by a wholesale supply facility. See South Carolina Code 44-56-410
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Existing drycleaning facility: means a drycleaning facility that started operation before November 24, 2004. See South Carolina Code 44-56-410
- Former drycleaning facility: means a drycleaning facility that ceased to be operated as a drycleaning facility before July 1, 1995. See South Carolina Code 44-56-410
- Fund: means Drycleaning Facility Restoration Trust Fund. See South Carolina Code 44-56-410
- New drycleaning facility: means a drycleaning facility that started operation on or after November 24, 2004. See South Carolina Code 44-56-410
- Person: means an individual, partnership, corporation, association, trust, estate, receiver, company, limited liability company, or another entity or group. See South Carolina Code 44-56-410
- Property owner: means a person who is vested with ownership, dominion, or legal or rightful title to the real property or who has a ground lease interest in the real property on which a drycleaning or wholesale supply facility is or has ever been located. See South Carolina Code 44-56-410
- Release: means the accidental or intentional spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying, discharging, injecting, escaping, leaching, dumping, or disposing into the environment of drycleaning solvent. See South Carolina Code 44-56-410
- Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
- Wholesale supply facility: means a commercial establishment that supplies drycleaning solvent to drycleaning facilities. See South Carolina Code 44-56-410
(1) the owner, operator, or property owner of the drycleaning facility, has registered with and has paid all annual fees, surcharges, and solvent fees as required by the Department of Revenue;
(2) the wholesale supply facility or drycleaning facility, is determined by the department to be in compliance with this article and department regulations governing drycleaning facilities or wholesale supply facilities;
(3) the drycleaning facility is covered by third-party liability insurance when and if the insurance becomes available at a reasonable cost, as determined by the Department of Insurance, and if the insurance covers liability for contamination that occurred both before and after the effective date of the policy;
(4) the owner, operator, or property owner of the wholesale supply facility or drycleaning facility submitted an application for determination of eligibility;
(5) the wholesale supply facility or drycleaning facility has not been operated in a grossly negligent manner at any time after November 18, 1980; and
(6) the owner, operator, or property owner of the wholesale supply facility or drycleaning facility submits documented evidence of contamination to the department within six months of discovery if discovery was after November 24, 2004.
(C) A former drycleaning facility is deemed eligible under this section when:
(1) the owner or operator submitting an application for determination of eligibility has an operating drycleaning facility in the fund and every drycleaning facility under their control since July 1, 1995, meets the requirements of subsection (B); and
(2) the owner or operator submits documented evidence of contamination to the department within six months of discovery.
(D) Deductibles will be set as follows:
(1) When an owner, operator, or property owner of a wholesale supply facility, existing drycleaning facility, or former drycleaning facility submits an application for determination of eligibility:
(a) by November 24, 2005, the deductible is one thousand dollars;
(b) after November 24, 2005 and before December 31, 2014, the deductible is twenty-five thousand dollars; and
(c) on or after December 31, 2014, no applications will be accepted.
(2) When an owner, operator, or property owner of a new drycleaning facility submits an application for determination of eligibility, the deductible is twenty-five thousand dollars.
(E) The department shall review the application for determination of eligibility and request any additional information within ninety days of the date of receipt of the application. The department shall notify the applicant regarding the department’s determination of eligibility status within one hundred eighty days of the date the department deems the application complete.
(F) Eligibility under this section applies to the site where the drycleaning facility or wholesale supply facility is located. Eligibility is not affected by the subsequent conveyance of the ownership of the business or the property on which the business is located. The new owner or operator shall remain in compliance with this article and department regulations governing drycleaning facilities or wholesale supply facilities to maintain eligibility.
(G) A drycleaning facility or wholesale supply facility is permanently barred from receiving monies from the fund, and the moratorium described in § 44-56-420(B) does not apply if:
(1) the owner, operator, or the property owner does not submit an application for determination of eligibility in accordance with subsection (B) or subsection (C);
(2) the owner, operator, or the property owner does not provide documented evidence of contamination to the department within six months of discovery if the discovery was after November 24, 2004;
(3) the owner, operator, or the property owner of a drycleaning facility or wholesale supply facility denies the department access to the property; or
(4) the owner, operator, or the property owner of a drycleaning facility misrepresents the number of employees upon which the registration fee described in § 44-56-440 is based.
(H) A report of drycleaning solvent contamination at a drycleaning facility made to the department by a person in accordance with this article or department regulations governing drycleaning facilities may not be used directly as evidence of liability for the release in a civil or criminal trial arising out of the release.