South Carolina Code 54-7-820. Retention and confidentiality of data; exemption from liability; discovery of human remains or grave sites; issuance of licenses and administration of article; waivers and variances
(B) The State and the institute are not liable or responsible for any accident, injury, or other harm sustained by any person or loss, damage, or harm to any vessel, equipment, or property in any way connected or associated with activities conducted on or about submerged lands with or without a license. Licensees shall agree to protect, indemnify, and hold harmless the institute and the State against liabilities, suits, actions, claims, demands, losses, expenses, and costs of every kind incurred by, or asserted or imposed against, the institute or the State as a result of or in connection with the license. All money expended by the institute or the State as a result of these liabilities, suits, actions, claims, demands, losses, expenses, or costs, together with interest at a rate not to exceed the maximum interest rate permitted by law, is due and payable immediately and without notice by the licensee to the institute or the State, as appropriate.
Terms Used In South Carolina Code 54-7-820
- Data: means any information related to the site of submerged archaeological historic property or submerged paleontological property which includes, without limitation, artifactual and/or paleontological material, remote sensing survey charts, magnetic tape records of positions, site maps, feature plans, photographs, measurements, and historical documentation. See South Carolina Code 54-7-620
- Freedom of Information Act: A federal law that mandates that all the records created and kept by federal agencies in the executive branch of government must be open for public inspection and copying. The only exceptions are those records that fall into one of nine exempted categories listed in the statute. Source: OCC
- Institute: means the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology. See South Carolina Code 54-7-620
- Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. Source: OCC
- Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
- Licensee: means any person or entity authorized to perform certain recovery operations from a submerged archaeological historic property or submerged paleontological property under the provisions of this article by the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology. See South Carolina Code 54-7-620
- Person: means an individual, partnership, corporation, association, organized group of persons, or any other legal entity. See South Carolina Code 54-7-620
- Site: means :
(a) the location of an event, a prehistoric or historic occupation or activity, or a building or structure including a shipwreck, whether standing, ruined, or vanished, and its debris field where the location itself maintains historical or archaeological value regardless of the value of any existing structure;
(b) the location of an accumulation of paleontological material where the location itself maintains paleontological value. See South Carolina Code 54-7-620 - State: means the State of South Carolina. See South Carolina Code 54-7-620
- State Underwater Archaeologist: means a person appointed by the Director of the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology who administers this article. See South Carolina Code 54-7-620
- Submerged: means beneath or substantially beneath the territorial waters of the State or submerged at mean low tide. See South Carolina Code 54-7-620
- Submerged lands: means lands beneath or substantially beneath the territorial waters of the State or which are submerged at mean low tide. See South Carolina Code 54-7-620
(C)(1) If, in the course of activity licensed under this article a person discovers human remains or an apparent grave site, the person shall:
(a) leave the remains undisturbed unless the remains are a person who died in the course of diving operations or other immediate cause including, but not limited to, drowning, boating accident, or homicide;
(b) immediately notify the State Underwater Archaeologist or a representative of the institute; and
(c) suspend activity at the site until permitted to resume by the institute.
(2) The State reserves the right to recover human remains for the purpose of study or reburial in accordance with any pertinent federal or state law.
(D)(1) Except as may be otherwise specifically provided, the State Underwater Archaeologist is designated to issue licenses and otherwise administer this article.
(2) The institute may establish from time to time detailed guidelines containing archeology standards, processing requirements, and other requirements or matters relating to the administration of this article.
(E) The institute may waive or vary particular provisions of this article to the extent that the waiver or variance is not inconsistent with this article and if, in the written determination of the institute, the application of a provision of this article in a specific case or in an emergency situation would be inequitable or contrary to the purposes of the article.