Vol. 8, No. 1, Pg. 28. Interpreting South Carolina's New Drycleaner Solvent Cleanup Program.

• Author: By Laura C. Johnson and Karen A. Crawford

South Carolina Lawyer

1996.

Vol. 8, No. 1, Pg. 28.

Interpreting South Carolina's New Drycleaner Solvent Cleanup Program

28Interpreting South Carolina's New Drycleaner Solvent Cleanup ProgramBy Laura C. Johnson and Karen A. CrawfordDrycleaning facilities, property owners, lessees and lenders beware. South Carolina has recently adopted Drycleaning Facility Restoration Trust Fund legislation effective July 1, 1995. Act 119, H.B. No. 3907 (1995) (Trust Fund).

The Trust Fund legislation creates a program to force drycleaning and other related industries to fund the rehabilitation of sites contaminated by the release of drycleaning solvents. In creating the program, the South Carolina Legislature noted that drycleaning solvent discharges "pose a threat to the quality of the ground waters and inland surface water" of South Carolina.

Further, the Legislature found that remedial measures "have often been delayed for long periods while determinations as to liability and the extent of liability are made," resulting in a greater threat to health and the environment.

30Although the goal of the Trust Fund sounds promising, the scope is unknown at this time because, although the Act creating the Trust Fund is in effect, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) has yet to promulgate regulations to implement it. Sources close to DHEC estimate the regulations are at least two to three years down the road.

Facilities eligible under the Trust Fund include drycleaning facilities that use drycleaning solvents in their daily operations [i.e. perchloroethylene and Stoddard solvent, and their breakdown solvents]. The monies in the Trust Fund are collected in the form of initial and annual registration fees for each current drycleaning facility and in the form of environmental surcharges levied on the production or import of perchloroethylene and Stoddard solvent into the state.

Eligible facilities may receive monies (in excess of a set deductible) for investigation, assessment, rehabilitation, maintenance, monitoring, inspection and administrative costs connected to contaminated sites and to the restoration of potable water sources.

The question that plagues practitioners is: What about properties contaminated by drycleaning solvents that are not currently owned by a registered drycleaner?

It would seem logical that the...