South Carolina Code of Laws
Chapter 96 - South Carolina Solid Waste Policy And Management Act
Section 44-96-250. Definitions.

(A) The definitions set forth in Article 1 of this chapter are incorporated by reference in this article.
(B) The following definitions are applicable in this article:
(1) "Applicant" means an individual, corporation, partnership, business association, or government entity that applies for the issuance, transfer, or modification of a permit under this article.
(2) "Ash" means the solid residue from the incineration of solid waste.
(3) "Closure" means the discontinuance of operation by ceasing to accept, treat, store, or dispose of solid waste in a manner which minimizes the need for further maintenance and protects human health and the environment.
(4) "Director" means the Director of the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.
(5) "Composite liner" means a liner which shall consist of a geomembrane placed over a natural or recompacted soil layer.
(6) "Construction" means any physical modification to the site at which a potential or proposed solid waste management facility is to be located including, but not limited to, site preparation.
(7) "Contingency plan" means a document acceptable to the department setting out an organized, planned, and coordinated course of action to be followed at or by the facility in case of a fire, explosion, or other incident that could threaten human health and safety or the environment.
(8) "Cover" means soil or other suitable material acceptable to the department, or both, that is used to cover compacted solid waste in a land disposal site.
(9) "Daily cover" means a compacted layer of at least six inches of soil or other cover material, in an amount approved by the department, that is placed on all exposed solid waste in a landfill at the end of each day of operation, except for recyclable materials properly located in a salvage area.
(10) "Disclosure statement" means a sworn statement or affirmation, the form and content of which shall be determined by the department and as required by Section 44-96-300.
(11) "Double geomembrane liner" means a liner which shall consist of the following layers from bottom to top:
(a) a properly graded and prepared subbase;
(b) a minimum 60 mil HDPE geomembrane secondary liner;
(c) a secondary leachate collection system;
(d) an approved bentonite mat or equivalent;
(e) a geomembrane primary liner; and
(f) a primary leachate collection system.
(12) "Equity" means both legal and equitable interests.
Text of (B)(13) effective until January 27, 2027. See, Editor's Note.
(13) "Financial responsibility mechanism" means a mechanism designed to demonstrate that sufficient funds will be available to meet specific environmental protection needs of solid waste management facilities and advanced recycling facilities. Available financial responsibility mechanisms include, but are not limited to, insurance, trust funds, surety bonds, letters of credit, personal bonds, certificates of deposit, financial tests, and corporate guarantees as determined by the department by regulation.
Text of (B)(13) effective January 27, 2027. See, Editor's Note.
(13) "Financial responsibility mechanism" means a mechanism designed to demonstrate that sufficient funds will be available to meet specific environmental protection needs of solid waste management facilities. Available financial responsibility mechanisms include, but are not limited to, insurance, trust funds, surety bonds, letters of credit, personal bonds, certificates of deposit, financial tests, and corporate guarantees as determined by the department by regulation.
(14) "Flood plain" means the lowland and relatively flat areas adjoining inland and coastal areas of the mainland and off-shore islands including, at a minimum, areas subject to a one percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year.
(15) "Leachate" means the liquid that has percolated through or drained from solid waste or other man-emplaced materials and that contains soluble, partially soluble, or miscible components removed from such waste.
(16) "Liner" means a continuous layer of natural or man-made materials, beneath or on the sides of a surface impoundment, landfill, or landfill cell, which restricts the downward or lateral escape of solid waste, and constituents of such waste, or leachate.
(17) "Monofill" means a landfill or landfill cell into which only one type of waste is placed.
(18) "Municipal solid waste incinerator" means any solid waste incinerator, publicly or privately owned, that receives household waste. Such incinerator may receive other types of solid waste such as commercial or industrial solid waste.
(19) "Permit" means the process by which the department can ensure cognizance of, as well as control over, the management of solid wastes.
(20) "Responsible party" means:
(a) any officer, corporation director, or senior management official of a corporation, partnership, or business association that is an applicant;
(b) a management employee of a corporation, partnership, or business association that is an applicant who has overall responsibility for operations and financial management of the facility under consideration;
(c) an individual, officer, corporation director, senior management official of a corporation, partnership, or business association under contract to the applicant to operate the facility under consideration; or
(d) an individual, corporation, partnership, or business association that holds, directly or indirectly, at least five percent equity or debt interest in the applicant. If any holder of five percent or more of the equity or debt of the applicant is not a natural person, the term means any officer, corporation director, or senior management official of the equity or debt holder who is empowered to make discretionary decisions with respect to the operation and financial management of the facility under consideration.
(21) "Run-off" means any rainwater, leachate, or other liquid that drains over land from any part of a facility.
(22) "Solid waste processing facility" means a combination of structures, machinery, or devices utilized to reduce or alter the volume, chemical, or physical characteristics of solid waste through processes, such as baling or shredding, prior to delivery of such waste to a recycling or resource recovery facility or to a solid waste treatment, storage, or disposal facility and excludes collection vehicles.
(23) "Transfer station" means a combination of structures, machinery, or devices at a place or facility where solid waste is taken from collection vehicles and placed in other transportation units, with or without reduction of volume, for movement to another solid waste management facility.
(24) "Vector" means a carrier that is capable of transmitting a pathogen from one organism to another including, but not limited to, flies and other insects, rodents, birds, and vermin.
(25) "Vehicle" means any motor vehicle, water vessel, railroad car, airplane, or other means of transporting solid waste.
HISTORY: 1991 Act No. 63, Section 1; 1993 Act No. 181, Section 1160; 2022 Act No. 119 (S.525), Section 2, eff January 27, 2022.

Editor's Note
2022 Act No. 119, Section 7, provides as follows:
"SECTION 7. The provisions of SECTIONS 2 and 3 terminate on the fifth anniversary of the effective date of this act."
Effect of Amendment
2022 Act No. 119, Section 2, in (B)(13), in the first sentence, inserted "and advanced recycling facilities" after "solid waste management facilities".

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