2012 South Carolina Code of Laws
Title 44 - Health
Chapter 56 - SOUTH CAROLINA HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT ACT
Section 44-56-430 - Environmental surcharge.

(A)(1) An environmental surcharge, equal to one percent of the gross proceeds of sales of a retail drycleaning facility or a dry drop-off facility is imposed upon every owner or operator of a retail drycleaning facility or a dry drop-off facility.

Exempt from the environmental surcharge imposed in this subsection are:

(a) drycleaning facilities in existence before July 1, 1995, that possess a Drycleaning Facility Exemption Certificate issued by the Department of Revenue on or after July 1, 2009;

(b) dry drop-off facilities where the clothing or other fabrics are only cleaned by a drycleaning facility:

(i) owned or operated by the same person who owns or operates the dry drop-off facility;

(ii) issued a Drycleaning Facility Exemption Certificate by the Department of Revenue on or after July 1, 2009; and

(iii) where the owner or operator, or related entity, does not own or operate any other drycleaning facilities that are participating in the fund through payment of any surcharges or fees imposed pursuant to this article; and

(c) wholesale sales of drycleaning services provided to another drycleaning facility or a dry drop-off facility.

(2) At any time the uncommitted balance of the Drycleaning Facility Restoration Trust Fund account exceeds five million dollars, the one percent of the gross proceeds of sales of drycleaning surcharge is suspended until that time the uncommitted balance of the trust fund account becomes less than one million dollars. The Department of Health and Environmental Control is responsible for notifying the Department of Revenue when these amounts have been reached. The suspension of the environmental surcharge occurs at the end of the month in which the Department of Revenue is notified by the Department of Health and Environmental Control. The lifting of the suspension occurs on the first day of the month following the month in which the Department of Revenue is notified by the Department of Health and Environmental Control.

(B)(1) The surcharge imposed by this section is due and payable on the twentieth day of each month for the preceding month. The Department of Revenue may authorize the quarterly, semiannual, or annual payment of this surcharge. The surcharge must be reported on forms and in the manner determined by the Department of Revenue.

(2) The Department of Revenue must administer, collect, and enforce the surcharge in the manner that the sales and use taxes are administered, collected, and enforced under Chapter 36, Title 12, except that no timely payment discount or exemptions or exclusions are allowed. The provisions of Title 12 apply to the collection and enforcement of the surcharge by the Department of Revenue.

(3) The Department of Revenue shall retain funds for the costs incurred to administer, collect, and enforce the fund which may include a part-time employee with the related expenses for audit purposes. The funds withheld must not exceed the actual costs to administer, collect, and enforce the fund. The proceeds of the surcharge, after deducting the costs incurred by the Department of Revenue in administering, auditing, collecting, distributing, and enforcing the surcharge, must be remitted to the State Treasurer and credited to the fund and must be used as provided in Section 44-56-420. For the purposes of this section, the proceeds of the surcharge include all funds collected and received by the Department of Revenue, including interest and penalties on delinquent surcharges.

(C) The Department of Health and Environmental Control is required to report each January fifteenth the current financial position of the Drycleaning Facility Restoration Trust Fund to the General Assembly. In addition, Department of Health and Environmental Control must include projected information that would enable the General Assembly to determine the solvency of the fund. At a minimum this must include a five-year budget projection. This report also must review and comment on the adequacy of the current program in resolving contamination problems at both operating and closed drycleaning facilities in this State.

HISTORY: 1995 Act No. 119, Section 1; 2004 Act No. 237, Section 4, eff May 24, 2004; 2009 Act No. 14, Section 1, eff May 6, 2009.