2015 South Carolina Code of Laws
Title 40 - Professions and Occupations
CHAPTER 23 - ENVIRONMENTAL CERTIFICATION BOARD
Section 40-23-20. Definitions.

When used in this chapter:

(1) "Abate" or "abatement" refers to actions taken to ameliorate or correct conditions requiring remediation as defined in this section.

(2) "Accessible supervision" means the supervisor is on-site or immediately available to supervised persons via telephone, radio, or other electronic means.

(3) "Board" means the South Carolina Environmental Certification Board.

(4) "Bored" means a large diameter well, commonly greater than or equal to twenty-four inches in diameter, which is typically installed at a very shallow depth and constructed of rock, concrete, or ceramic material.

(5) "Certificate of Registration", "Certificate", or "License" means a serially numbered document issued by the board, containing the name of the person registered, certified, or licensed and the date of registration, certification, or licensing and certifying that the person named is authorized to practice a profession regulated by the board as specified on said document.

(6) "Coastal well" means an opening into the ground, which qualifies as a "well" of Type II, III, IV, or V construction as defined in this section, that is made by boring, drilling, jetting, driving, direct push technology, or any other method into unconsolidated materials, and that does not qualify as an environmental well.

(7) "Director" means the Director of Labor, Licensing and Regulation.

(8) "Direct push technology" means the creation of a man-made opening in the earth through the use of mechanical means wherein a tool is forced or hammered into the earth. Direct push technology includes but is not limited to cone penetrometers.

(9) "Direct supervision" means supervision provided by a licensee who must:

(a) be on-site or immediately available to supervise persons by means of telephone, radio, or other electronic means; and

(b) maintain continued involvement in appropriate aspects of each professional activity of the supervisee.

(10) "Environmental systems operator" is a generic term for any occupation licensed by the board.

(11) "Environmental well" means an opening into the ground which qualifies as a "well" of Type I, II, III, IV, or V construction as defined in this section, that is made by boring, drilling, jetting, driving, direct push technology, or any other method for obtaining a sample of underground waters or soils for environmental or geological investigation or research or for environmental remediation, where the depth of the opening is reasonably likely to penetrate the water table.

(12) "Explorational boring" means a borehole for the purpose of subsurface, mineral investigation, exploration, and mineral sampling that can be converted later to measure groundwater levels.

(13) "Human consumption" means water used for drinking, bathing, cooking, dishwashing, maintaining oral hygiene, or other similar uses.

(14) "Licensed activity" means any operation, function, or action of any kind in which one may not engage, or offer to engage, without a license issued pursuant to this chapter.

(15) "Licensee" means a person currently or previously authorized to practice a licensed activity pursuant to this chapter and includes a person holding a license, permit, certification, or registration granted pursuant to this chapter.

(16) "Operator" when used in reference to public water or wastewater treatment means a person employed in a public water treatment facility or public wastewater treatment plant whose duties include alteration of the physical, chemical, or bacteriological characteristics of water or wastewater. When used in reference to public water distribution, "operator" means a person employed in a public water distribution system whose duties include making process control and system integrity decisions about water quality or quantity that affect public health.

(17) "Person" means an individual, partnership, copartnership, cooperative, firm, company, public or private corporation, political subdivision, government agency, trust, estate, joint structure company, or any other legal entity or its legal representative, agent, or assigns.

(18) "Public wastewater treatment plant" means that portion of any system that treats domestic or industrial waste and that alters physical, chemical, or bacteriological characteristics before placing the waste into any receiving waters.

(19) "Public water distribution system" means that portion of a public water system that is utilized for the delivery of water for human consumption, whether bottled, piped, or delivered through some other constructed conveyance, up to the point of consumer or owner connection.

(20) "Public water system" means:

(a) any publicly or privately owned waterworks system which provides water, whether bottled, piped, or delivered through some other constructed conveyance, for human consumption, including the source of supply whether the source of supply is of surface or subsurface origin;

(b) all structures and appurtenances used for the collection, treatment, storage, or distribution of water delivered to point of meter of consumer or owner connection;

(c) any part or portion of the system, including any water treatment facility, which in any way alters the physical, chemical, radiological, or bacteriological characteristics of the water; however, a public water system does not include a water system serving a single private residence or dwelling. A separately owned system with its source of supply from another waterworks system must be a separate public water system. A connection to a system that delivers water by a constructed conveyance other than a pipe must not be considered a connection if:

(i) the water is used exclusively for purposes other than residential uses consisting of drinking, bathing, and cooking or similar uses;

(ii) the Department of Health and Environmental Control determines that alternative water sources to achieve the equivalent level of public health protection provided by the applicable State Primary Drinking Water Regulations is provided for residential or similar uses for drinking or cooking; or

(iii) the Department of Health and Environmental Control determines the water provided for residential or similar uses for drinking, cooking, and bathing is centrally treated or treated at the point of entry by the provider, a pass-through entity, or the user to achieve the equivalent level or protection provided by the applicable State Primary Drinking Water Regulations.

(21) "Public water system treatment facility" means that portion of a public water system that alters the physical, chemical, or bacteriological characteristics of water furnished to the public for human consumption, whether the source of supply is of surface or subterranean origin.

(22) "Remediation" means the correction, repair, restoration, or any other action taken in order to bring any condition or circumstance into compliance with a statute, standard, or regulation.

(23) "Rock well" means an opening into the ground, which qualifies as a "well" of Type I construction as defined in this section, that is made by boring, drilling, jetting, driving, direct push technology, or any other method into consolidated materials, and that does not qualify as an environmental well.

(24) "Safe Drinking Water Act" means Article 1, Chapter 55, Title 44.

(25) "Soil sampling" means the extraction of soils from beneath the surface of the earth by mechanical means for the purpose of environmental or geological investigation or research or for environmental remediation, where the depth of the opening is reasonably likely to penetrate the water table.

(26) "Well" means a manmade horizontal, vertical, or angled opening in the ground made by digging, boring, drilling, jetting, driving, direct push technology, or any other method through which water is injected or withdrawn from beneath the surface of the earth for the purpose of human consumption, irrigation, industrial or commercial processes, or construction of closed loop systems. The duration of, existence of, or use of any well is of no consequence for purposes of this definition. For purposes of this chapter, wells are categorized by the following types of construction:

(a) Construction Type I: open hole wells into bedrock aquifers;

(b) Construction Type II: screened, natural filter wells into unconsolidated aquifers;

(c) Construction Type III: screened, artificial filter wells into unconsolidated aquifers including, but not limited to, gravel pack filters;

(d) Construction Type IV: open hole wells into limestone aquifers;

(e) Construction Type V: bored wells;

(f) Construction Type VI: environmental wells of any other construction method.

(27) "Well drilling category" means the taxonomy of well drilling licenses according to the type of well a licensee is authorized to construct including, but not limited to, environmental wells, coastal wells, rock wells, and bored wells.

HISTORY: 2002 Act No. 185, Section 1; 2014 Act No. 156 (H.4574), Section 1, eff April 14, 2014.

Editor's Note

Prior Laws: 1962 Code Section 56-1544; 1966 (54) 2668; 1968 (55) 2439; 1969 (56) 179; 1972 (57) 2829; 1981 Act No. 157, Section 1; 1982 Act No. 459, Section 1; 1988 Act No. 621, Section 1; 2000 Act No. 322, Sections 2, 3; 2000 Act No. 325, Sections 1, 2; 1976 Code Section 40-23-10.

Effect of Amendment

2014 Act No. 156, Section 1, added subsection (9), definition of "Direct supervision"; redesignated former subsection (9) as subsection (11); redesignated former subsection (28) as subsection (12), definition of "Explorational boring"; redesignated former subsections (11) through (15) as subsections (13) through (17); and deleted former reserved subsections (16) and (17).