Document ID: EPA-R04-RCRA-2023-0042-0001
Agency: epa
Document Type: Supporting & Related Material
Title: 
Posted Date: 2023-06-09T04:00Z

South Carolina RCRA Authorization Application
                              Program Description

                              September 26, 2022
                           Revised January 27, 2023

SECTION I: PROGRAM SCOPE, STRUCTURE, COVERAGE, AND PROCESSES
A.  Scope and Coverage of Program Revision
The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control (Department) is requesting authorization for Checklist 240 - Safe Management of Recalled Airbags, Checklist 241 - Management Standards for Hazardous Waste Pharmaceuticals and Amendment to the P075 Listing for Nicotine, Checklist 242 - Increased Recycling: Adding Aerosol Cans to the Universal Waste Regulations, and Checklist 243 - Modernizing Ignitable Liquids Determinations. 
The Department is also requesting full authorization for checklists that have been partially authorized. Full authorization is requested for Checklist 207  -  Modification of the Hazardous Waste Manifest System, 233B - Revisions to the Definition of Solid Waste - Legitimacy-related Provisions, Including Prohibition of Sham Recycling, Definition of Legitimacy, Definition of Contained, Checklist 233D2 - Revisions to the Definition of Solid Waste - 2008 DSW Exclusions and Non-Waste Determinations, Including Revisions From 2015 DSW Final Rule, Checklist 233E - Revisions to the Definition of Solid Waste - Remanufacturing Exclusion, and Checklist 237 - Hazardous Waste Generator Improvements Rule. 

Authorization is Requested For
 Checklist 240  -  Safe Management of Recalled Airbags was published as final in the South Carolina State Register on May 28, 2021

 Checklist 241  -  Management Standards for Hazardous Waste Pharmaceuticals and Amendment to the P075 Listing for Nicotine was published as final in the South Carolina State Register on November 27, 2020.

 Checklist 242  -  Increased Recycling: Adding Aerosol Cans to the Universal Waste Regulations was published as final in the South Carolina State Register on May 28, 2021. 

 Checklist 243  -  Modernizing Ignitable Liquids Determinations was published as final in the South Carolina State Register on May 27, 2022. 

Attachment A includes the completed Checklists for the rules noted above. 
Attachment B includes Notices of Final Regulation for each Checklist. The Notices of Final Regulation contain underline/strikethrough language for each rule in order to facilitate EPA's review of the authorization package. 

Partial Authorization
EPA granted partial authorization of several Checklists included in the previous authorization package submitted by the Department on April 8, 2020. The Checklists for which partial authorization was granted include:
 207  -  Modification of the Hazardous Waste Manifest System
   
 233B - Revisions to the Definition of Solid Waste - Legitimacy-related Provisions, Including Prohibition of Sham Recycling, Definition of Legitimacy, Definition of Contained. Corrections were needed at R.61-79.261.2(a)(2)(ii). 

 233D2 - Revisions to the Definition of Solid Waste - 2008 DSW Exclusions and Non-Waste Determinations, Including Revisions From 2015 DSW Final Rule. Corrections were needed at R.61-79.261.2(c)(4) Table 1 and R.61-79.270.42 Entries 9 and 10 Section A (Appendix 1).  

 233E - Revisions to the Definition of Solid Waste - Remanufacturing Exclusion. Corrections were needed at R.61-79.261.2(c)(4) Table 1.

 237 - Hazardous Waste Generator Improvements Rule. Corrections were needed at R.61-79.261.420(g), R.61-79.262.14(a)(5)(iii), and R.61-79.262.41(b). 
In addition to the corrections noted above, as noted in the footnotes on page 56205 of the Federal Register, Vol. 85, No. 177, dated September 11, 2020, the Department has corrected the table found at R.61-79.266.80(a), the address listed in R.61-79.261.42(a)(2), and the reference to R.61-79.260.2(d)(1). 
Because corrections have been made to the South Carolina Hazardous Waste Management Regulations, the Department is requesting full authorization for the Checklists 207, 233B, 233D2, 233E and 237.  
Please note the Department requested authorization in the previous authorization package for Checklist 212 - National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP): Final Standards for Hazardous Waste Combustors (Phase I Final Replacement Standards and Phase II) and Checklist 217 - NESHAP: Final Standards for Hazardous Waste Combustors (Phase I Final Replacement Standards and Phase II) Amendments; however, because the Department had previously chosen not to seek authorization to permit Boilers and Industrial Furnaces, this request was made in error. Please see Footnote 3 in the Federal Register notice published at Volume 85, Number 177, page 56201, dated September 11, 2020. Therefore, the Department is not requesting authorization for Checklists 212 and 217 in this package. 
Included as Attachment C to this authorization package is a PDF version of the May 2022 South Carolina Hazardous Waste Management Regulations. In addition, there are two online versions of the South Carolina Hazardous Waste Management Regulations, one in Microsoft Word and the other in PDF. Both versions may be found at this link: https://www.scstatehouse.gov/coderegs/statmast.php  Please see Chapter 61-79 Parts 1 and 2. Please note the online versions of the South Carolina Hazardous Waste Management Regulations may not reflect the most recent revisions. 
Specific Attorney General certification is not required since the Department of Health and Environmental Control has been authorized to implement the hazardous waste program in lieu of the EPA and follows all procedures as prescribed in the most recent South Carolina  -  EPA Memorandum of Agreement, RCRA Hazardous Waste Program, dated September 10, 2015. A copy of this Memorandum of Agreement is included as Attachment D. 

Administrative Procedures Act
In 2006 and 2010, revisions of the administrative process regarding appeals were made (Act 387 of 2006, Act 278 of 2010 and codified at South Carolina Code Ann. Section 44-1-60). The following appeal process became a permanent part of the South Carolina Hazardous Waste Management Regulations (R.61-79) on June 27, 2008, and reads as follows:
      124.19(a) A Department decision involving the issuance, denial, renewal, modification, suspension, or revocation of a permit, license, certificate or certification may be appealed by an affected person with standing pursuant to applicable law, including S.C. Code Title 44, Chapter 1; Title 1, Chapter 23; and Title 40, Chapter 61.
      (b) Any person to whom an order is issued may appeal it pursuant to applicable law, including S.C. Code Title 44, Chapter 1; Title 1, Chapter 23; and Title 40, Chapter 61.

SECTION II.  STATE AGENCY ORGANIZATION
A.  Organization and Structure of the Hazardous Waste Program
Under South Carolina legislation, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control has the authority to regulate the State's hazardous waste management program. The management of hazardous waste in South Carolina is administered solely by the Department of Health and Environmental Control. No other State agency shares these responsibilities. 
South Carolina's comprehensive statewide hazardous waste management program is equivalent to the federal program for EPA-authorized provisions except for the variances noted above. The Department's Bureau of Land and Waste Management is charged with the daily administration of the State Hazardous Waste Management Program under RCRA. A copy of the most recent Bureau of Land and Waste Management organizational chart is included as Attachment E. 
Within this framework, responsibilities include the permitting of all facilities that transport, treat, store, or dispose of hazardous waste; inspection and regulation of generators, transporters, as well as treatment, storage, and disposal facilities; overseeing the cleanup of hazardous waste and/or constituents; and a program that includes legal, health, public participation, and lab technical support assistance. The regulatory function of the program consists of enforcement of State legislation and regulations adopted by the Department related to the management of hazardous waste and the enforcement of standards for hazardous waste treatment and disposal facilities.
The Department has also been charged with the establishment and maintenance of a fund for contingencies arising from hazardous waste spills or accidents at permitted facilities or at pre-existing abandoned sites. Additional responsibilities include the recovery of punitive damages. 

B. Statutory Authority
South Carolina's hazardous waste program bases its statutory authority on the South Carolina Hazardous Waste Management Act, South Carolina Code Ann. Sections 44-56-10 et seq., as amended.
Under the state enabling legislation, the South Carolina Board of Health and Environmental Control has authority to adopt rules regulating hazardous waste. Hazardous waste regulations [R.61-79] were adopted effective March 31, 1980, and have been amended and become effective on the following dates: May 22, 1980; January 29, 1981; June 22, 1984; January 24, 1986; March 19, 1987; January 1988; March 17, 1988; October 28, 1988; June 23, 1989; November 1990; December 25, 1992; May 28, 1993; December 24, 1993; December 23, 1994; June 23, 1995; May 24, 1996; December 27, 1996; September 25, 1998; November 26, 1999; and August 25, 2000, October 26, 2001, June 28, 2002, June 27, 2003, June 25, 2004, June 23, 2005, June 23, 2006, February 23, 2007, June 22, 2007, June 27, 2008, June 26, 2009, May 28, 2010, March 23, 2012, June 26, 2015, May 27, 2016, December 28, 2018, May 24, 2019,  November 22, 2019, June 26, 2020, November 27, 2020, May 28, 2021, and May 27, 2022. 
Additional authorities have been assigned to the Department through the South Carolina Pollution Control Act [South Carolina Code Ann. Sections 48-1-10 et seq.], which provides authority for provisions which may supplement or exceed federal requirements. Procedural guidelines and restrictions have been prescribed by the State Administrative Procedures Act in South Carolina Code Ann. Sections 1-23-10 et seq., and as well as Rules of Procedure of the South Carolina Administrative Law Court Division.

SECTION III. STAFFING AND FUNDING RESOURCES
A.  Description of Staffing of Agency
1. Office of General Counsel
The Department works with the Office of General Counsel in the enforcement of statutes and regulations. Attorneys are assigned to the Department by the South Carolina Attorney General to assist with environmental issues. In addition, several State-funded criminal investigators have been provided to the Department's Environmental Affairs (EA) deputy area.
Counsel are charged with assuring compliance by the Department with the provisions of federal and state law, advising staff on interpretation and implementation of laws and regulations, and answering inquiries from members of the public involving laws and programs administered by the Department.

2. Department of Health and Environmental Control
The Department is charged with the responsibility to implement the South Carolina Hazardous Waste Management Act. The Department is authorized by the South Carolina Board of Health and Environmental Control and the State Director to act on behalf of the Board. The Department was created in 1973 by the South Carolina General Assembly to unite the State Board of Health and the Pollution Control Authority.
The Board consists of seven members, one from each of the state's Congressional districts, and one member at large, all of whom are appointed by the Governor of South Carolina upon the advice and consent of the South Carolina Senate. The Board is empowered to make, adopt, promulgate, and enforce reasonable rules and regulations for the promotion of the public health and the abatement, control, and prevention of pollution.

3. Bureau of Land and Waste Management
The regulatory function of the program consists of State legislation and regulations adopted by the Department related to the management of hazardous waste and the enforcement of standards for hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal facilities.
The Department's Bureau of Land and Waste Management is responsible for the full range of hazardous waste activities including program administration, regulation promulgation, permitting, public participation, compliance and surveillance, enforcement, field inspections and investigations, emergency response to spills and releases, and cleanup activities at uncontrolled sites. Staff who implement the hazardous waste program are located primarily in the Bureau's Division of Compliance and Enforcement and the Division of Waste Management. Staff are also located in Regional Offices and assist in implementing the program. 

B.  Itemization of Estimated Costs and Sources of Funding for Revision
Funding information can be found in South Carolina's 2022 RCRA Grant Work Plan.

                                  Attachments

Attachment A  -  Rule Checklists for which Authorization is requested

Attachment B - Attachment B includes Notices of Final Regulation

Attachment C  -  South Carolina Hazardous Waste Management Regulations, dated May 2022

Attachment D  -  South Carolina  -  EPA Memorandum of Agreement, RCRA Hazardous Waste Program, dated September 10, 2015

Attachment E  -  South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, Bureau of Land and Waste Management Organizational Chart, dated May 2022