South Carolina Code 44-2-115. Eligibility requirements to be applied to favor eligibility; qualified site remains qualified until correction and compensation; petition for matter to be heard as contested case; reconsideration by mediation panel
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Terms Used In South Carolina Code 44-2-115
- Compensation: means billing the Superb Account for costs associated with site rehabilitation after receiving prior approval from the department and in accordance with regulations promulgated pursuant to this chapter and criteria established by the department as authorized by this chapter. See South Carolina Code 44-2-20
- Department: means the Department of Health and Environmental Control. See South Carolina Code 44-2-20
- Operator: means any person in control of, or having responsibility for the daily operation of an underground storage tank. See South Carolina Code 44-2-20
- Owner: means :
(a) in the case of an underground storage tank system in use on November 8, 1984, or brought into use after that date, a person who owns an underground storage tank system used for storage, use, or dispensing of regulated substances;
(b) in the case of any underground storage tank system in use before November 8, 1984, but no longer in use on that date, a person who owned such an underground storage tank immediately before the discontinuation of its use; or
(c) a person who has assumed legal ownership of the underground storage tank through the provisions of a contract of sale or other legally binding transfer of ownership. See South Carolina Code 44-2-20 - Release: means any spilling, leaking, emitting, discharging, escaping, leaching or disposing from an underground storage tank into subsurface soils, groundwater, or surface water. See South Carolina Code 44-2-20
- Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
The department shall apply the eligibility requirements set forth in this chapter in a manner favoring eligibility. Once the department determines that a release at a site qualifies for compensation from the Superb Account, coverage for that release shall continue to be provided, notwithstanding the issuance of a no action letter, until corrective action is undertaken and the owner or operator is compensated by the Superb Account. If the department denies an owner’s or operator’s request for compensation from the Superb Account, the owner or operator may file a petition with an Administrative Law Judge for the matter to be heard as a contested case under the Administrative Procedures Act. Concurrently with the filing of a petition with the Administrative Law Judge, the owner or operator may request reconsideration of the department’s denial by a mediation panel appointed by the director of the department. The mediation panel shall meet with the owner or operator and thereafter make a recommendation for settlement to the director or the director’s designee. The mediation process must be completed within four weeks from denial of compensation. If a satisfactory settlement is not reached, the owner or operator may then proceed with the hearing before the Administrative Law Judge.