(a) In determining the use of the fund for a particular governmental response action, the department shall consider the relative risk of danger to public health or welfare or the environment and the hazard potential of the substances involved including potential for fire, explosions, release of harmful air contaminants, direct human contact, contamination of surface water or groundwater including those used for drinking water supplies, and damages to sensitive ecosystems. With approval of the Hazardous Waste Management Select Oversight Committee, as established under Section 44-56-840, funds specified for governmental response actions must be available to the department for personnel and operating costs to implement its program for conducting these response actions. The department must, concurrent with taking a governmental response action, initiate the appropriate administrative action to exhaust any applicable liability insurance or other financial assurance mechanisms which have been provided by the responsible party and, where appropriate, funds available through P.L. 96-510. Use of the Fund for a response action is not stayed by any action for recovery. The department must initiate any legal actions which reasonably may result in recovery from the parties liable for the conditions necessitating the response action. Any funds recovered in relation to a response action from whatever source are to be placed in the Fund.

(b) The Department shall annually make a report to the General Assembly on the activities and response actions that have been carried out under the auspices of the Contingency Fund. The Department shall annually provide a report to the committees of each House with oversight of industry and natural resources on its program to identify and clean up uncontrolled hazardous waste sites. The appropriate committees shall have the authority to study the transportation and disposal of hazardous waste in South Carolina.

HISTORY: 1980 Act No. 517 Part II, Section 15C; 1983 Act No. 151 Part II Section 31G; 1985 Act No. 140, Section 8; 1993 Act No. 164, Part II, Section 61A.