(A) There is established a Solid Waste Management Trust Fund to be administered by the Office of Solid Waste Reduction and Recycling to fund:

(1) activities of the department to implement the provisions of this chapter;

(2) research by state-supported educational institutions or by private entities under contract with state-supported educational institutions on solid waste management technologies;

(3) activities of the Recycling Market Development Advisory Council including its staff in the amount of one hundred thousand dollars from the Solid Waste Management Trust Fund for fiscal year 1994-95;

(4) demonstration projects or pilot programs to be conducted by local governments within their jurisdictions, including local governments which contract with private entities to assist in conducting the demonstration projects or pilot programs;

(5) grants to local governments to carry out their responsibilities under this article, pursuant to the provisions of Section 44-96-130, including local governments which contract with private entities to assist in carrying out their responsibilities under this article;

(6) grants to school districts and public and private schools to establish waste reduction and recycling education programs;

(7) grants to public and private colleges and universities to establish waste reduction and recycling education programs and demonstration projects; and

(8) the activities of the Solid Waste Emergency Fund through the transfer of funds on a quarterly basis pursuant to the provisions of Section 44-96-85.

(B) The Solid Waste Management Trust Fund shall consist of:

(1) funds appropriated by the General Assembly;

(2) contributions and grants from public and private sources;

(3) funds generated by the out-of-state disposal fee authorized pursuant to Section 44-96-80;

(4) the balance of the funds generated by the two-dollar fee imposed pursuant to Section 44-96-170(N), which is not remitted back to the counties for the management of waste tires; these funds shall be remitted to a special fund designated as the Waste Tire Trust Fund;

(5) funds generated by the two-dollar fee for each lead-acid battery fee imposed pursuant to Section 44-96-180(F) for the management of lead-acid batteries;

(6) funds generated by the two-dollar fee for each white good fee imposed pursuant to Section 44-96-200(D) for the management of white goods;

(7) funds generated by fees imposed on motor oil and similar lubricants pursuant to Section 44-96-160(W);

(8) interest earnings accrued on the Solid Waste Management Trust Fund; and

(9) three million dollars of oil overcharge refund monies to be awarded to this fund by the Governor, upon enactment of this chapter; in addition, the Office of Solid Waste Reduction and Recycling will advise the Governor on solid waste project criteria contained within oil overcharge fund competitive grant solicitations totalling one million dollars each over the next two years, to be used only for local government grants and local government demonstration projects and pilot programs. The Office of Solid Waste Reduction and Recycling and the Governor's Energy Office shall cooperate to develop the necessary application information and other documentation to implement the requirements of this appropriation.

(C) The department shall report on a quarterly basis to the State Solid Waste Advisory Council, House Ways and Means Committee, Senate Finance Committee, and the Joint Legislative Committee on Energy on the condition of the Solid Waste Management Trust Fund and on the use of all funds allocated from the Solid Waste Management Trust Fund. Quarterly reports shall be made not later than sixty days after the last day of each fiscal quarter beginning with the first full quarter after this chapter is effective. Notwithstanding Chapter 39 of Title 11, the Department of Health and Environmental Control, through the Office of Solid Waste Reduction and Recycling, shall make decisions on the allocation of oil overcharge funds transferred to the Solid Waste Management Trust Fund pursuant to Section 44-96-120(B)(9). The department's decisions shall be made upon the approval of the statewide Solid Waste Advisory Council and after consultation with the Governor's Office and the Joint Legislative Committee on Energy to ensure that the funds are administered according to decisions of the federal courts and requirements of the United States Department of Energy. If all oil overcharge funds transferred to the Solid Waste Management Trust Fund are not committed for projects or programs authorized by this chapter five years from the date this chapter is effective, they shall be returned to the Governor's Office.

(D) The electrical output from a resource recovery facility constructed in whole or in part with monies from the Solid Waste Management Trust Fund shall be sold by competitive bids or requests for proposals, wherein the contracts are awarded to the highest responsible and responsive bidder. If the highest bid does not equal or exceed the avoided cost price which could be obtained under the Public Regulatory Policy Act of 1978, said power will be disposed of pursuant to the Federal Act. For the purposes of this subsection "responsible bidder" shall mean a corporation doing business in South Carolina who is an electric supplier as defined in Section 58-27-610, an electric cooperative incorporated under Chapter 49 of Title 33, a South Carolina municipality owning retail distribution facilities on the effective date of this chapter, or the South Carolina Public Service Authority.

(E) The revenue generated by the sale of electricity from a resource recovery facility funded in whole or in part by a grant under this section which is in whole or in part owned by a municipality, county, or consolidated political subdivision, must be used for reduction of the public cost for collection, separation, and disposal of solid waste or environmental concerns related to disposal of solid waste, including reasonable expenses of operation of the facility, or both. Revenue generated from the sale of electricity by such resource recovery facility may not be commingled with other public funds.

HISTORY: 1991 Act No. 63, Section 1; 1993 Act No. 181, Section 1152; 1994 Act No. 497, Part II, Section 124A, eff July 1, 1994; 2000 Act No. 405, Sections 8, 9; 2018 Act No. 170 (H.4644), Section 2, eff May 3, 2018.

Editor's Note

The out-of-state disposal fee referred to in paragraph (B)(3) was deleted by Act 405 of 2000.

Effect of Amendment

2018 Act No. 170, Section 2, in (A), added (8); and made nonsubstantive changes.