State Underground Petroleum Environmental Response Bank Act

2025-2026 Bill 5172: State Underground Petroleum Environmental Response Bank Act - South Carolina Legislature Online

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
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H. 5172
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Rep. Hixon
Document Path: LC-0427VR26.docx
Introduced in the House on February 11, 2026
Currently residing in the House Committee on
Ways and Means
Summary: State Underground Petroleum Environmental Response Bank Act
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

Date

Body

Action Description with journal page number

2/11/2026

House

Introduced and read first time (
House Journal-page 45
)

2/11/2026

House

Referred to Committee on
Ways and Means
(
House Journal-page 45
)

View the latest
legislative information
at the website
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
02/11/2026

A bill

TO AMEND THE
SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTIONS
44-2-20
,
44-2-40
,
44-2-60
,
44-2-130
, AND
44-2-150
, ALL RELATING TO THE STATE UNDERGROUND PETROLEUM
ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSE BANK ACT, SO AS TO CHANGE CERTAIN DEFINITIONS, TO
INCREASE THE FUNDS AVAILABLE FOR REHABILITATION OF CONTAMINATED SITES, TO
REVISE AN ANNUAL RENEWAL FEE SCHEDULE, TO CHANGE THE COMPOSITION OF THE SUPERB
ADVISORY COMMITTEE, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.

B
e it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

S
ECTION 1.
S
ection
44-2-20
(3), (5), (20),
and (24) of the S.C. Code are amended to read:

(
3) "Committed funds" means that portion of the Superb Account
reserved as a result of action by the Department of
Health
and Environmental Control
Environmental Services

to approve costs for planned site rehabilitation activities.

(
5) "Department" means the Department of

Health and Environmental Control
Environmental Services
.

(
20) "Site rehabilitation" means
cleanup actions taken in response to a release from an underground
,
storage tank which includes, but is not limited to,
investigation, evaluation, planning, design, engineering, construction, or
other services put forth to investigate or clean up affected subsurface soils,
groundwater, or surface water.

(
24) "Underground storage tank"
or "UST"
means any one or combination of tanks, including
underground pipes connected
to it
thereto
, which is used to contain an accumulation of
regulated
substance
substances
,
and the volume of which is ten percent or more beneath the surface of the
ground. The term does not include any:

(
a) farm or residential tank of one
thousand one hundred gallons or less capacity used for storing motor fuel for
noncommercial purposes;

(
b) tank used for storing heating oil
for consumptive use on the premises where stored;

(
c) septic tank;

(
d) pipeline facility, including
gathering line,
regulated under the Federal Natural Gas
Pipeline Safety Act of 1968 or the Federal Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Safety Act
of 1979, or any pipeline facility regulated under state laws comparable to the
provisions of these federal provisions of law

which:

(
i) is regulated under 49 U.S.C. Chapter
601; or

(
ii) is an intrastate pipeline facility
regulated under state laws provided in 49 U.S.C. Chapter 601 and which is
determined by the Secretary of Transportation to be connected to a pipeline, or
to be operated or intended to be capable of operating at a pipeline pressure or
as an integral part of a pipeline
;

(
e) surface impoundment, pit, pond or
lagoon;

(
f) storm water or wastewater collection
system;

(
g) flow-through process tank;

(
h) liquid trap or associated gathering
lines directly related to oil or gas production and gathering operations;

(
i) storage tank situated in an
underground area, such as a basement, cellar, mineworking, drift, shaft, or
tunnel, if the petroleum storage tank is situated upon or above the surface of
the floor;

(
j) hydraulic lift reservoirs, such as
for automobile hoists and elevators, containing hydraulic oil; or

(
k) any pipes connected to any tank
which is described in subitems (a) through (j).

S
ECTION 2.
S
ection
44-2-40
(B) and (D) of
the S.C. Code are amended to read:

(
B) The Superb Account is established to ensure the availability of
funds for the rehabilitation of releases at sites contaminated with petroleum
or petroleum products released from an underground storage tank and for
administration of the underground storage tank regulatory program established
in this chapter. The department shall use the fund to pay the usual, customary,
and reasonable costs of site rehabilitation up to a maximum of
one
two
million dollars per
occurrence as a result of a release from an underground storage tank containing
petroleum or petroleum products for releases that were reported to the
department before July 1, 1993, and in excess of twenty-five thousand dollars
and up to a maximum of
one
two

million dollars per occurrence for site rehabilitation for releases reported to
the department on or after July 1, 1993. The department shall use the fund to
pay these costs of site rehabilitation by owners or operators who qualify for
compensation. The department may use the fund to clean up a release at a site
where the underground storage tank owner or operator does not qualify for
compensation or a site which does qualify but the owner or operator is
unwilling or unable to undertake site rehabilitation, and the department shall
diligently pursue the recovery of any sum so incurred from the owner or
operator responsible or from the United States government under any applicable
federal law, unless the department finds the amount involved too small or the
likelihood of success too uncertain. The fund must be further used for the
payment of costs incurred by the department in providing field and laboratory
services and other assistance by the department in the investigation of alleged
contamination. This fund must not be used for the cleanup of any other
pollutant. Funds in the Superb Account also may not be used to pay any
liability claims against the owners or operators of underground storage tanks.
The Superb Account must be credited with all fees, charges, commitments, and
judgments allowable under this chapter. Charges against the Superb Account only
may be made in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. Beginning
November 1, 1994, the department shall transfer on a monthly basis one hundred
thousand dollars of the funds generated by the environmental impact fee from
the Superb Account to the Superb Financial Responsibility Fund until the
balance of the Superb Financial Responsibility Fund reaches
two
one
million dollars.
Subsequently, monthly transfers of one hundred thousand dollars from the Superb
Account to the Superb Financial Responsibility Fund shall only occur when the
balance of the Superb Financial Responsibility Fund becomes less than
one million
five hundred thousand

dollars, and the monthly transfers shall continue until the balance of the
Superb Financial Responsibility Fund reaches
two
one
million dollars.
Additionally,
prior to the end of each calendar year, the department shall transfer from the
Superb Financial Responsibility Fund to the Superb Fund the total amount of
funds exceeding one million dollars.
Committed funds for site
rehabilitation activity revert to uncommitted status after four months of
initiation of commitment if no invoices for that commitment have been received
by the department.

(
D) The Superb Account and the Superb
Financial Responsibility Fund shall provide combined coverage for site
rehabilitation and third party claims, respectively, not to exceed
one
two
million dollars per
occurrence. The estimated cost of site rehabilitation must be reserved from the
combined coverage before payment of third party claims.

T
he
underground storage tank owner or operator must be responsible for the first
twenty-five thousand dollars per occurrence for releases of petroleum and
petroleum products from underground storage tanks reported to the department
subsequent to July 1, 1993.

N
othing
in this chapter establishes or creates any liability or responsibility on the
part of the department or the State as administrators of the Superb Account and
the Superb Financial Responsibility Fund to pay any costs for site
rehabilitation or third party claims from any source other than the Superb
Account and the Superb Financial Responsibility Fund created by this chapter,
and the department and the State as administrators of the Superb Account and
the Superb Financial Responsibility Fund have no liability or responsibility to
make payments for cleanup costs or third party claims if the funds are
insufficient. If the funds are insufficient to make the payments at the time
the claim is filed, these claims must be paid in the order of filing at such
time as monies accrue in each account, respectively.

T
he
one hundred dollar
underground storage tank registration
fee
and annual renewal fee may be used by the department
for the administration of the underground storage tank program established by
this chapter and its activities as trustees of the Superb Account and the
Superb Financial Responsibility Fund, exclusive of legal costs outlined in
subsection (C).

S
ECTION 3.
S
ection
44-2-60
of the S.C.
Code is amended to read:

S
ection
44-2-60
.
(
A) The owner or operator of
an underground storage tank which stores or is intended to store a regulated
substance shall register the tank with the department. The owner or operator of
the tank shall display a registration certificate listing all registered tanks
at a facility and in plain view in the office or the kiosk of the facility
where the tanks are registered. Upon application for a registration
certificate, the owner or operator shall pay to the department an initial
registration fee
of one hundred dollars a
for each
tank; however, the department may prorate the
initial registration fees on a daily basis for underground storage tanks
installed on or after July 1, 1997. The owner or operator shall pay to the
department an annual renewal fee
of one hundred dollars a
tank a
each
year. Beginning
January 1, 2012
August 1, 2029
,
the annual renewal fee for each tank will be as follows:

(
1)
2012
2029
-two hundred dollars;

(
2)
2013-three
hundred dollars;
2034-two hundred fifty dollars; and

(
3)
2014-four
hundred dollars; and
2039-three hundred dollars.

(
4) 2015-five hundred dollars.

The
additional revenue generated from the tank fee increases listed above must be
deposited into the Superb Account. No portion of the increases may be used by
the department for administration of the program or for orphan sites as defined
in Section
44-2-20
(11).

When the
Superb Account is credited with an additional thirty-six million dollars from
the increase in tank fees, general appropriations, settlements, or other
sources of funds including federal funds designated for cleanup, or declared
insolvent, the tank registration fee shall revert to one hundred dollars
annually for each tank beginning January first of the next year.

(
B) No person may place a regulated
substance and no owner or operator may cause a regulated substance to be placed
into an underground storage tank for which the owner or operator does not hold
a currently valid registration. The department may not issue a registration
certificate until all past and present fees and penalties owed on a tank are
paid. The department may not issue a registration certificate to any owner or
operator who has not complied with all terms of a consent or final
administrative order issued under Section
44-2-140
.

(
1) All fees are due to the department
within thirty days of billing. The department shall issue a late notice, with
no penalty due, to an underground storage tank owner or operator who has unpaid
fees thirty days after billing. An owner or operator who fails to pay the fees
within sixty days of the initial billing must pay a ten percent penalty in
addition to the ten percent penalty for any fees remaining unpaid ninety days
after the initial billing. An owner or operator with unpaid fees ninety days
after the initial billing is subject to additional enforcement action as
provided for in Section
44-2-140
.

(
2) The department may not disburse
Superb Account or Superb Financial Fund monies to any person or persons for the
rehabilitation of a petroleum or petroleum product release from any underground
storage tank or underground storage tank system where all past and present fees
and penalties owed on the applicable tank have not been paid.

(
3) The funds generated by the
registration and late penalty fees
on annual tank renewals

may be used by the department for administration of the provisions of
this chapter and for administration of the underground storage tank regulatory
program established by this chapter. The amount used for administration may not
exceed the amount collected from funds received from federal grants
specifically designated for administrative use, interest, the
first one hundred dollars for
annual

tank registration
fees, annual renewal fees,
and
late penalty fees
on annual tank renewals
.

(
C) In addition to the inspection fee of
one-fourth cent a gallon imposed pursuant to Section
39-41-120
, an
environmental impact fee of one-half cent a gallon is imposed which must be
used by the department for the purposes of carrying out the provisions of this
chapter. This one-half cent a gallon environmental impact fee must be paid and
collected in the same manner that the one-fourth cent a gallon inspection fee
is paid and collected except that the monies generated from these environmental
impact fees must be transmitted by the Department of Agriculture to the
Department of
Health and Environmental Control
Environmental Services
which shall deposit the fees as
provided for in Section
44-2-40
.

S
ECTION 4.
S
ection
44-2-130
(E) of the
S.C. Code is amended to read:

(
E)
(
1) An owner or
operator of an underground storage tank or his agent seeking to qualify for
compensation from the Superb Account for site rehabilitation shall submit a
written application to the department. The written application must be on a
form specified by the department and include certification that site
rehabilitation is necessary, the tanks at the site have been registered in
compliance with applicable law and regulations, and all registration fees have
been paid. The department shall accept certification that the release at the
site is in need of rehabilitation if the certification is provided jointly by
the owner or operator and a South Carolina registered professional geologist or
engineer, and if the certification is supported with geotechnical data which
reasonably justifies the claim. Upon final determination the department shall
provide written notice to the applicant of its findings including detailed
reasons for any denial.
Any denial of an application must
be appealable to the Board of Health and Environmental Control.
The
department is exempt from this time frame for applications which are received
within three months of the close of the grace period allowed in Section
44-2-110
.

(
2) The owner or operator responsible
for conducting the site rehabilitation or his agents shall keep and preserve
suitable records of hydrological and other site assessments, site plans,
contracts, accounts, invoices, or other transactions related to the cleanup and
rehabilitation and the records must be accessible to the department during
regular business hours.

S
ECTION 5.
S
ection
44-2-150
(C) of the
S.C. Code is amended to read:

(
C) The committee shall consist of
fourteen
fifteen
members, appointed by the commissioner of the
department as follows:

(
1) one member representing the general
public;

(
2) two members representing
environmental organizations;

(
3) one member representing the South
Carolina Petroleum Council;

(
4)
one member
two members
representing the South Carolina
Convenience and
Petroleum Marketers Association
, one of whom must be an underground storage tank owner as
defined in Section
44-2-20
;

(
5) one member representing
the South Carolina Service Station Dealers Association
a business that specializes in the sale or service of petroleum
equipment
;

(
6) one member representing the South
Carolina
Chamber of
Manufacturers
and
Commerce;

(
7) one member representing the South
Carolina Bankers Association;

(
8) one member representing a business
that specializes in the assessment or remediation, or both, of contamination
resulting from leaking underground storage tanks;

(
9) one member representing the South
Carolina Department of Insurance;

(
10) one member representing the
Department of
Health and Environmental Control
Environmental Services
;

(
11) one member representing the State
Department of Administration, Division of General Services;

(
12) one member representing the
Municipal Association of South Carolina; and

(
13) one member representing the South
Carolina Association of Counties.

S
ECTION
6. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

----XX----

This web page was last updated on February 11, 2026 at 1:58 PM