As used in this article:

(1) "CERCLA" means the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act and its amendments, 42 U.S.C. 9601, et seq.

(2) "Contaminant" includes, but is not limited to, any element, substance, compound, or mixture, including disease-causing agents, which after release into the environment and upon exposure, ingestion, inhalation, or assimilation into any organism, either directly from the environment or indirectly by ingestion through food chains, will or may reasonably be anticipated to cause death, disease, behavioral abnormalities, cancer, genetic mutation, physiological malfunctions, including malfunctions in reproduction, or physical deformations, in organisms or their offspring; "contaminant" does not include petroleum, including crude oil or any fraction of crude oil, which is not otherwise specifically listed or designated as a hazardous substance under subparagraphs (A) through (F) of paragraph (14) of CERCLA, Section 101, 42 U.S.C. Section 9601, et seq. and does not include natural gas, liquefied natural gas, or synthetic gas of pipeline quality or mixtures of natural gas and such synthetic gas.

(3) "Contamination" means impact by a contaminant, petroleum, or petroleum product.

(4) "Department" means the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.

(5) "Nonresponsible party" means any party which is neither:

(i) a responsible party at the time the voluntary cleanup contract is signed, including lenders, economic development agencies, fiduciaries, trustees, executors, administrators, custodians, subsequent holders of a security interest; nor

(ii) a parent, subsidiary of, or successor to a responsible party.

(6) "Oversight costs" means those costs, both direct and indirect, incurred by the department in implementing the voluntary cleanup program.

(7) "Petroleum" and "petroleum product" means crude oil or any fraction of crude oil which is liquid at standard conditions of temperature and pressure (60 degrees Fahrenheit and 14.7 pounds for each square inch absolute), including any liquid which consists of a blend of petroleum and alcohol and which is intended for use as a motor fuel.

(8) "Property" means that portion of the site which is subject to the ownership, prospective ownership, or possessory or contractual interest of a responsible party or a nonresponsible party.

(9) "Response action" means any assessment, cleanup, inspection, or closure of a site as necessary to remedy actual or potential damage to public health, public welfare, or the environment.

(10) "Responsible party" means:

(a) the owner and operator of a vessel or a facility, as these terms are defined in CERCLA;

(b) any person who at the time of disposal of any hazardous substance owned or operated any facility at which such hazardous substances were disposed of, as these terms are defined in CERCLA;

(c) any person who by contract, settlement, or otherwise arranged for disposal or treatment or arranged with a transporter for transport for disposal or treatment of hazardous substances owned or possessed by such person, by any other party or entity, at any facility or incineration vessel owned or operated by another party or entity and containing such hazardous substances, as these terms are defined in CERCLA; and

(d) any person who accepts or accepted any hazardous substances for transport to disposal or treatment facilities, incineration vessels, or sites selected by such person, from which there is a release or a threatened release which causes the incurrence of response costs of a hazardous substance, as such terms are defined in CERCLA; and

(e) any person who owns or operates or who owned or operated an above ground or underground storage tank from which petroleum or petroleum products have been released or who owns and operates or who owned or operated a property on which a petroleum release has occurred; however, the exemptions of Section 44-2-80(B) and (C) apply.

(11) "Site" means all areas where a contaminant, petroleum, or petroleum product has been released, deposited, stored, disposed of, or placed or otherwise comes to be located; "site" does not include any consumer product in consumer use or any vessel.

(12) "Voluntary cleanup" means a response action taken under and in compliance with this article.

(13) "Voluntary cleanup contract" means a contract entered into between the department and a responsible or nonresponsible party to conduct a voluntary cleanup.

HISTORY: 2000 Act No. 258, Section 2; 2008 Act No. 342, Section 1, eff June 11, 2008.