§ 34-60. Findings.

The county council hereby finds and determines that:

(1)

The costs of solid waste management will increase significantly due to decreased landfill capacity and more stringent federal and state requirements for solid waste facilities.

(2)

The county must comply with the South Carolina Solid Waste Policy and Management Act of 1991 (hereinafter referred to as "the act") which requires local governments to adequately plan for and provide efficient, environmentally acceptable solid waste management services and programs.

(3)

The economic and population growth of the county has resulted in increased industrial production which, together with related growing commercial and agricultural operations, has created increased amounts of discarded material.

(4)

Insufficient and improper methods of managing solid waste can create hazards to public health, cause pollution of air and water resources, constitute a waste of natural resources, and create public nuisances.

(5)

The county desires to preserve and protect our environment so that future generations of the county find it in a similar or better condition than our generation did.

(6)

The purpose of this article is to protect the public health and safety, protect and preserve the environment of the county, and recover resources which have the potential for further usefulness by providing for, in the most environmentally safe, economically feasible and cost-effective manner, the storage, collection, transportation, separation, treatment, processing, recycling, and disposal of solid waste. This article is enacted pursuant to S.C. Code 1976, § 4-9-30(5), as amended, which authorizes counties to assess property and levy ad valorem property taxes and uniform user fees to collect and dispose of solid waste and S.C. Code 1976, § 44-55-1210 which grants counties the authority to collect and dispose of solid waste and levy user fees for such services.

(7)

This user fee is to be imposed on those who receive the benefit of the service and is directly related to both the cost of providing the service and the benefit then freely available to the user.

(8)

The fees are structured to produce revenues not to exceed the total cost of the benefits supplied.

(9)

The average amount of waste generated per year by residential properties in the county is easily ascertainable and does not vary greatly among individual properties within the classes of residential property. In light of this relatively small variation in the amount of waste produced, and in light of the burden and expenses of determining the actual amount of waste generated by each of the residential properties in the county, which burden and expense the county council finds to be excessive, the annual solid waste recycling and disposal user fee for residential properties shall be set at a single specified amount for each class of residential property.

(10)

The amount of solid waste generated by nonresidential property varies widely. Furthermore, there are approximately 6,000 nonresidential properties in the county. In light of these facts, the special benefits accruing to nonresidential properties can be measured according to a reasonable estimate of the actual amount of waste generated by each such property individually.

(Ord. No. 96-22, § 1, 12-9-1996)