South Carolina H 5572: Dr. Thomas Jones sympathy

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 5572 Text of Previous Version (Apr. 23, 2026) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 5572

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A joint Resolution

TO REQUIRE THE SOUTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL 
SERVICES TO DEVELOP, IN COLLABORATION WITH THE UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL 
PROTECTION AGENCY, COMPREHENSIVE PFAS GUIDELINES THAT, AT MINIMUM, ESTABLISH 
SCIENCE-BASED THRESHOLDS FOR SAFE AND DANGEROUS LEVELS OF PFAS COMPOUNDS IN 
DRINKING WATER, SURFACE WATER, GROUNDWATER, AND SOIL; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.

Be it enacted by the 
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1. The South Carolina Department of Environmental Services 
is directed to develop, in collaboration with the United States Environmental 
Protection Agency, comprehensive PFAS guidelines that, at minimum, establish 
science-based thresholds for safe and dangerous levels of PFAS in the 
following:

 (1) drinking 
water, including both public water systems and private wells;

 (2) surface 
waters, including rivers, streams, lakes, and reservoirs used for recreational 
or water supply purposes;

 (3) 
groundwater; and

 (4) soil, 
including residential, agricultural, and industrial soil.

 (B) The guidelines 
developed pursuant to this section must, at minimum:

 (1) identify 
specific PFAS compounds of concern as well as such additional compounds the 
department determines present a significant risk to public health or to the 
environment;

 (2) establish 
distinct threshold values, based on the best available peer-reviewed science, 
that delineate:

 (a) levels 
of PFAS concentrations that are considered safe for human health and 
environmental use;

 (b) levels 
of PFAS concentrations that warrant increased monitoring, public notification, 
and precautionary measures; and

 (c) levels 
of PFAS concentrations that are deemed dangerous, necessitating immediate 
remediation, public notification, and regulatory intervention; and

 (3) give 
special consideration to the protection of vulnerable populations, including 
infants, children, pregnant women, the elderly, and communities with higher 
rates of PFAS exposure due to proximity to contamination sources.

 (C) The department 
must submit a written report, including its findings and proposed PFAS 
guidelines, to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of 
Representatives no later than one year following the effective date of this 
Joint Resolution.

 (D) For purposes 
of this section, "PFAS" means per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance.

SECTION 2. This joint resolution takes effect 
upon approval by the Governor and is repealed one year after the effective date 
of this joint resolution unless reauthorized by the General Assembly.

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