South Carolina is moving mineral and geothermal oversight to the Department of Environmental Services, finishing another piece of the state’s breakup of the old Department of Health and Environmental Control, or DHEC. The bill transfers regulation of minerals and mineral interests on public land, along with geothermal resources covered in Chapter 9, Title 10, to the new agency home.
For anyone dealing with state land or resource rights, that is the part that matters. A permit applicant, landowner, mineral-rights holder or lawyer handling a dispute now has to start with Environmental Services instead of the old DHEC framework.
The leases and the hearing path
The change is not just about labels in state code. It also moves the contested-case hearing language in Section 1-11-20(D), which means the path for challenging a decision now follows the new agency placement.
The South Carolina Public Service Authority still keeps authority, through its board of directors, to make and execute leases of gas, oil and other mineral rights on lands it owns, except for phosphate, lime and phosphatic deposits. For geothermal resources and other public-land mineral interests, the regulatory and leasing path now runs through Environmental Services, with Natural Resources serving as the exclusive agent in selecting lands to be leased and administering the bidding and leases.
Who carried the bill
The bill was sponsored by Rep. Sylleste Davis and Rep. Bill Herbkersman, both Republicans, and recorded votes show it cleared a floor vote.
Sources
Synthesized from 10 verified citationsSynthesized by AI linked to original documents.