South Carolina § 46-10-50 - Quarantines; hearings and notice.

§ 46-10-50. Quarantines; hearings and notice.

The commission may quarantine this State or any portion thereof when it shall determine that such action is necessary to prevent or retard the spread of a pest within or from this State and to quarantine any other state or portion thereof whenever it determines that a pest exists therein and that such action is necessary to prevent or retard its spread into this State. Before promulgating its determination that a quarantine is necessary, the commission shall, after due notice to interested parties, hold a public hearing under such rules as it shall promulgate, at which hearing any interested party may appear and be heard either in person or by attorney. The commission may impose a temporary quarantine for a period not to exceed ninety days during which time a public hearing, as provided herein, shall be held if it appears that a quarantine for more than the ninety-day period will be necessary to prevent or retard the spread of the pest. The commission shall give notice of the establishment of the quarantine in such newspapers in the quarantined area as it may select. The commission may limit the application of the quarantine to the infested portion of the quarantined area and appropriate environs, to be known as the regulated area and may without further hearing extend the regulated area to include additional portions of the quarantined area upon publication of a notice to that effect in such newspapers in the quarantined area as it may select or by direct written notice to those concerned.

Following establishment of the quarantine, no person shall move any regulated article described in the quarantine or move the pest against which the quarantine is established within, from, into or through this State contrary to regulations promulgated by the commission. Notice of the regulations shall be published in such newspapers in the quarantined area as the commission may select.

The regulations may restrict the movement of the pest and any regulated articles from the quarantined or regulated area in this State into or through other parts of this State or other states and from the quarantined or regulated area in other states into or through this State and shall impose such inspection, disinfection, certification or permit and other requirements as the commission deems necessary to effectuate the purposes of this chapter.

HISTORY: 1976 Act No. 649 SECTION 4.