Could a Spartanburg County business burn unwanted wooden pallets in 1998?

Plain-English summary

A senator asked whether a small business outside Spartanburg city limits could burn accumulated wooden pallets. The Attorney General said the state open-burning regulation generally prohibited that burning, while allowing limited exceptions. The letter recommended asking DHEC whether the particular situation fell within an exception. It also reported that the Spartanburg County attorney knew of no county ordinance on the subject.

The linked letter says a copy of the regulation was enclosed, but that enclosure is not part of the linked PDF. The opinion did not determine whether the specific business qualified for an exception.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1998. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: Did being outside the city make pallet burning permissible?
A: The AG said the statewide open-burning rule still generally applied; it reported no separate county ordinance.

Q: Did the opinion rule out every exception?
A: No. It said the regulation contained exceptions and referred the particular facts to DHEC.

Background and statutory framework

The letter identified the Pollution Control Act as authority for DHEC's air-contaminant regulations and applied the open-burning rule to wooden pallets. It separately checked for a county ordinance through the county attorney.

Citations and references

• S.C. Code Ann. § 48-1-10 et seq., the statutory authority named in the letter.
• R. 61-62.2, the open-burning regulation named in the letter.

Official title

Informing this Office that one of its constituents owns a small business in Spartanburg County, but outside the City of Spartanburg, and has inquired as to whether South Carolina Law or Spartanburg County ordinance permits the burning of accumulated wooden pallets.

Requester

The Honorable Glenn G. Reese, Senator, District No. 11

Source

• Landing page: https://www.scag.gov/opinions/opinions-archive/june-2-1998/
• Original PDF: https://www.scag.gov/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/98june2reese.pdf

Original opinion text

The State of South Carolina

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
CHARLES MOLONY CONDON
ATTORNEY GENERAL

June 2, 1998

The Honorable Glenn G. Reese
Senator, District No. 11
502 Gressette Building
Columbia, South Carolina 29202
Dear Senator Reese:
Attorney General Condon has forwarded your recent opinion request to me for reply. You have informed this Office that one of your constituents owns. a small business in Spartanburg County. This constituent's property is not located in the City of Spartanburg. This constituent accumulates wooden pallets and would like to dispose of them by burning. You have asked whether South Carolina law or Spartanburg County ordinance permits the burning of such pallets. In regards to state law, the South Carolina Pollution Control Act authorizes the Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) to adopt regulations concerning the emission of air contaminants. S.C. Code Ann. § 48-1-10 et seq. Pursuant to this authority, DHEC has promulgated R. 61-62.2, which prohibits open burning subject to limited exceptions found therein. (copy enclosed). Under this regulation, the burning of wooden pallets would generally be prohibited. However, since this regulation contains several exceptions to the open burning prohibition, I would recommend that your constituent contact DHEC to determine whether his particular situation falls within one of these exceptions. In regards to the existence of a Spartanburg County ordinance on this subject, I

have spoken with the Spartanburg County attorney to determine whether the county has an ordinance on this subject. I have been informed that Spartanburg County does not have an ordinance in this regard.

REMBERT

c. DENNIS BUILDING

~a,_,J~7Th

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Posr 01 fl('E Box 11549

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COLUMUIA,

s.c. 29211-1549

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TELEPHONE:

803-734-3970

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fACSIMll.E: 803-253-6283

The Honorable Glenn G. Reese
Page 2
June 2, 1998
With kindest regards, I remain
Very truly yours,

'/3.A(.J.
Paul M. Koch
Assistant Attorney General

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I

REVIEWED AND APPROVED BY:

Zei1=.

Williams, III
Deputy Attorney General