S.C. Code Regs. § 27-1097

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 5, May 24, 2024

Section 27-1097 - Participation in Program, Payment of Fees, Collections, Penalties

A. All cotton producers in the State are required to participate in the eradication/containment program. Participation shall include timely reporting of acreage and field locations, maintenance of access to the fields for program employees, compliance with regulations and payment of required fees. The Director shall publish the program costs per acre on or before March 15 of each growing year, as set by the State Crop Pest Commission in consultation with the South Carolina Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation, Inc. (SCBWEF). The following procedures are mandatory:

1. Each producer must file the preliminary and final Cotton Acreage Reporting Forms at the FSA office which serves the county in which the cotton is to be grown;

2. Each producer must pay the determined fee, not to exceed ten dollars ($10.00) per acre for commercial cotton, on or before July 15 of the then current growing season. Final payment must be based on FSA certified or measured acreage of reported fields;

3. All fees and penalties will be paid by the producer, or someone on the producer's behalf. Fees and penalties will be collected by the appropriate FSA office and timely transmitted to the Director. Checks, money orders, and other negotiable instruments will be made payable to the SCBWEF;

4. The Director must assess a penalty, not to exceed five dollars ($5.00) per acre, for failure to make full and/or timely payment. All payments must be made on or before July 15, except when July 15 falls on a state or federal holiday or on a weekend, in which case payment is due no later than the close of business on the next federal work day. The Director, in determining the appropriate penalty, shall consider the length of the delay, the efforts and costs expended in the collection process, and any information provided by the producer. Dishonored checks, if not made good on or before the July 15 deadline, will be considered as failure to make timely payment and may be assessed the full penalty, in addition to any other penalties or charges authorized by law;

5. Non-commercial/ornamental cotton shall be assessed at $40.00 per acre or any fractional part thereof.

B. The Director will pursue all deficiencies/failures to pay in accordance with Chapter 13 of Title 46, this regulation, and any other available provisions of law including, but not limited to, participation in the set-off debt collection program of the S. C. Department of Revenue and Taxation. In each case, after informal means of collecting past due debts have failed, the Director is authorized to file a Notice of Assessment, and if the debt remains unpaid for thirty days thereafter, the Director is authorized to file a Warrant for Distraint in the county in which the cotton was to be produced.

C. Deleted.

D. Acreage subject to hardship conditions which result in the effective destruction of the crop may be considered for a refund. The refund amount will be determined by the Director, after consultation with the Board of Directors, SCBWEF. In determining any refund amount, the per acre fee shall be divided into two components: administration and field inspection. The administrative portion shall be refunded only for cotton acreage certified to the Department by July 1 as having been destroyed before July 1. The field inspection portion shall be prorated according to the number of trapping cycles performed before the cotton was certified as destroyed compared to the number of trapping cycles scheduled. Cotton acreage will be considered destroyed as of the date the acreage is certified as destroyed by the Department, FSA or other agency or individual authorized by the Director. To be considered destroyed, the crop must be plowed under.

E.

1. Inasmuch as cotton stalks provide refuge for overwintering boll weevils, the Director may require the destruction of cotton stalks in any area in which reinfestation has occurred. Reinfestation is considered to have occurred when two or more adult boll weevils are captured in or adjacent to any trapped field between September 15 and December 15 of a calendar year. After written notice by the Director to the affected producers, the producers must destroy cotton stalks within 45 days after notice by the Director. Notice shall be considered given when the notice letter from the Director is placed in the U. S. mail, with adequate postage affixed.

2. Destruction is accomplished by shredding and/or discing any standing cotton stalks. All rows and stalks must be effectively destroyed. Any affected producer who cannot destroy cotton stalks within the required period due to emergency or hardship may apply for a waiver. The application must be made within 30 days after notice by the Director and must state the conditions which may justify the waiver. The Director shall notify the producer of his decision within two weeks after receipt of the waiver request. Waivers shall be approved only if justified by emergency or hardship due to meteorological conditions, serious illness as stated in a doctor's certification, or other causes beyond the control of the producer.

3. Any field containing undestroyed stalks 45 days after notice is given will be treated as containing regulated articles and quarantined until such stalks are destroyed, or the Director may cause the stalks to be destroyed. Should the Director cause the stalks to be destroyed, any costs associated with such destruction, other than the salaries of agents and/or employees of the Commission, shall constitute a lien on the property on which the stalks were located. Additionally, any producer who fails to comply with the Director's notice, absent such a waiver as provided for above, shall be assessed a penalty fee of $10.00 per acre.

S.C. Code Regs. 27-1097

Added by State Register Volume 8, Issue No. 2, eff February 24, 1984. Amended by State Register Volume 9, Issue No. 3, eff March 22, 1985; State Register Volume 10, Issue No. 5, eff May 23, 1986; State Register Volume 11, Issue No. 4, eff April 24, 1987; State Register Volume 12, Issue No. 3, eff March 25, 1988; State Register Volume 14, Issue No. 4, eff April 27, 1990; State Register Volume 15, Issue No. 4, eff April 26, 1991; State Register Volume 18, Issue No. 6, eff June 24, 1994; State Register Volume 21, Issue No. 6, Part 1, eff June 27, 1997; State Register Volume 22, Issue No. 4, eff April 24, 1998.