How to Complete and Submit the SC DHEC Five-Day Follow-Up Report

The SC DHEC Five-Day Follow-Up Report is the written account of an environmental release that you send to the South Carolina Department of Environmental Services within five working days of your initial emergency notification. SCDES replaced the former Department of Health and Environmental Control for all environmental programs on July 1, 2024, so the report now goes to SCDES even though older copies of the form still carry the DHEC name.¹ The form converts your initial phone call into the permanent administrative record that the agency uses to track your site through investigation, cleanup, and eventual closure.

When the Five-Day Clock Starts

The clock starts the moment you first discover or report the release, not when you later confirm it. Under South Carolina Regulation 61-92, owners and operators of underground storage tank systems must report suspected releases to SCDES within 24 hours.² The written follow-up is then due within five working days of that initial notification. Working days means business days, so weekends and state holidays do not count.

Not every spill triggers the requirement. You need to file when the release meets a reporting threshold:

Petroleum: a spill or overfill that exceeds 25 gallons, or any amount that causes a visible sheen on nearby surface water.³
Hazardous substances: a release that equals or exceeds the substance’s reportable quantity under CERCLA. The default RQ is one pound unless EPA has set a different figure for that chemical. Look up the specific RQ in 40 CFR Part 302, Table 302.4.⁴⁵

If you aren’t sure whether a release crossed the threshold, file. The penalty exposure for a missed report dwarfs the cost of filing one you didn’t strictly need to.

Filling Out the Form

The current form lives on the SCDES website under the Bureau of Land and Waste Management’s documentation portal. Older printed copies labeled DHEC are still being accepted during the regulatory transition.¹ Pull your facility records and incident notes before you start; most fields ask for information you should already have captured during the 24-hour notification.

Facility Identification

Begin with your facility’s EPA Identification Number. It appears on your UST registration certificate and is the primary key SCDES uses to track your site. If you can’t find it, call SCDES at (803) 898-3432. Give the exact physical address of the release, including coordinates if you have them. For UST sites, that is the tank field or dispenser, not your corporate address.

Substance Information

Identify the released material by its full chemical name and Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) number. The CAS number links directly to the reportable quantity in 40 CFR 302.4, so accuracy here matters for whether the release was legally reportable at all. If a mixture was released, list each component that carries its own RQ.

Release Details

Estimate the quantity released as closely as the available data allows. Tank gauging records, inventory reconciliation, and visual observation are all acceptable bases for a good-faith estimate; SCDES expects the number to be refined as investigation continues. Identify the environmental media affected (soil, groundwater, surface water, air) and the start and end times, or indicate that the release is ongoing.

Response Actions

Describe what you did to contain the release and stop further migration. That might include deploying absorbent booms, excavating contaminated soil, pumping free product from a monitoring well, or shutting down and emptying the leaking tank. Regulation 61-92 requires immediate abatement steps — removing product from the tank, inspecting any exposed release, and mitigating fire and vapor hazards — so your narrative should show those steps were done.² If a contractor is on site, include the company name and mobilization date.

Health Risk Information

The form asks for any known or anticipated health risks tied to the release. The field exists because EPCRA Section 304 requires the written follow-up to address acute and chronic health risks and, where appropriate, advice on medical attention for anyone exposed.⁶ If employees or neighbors may have been exposed, describe the pathway (vapor inhalation, skin contact, affected drinking water) and the medical guidance you gave. If no exposure occurred, say so directly.

Fields You Can’t Fully Answer Yet

Mark unknowns as under investigation. Total volume, groundwater extent, and exact duration often aren’t settled within five working days, and SCDES prefers an on-time report with acknowledged gaps over a late one. Supplement the record as new data arrives.

Where to Send It

Deliver the signed report to the SCDES Bureau of Land and Waste Management:

South Carolina Department of Environmental Services
Bureau of Land and Waste Management
2600 Bull Street
Columbia, SC 29201⁷

Releases that involve surface water contamination may be routed to the Bureau of Water instead. If SCDES directed you to a specific division or regional office during your initial call, send it there. Call (803) 898-3432 to confirm if you’re uncertain.

Use certified mail with return receipt requested. The receipt date establishes delivery and protects you in any later dispute over whether you met the five-day window. Fax submission is also common when the deadline is tight; keep the confirmation page. Check the SCDES site for current electronic submission options, which the agency has been expanding since the 2024 restructuring.

Federal Reports You Still Owe

The state form does not replace federal reporting. If a CERCLA hazardous substance was released at or above its reportable quantity, you must also immediately notify the National Response Center at 1-800-424-8802 under CERCLA Section 103(a).⁸

EPCRA Section 304 separately requires notice to the State Emergency Response Commission (SERC) and the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC). South Carolina’s SERC sits inside the SC Emergency Management Division at 2779 Fish Hatchery Road, West Columbia, SC 29172, reachable at 803-737-8500.⁹ After the verbal notice, EPCRA calls for a written follow-up “as soon as practicable,” with a federal deadline of 30 days. South Carolina’s five-day rule is stricter.¹⁰

The content of the EPCRA written follow-up overlaps heavily with the state form, covering substance identity, quantity, media affected, response actions, and health risks.⁶ A thorough state submission puts you most of the way toward the federal written follow-up, but confirm with the SERC whether it accepts the state form or wants a separate document.

Penalties for a Late or Missing Report

South Carolina treats reporting failures seriously. Under the state Hazardous Waste Management Act, noncompliance with reporting requirements or SCDES orders carries civil penalties of up to $25,000 per day. Willful violations are a misdemeanor punishable by up to $25,000 per day and one year in jail for a first offense, rising to $50,000 per day and two years for subsequent convictions.¹¹

Federal exposure stacks on top. CERCLA Section 103 carries criminal fines of up to $500,000 and prison sentences of up to three years, with five years for repeat offenses, for failing to notify the NRC or for submitting false information. EPCRA Section 304 adds criminal penalties of up to $25,000 and two years imprisonment.¹² EPCRA Section 325 authorizes civil penalties exceeding $59,000 per violation per day.¹³ A single unreported release can trigger state administrative action, a CERCLA criminal referral, and EPCRA civil enforcement at the same time.

What Happens After You File

Filing does not close the case. SCDES reviews the report and may request additional information, schedule a site inspection, or require you to begin a formal site investigation. Regulation 61-92 requires that suspected releases be investigated and confirmed within seven days of the initial report, or within another timeframe the department specifies.² If initial abatement steps aren’t already finished by the time you submit, expect SCDES to ask why. Releases that have reached groundwater or neighboring properties typically trigger full site characterization and a corrective action plan, and remediation can run for months or years before closure. Keep your records organized from day one; the five-day report is the first page of a file that often grows considerably.

Key Contacts

To report an environmental release (chemical spills, oil spills, or fish kills), call the 24-hour SCDES response line at 888-481-0125.¹⁴ For questions about the Five-Day Follow-Up Report or UST compliance, contact the Bureau of Land and Waste Management at (803) 898-3432 or info@des.sc.gov. For EPCRA notifications, reach the SC State Emergency Response Commission through the SC Emergency Management Division at 803-737-8500.⁹ For federal hazardous substance releases, call the National Response Center at 1-800-424-8802.⁸

1
South Carolina Department of Environmental Services. DHEC Restructuring
2
South Carolina Department of Environmental Services. Regulation 61-92 Underground Storage Tank Control Regulations
3
Legal Information Institute. South Carolina Code of Regulations 61-92.280.E.53 – Reporting and Cleanup of Spills and Overfills
4
Environmental Protection Agency. Hazardous Substance Designations and Release Notifications
5
eCFR. 40 CFR 302.4 – Hazardous Substances and Reportable Quantities
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 11004
7
South Carolina Department of Environmental Services. Bureau of Land and Waste Management
8
Environmental Protection Agency. National Response Center
9
Environmental Protection Agency. State Emergency Response Commissions Contacts
10
Environmental Protection Agency. State Contact Information – EPCRA Section 304 Emergency Release Notification
11
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code Title 44 Chapter 56 – Hazardous Waste Management Act
12
US EPA. Penalties for Failure to Report a Release
13
Environmental Protection Agency. Chapter 9 – EPCRA Section 325 Enforcement
14
South Carolina Department of Environmental Services. Reporting Chemical Spills, Oil Spills, and Fish Kills