South Carolina Code of Regulations
Chapter 61 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL
Subchapter 61-47 - Shellfish
Section 61-47.D - SPECIAL SHELLSTOCK HANDLING
Universal Citation: SC Code Regs 61-47.D
Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 9, September 27, 2024
1. Relaying.
(a) Shellstock may be harvested and
relayed from restricted or conditionally restricted areas to approved or
conditionally approved areas for natural biological purification. The
shellstock for relaying shall be of such quality that purification will be
effective in reducing contaminants to safe levels.
(b) Following approval by the South Carolina
Department of Natural Resources, relaying operations may be permitted and
supervised by the Department. Only shellfish harvested from waters meeting
approved area criteria as defined in B.3 shall be certified for
marketing.
(c) Applications for
Relay Permits must designate whether the shellfish are being relayed for direct
marketing or for South Carolina Department of Natural Resources planting credit
purposes.
(d) Shellfish relayed
from a restricted or conditionally restricted area to an approved area for
subsequent harvesting for direct marketing purposes shall remain planted for a
period of not less than fourteen (14) consecutive days when the water
temperature is above fifty (50) degrees Fahrenheit [ten (10) degrees
Centigrade]. If the water temperature is less than fifty (50) degrees
Fahrenheit, the Department shall make a determination as to an adequate time
period to ensure natural purification. Shellfish relayed from a restricted area
to a conditionally approved area for direct marketing purposes shall remain
planted for a period of not less than fourteen (14) consecutive days when the
water temperature is above fifty (50) degrees Fahrenheit and the area is in an
open status. If the water temperature is less than fifty (50) degrees
Fahrenheit, or if the area is downgraded to a closed status, the Department
shall make a determination as to an adequate time period to ensure natural
purification.
(e) Shellfish relayed
for planting credit purposes shall remain planted for a minimum of four
months.
(f) Shellfish relayed to
approved or conditionally approved areas shall not be re-harvested until
authorized by the Department.
(g)
Areas to which shellstock are relayed shall be readily identified and marked.
These areas shall be situated in a manner to avoid contamination of shellstock
in adjacent growing areas.
2. Interstate Relaying. Shellstock shall not be relayed from the State to another state without prior approval of the Department and the responsible state agency that will receive the shellstock. The United States Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration, shall be informed of such interstate activities.
3. Wet Storage. Harvested shellstock may be held in wet storage in approved shellfish growing waters or land-based ponds or tanks where effective control measures are enforced to keep shellfish fresh and protected from contamination. Proper shellstock identification as outlined in item C.1. (c)(1) must be maintained during wet storage.
(a) Permit Requirements. Prior to the wet
storage of molluscan shellfish in approved near-shore growing waters,
application for a Wet Storage Facility Operating Permit shall be made to and
obtained from the Department. Prior to the construction, expansion or
modification of any land-based wet storage facility, application for a Wet
Storage Facility Construction Permit shall be made to, and a Wet Storage
Facility Construction Permit obtained from, the Department. Prior to operating
any land-based wet storage facility, application for a Wet Storage Facility
Operating Permit shall be made to and obtained from the Department. Wet Storage
Operating Permits shall be issued only in conjunction with a Certified Shipper
Certificate.
(b) Wet Storage in
approved near-shore shellfish growing waters - Operating Permit Requirements.
Information related to the proposed construction and operation of a near-shore
wet storage facility shall be submitted for Department review and approval.
This information shall be provided in the form of a written operational plan
detailing the scope and extent of the proposed activity, including, but not
necessarily limited to location, type of construction, and species of shellfish
stored. The operational plan shall address the following:
(1) the purpose of the wet storage activity,
such as holding, conditioning, or increasing the salt content of
shellstock;
(2) any species
specific physiological factors that may affect design criteria;
(3) location of near-shore storage
structures;
(4) details of the
design and proposed construction of the storage structures that address the
following minimum construction standards to:
(a) allow the free flow of water to
shellfish; and
(b) be constructed
of non-toxic materials; and
(c) be
constructed so as to protect shellfish from physical, chemical or thermal
conditions that may compromise shellfish survival, quality or biological
activity.
(c)
The Department shall issue an operating permit after approval of the
operational plan and completion of a satisfactory Department inspection of the
constructed facility.
(d) Wet
Storage in land-based ponds or tanks.
(1)
Construction Permit Requirements. An Operational Plan shall be provided in
conjunction with the Wet Storage Facility Construction Permit application. The
Operational Plan shall address the following:
(a) the purpose of the wet storage activity,
such as holding, conditioning or increasing the salt content of
shellstock;
(b) any
species-specific physiological factors that may affect design
criteria;
(c) details of the design
and proposed construction of the onshore storage facility as required by item
D.3(d)(2), source, quantity and quality of water to be used for wet storage as
required by item D.3(d)(3), and details of the design and proposed construction
of any water treatment system.
(2) Construction Requirements. Each
land-based wet storage operation shall meet the following design, construction,
and operating requirements:
(a) Effective
barriers shall be provided to prevent entry of birds, animals, and vermin into
the area.
(b) Storage tanks and
related plumbing shall be fabricated of non-toxic material and shall be easily
cleanable.
(c) Tanks shall be
constructed so as to be easily accessible for cleaning and inspection,
self-draining and fabricated from nontoxic, corrosion resistant
materials.
(d) Plumbing shall be
designed and installed so that it can be cleaned and sanitized on a regular
schedule, as specified in the operating procedures.
(e) Storage tank design, dimensions, and
construction shall be such that adequate clearance between shellstock and the
tank bottom can be maintained.
(f)
Shellstock containers, if used, shall be designed and constructed so that the
containers allow the free flow of water to all shellstock within a
container.
(g) Buildings. When a
building is used for the wet storage operation:
(i) Floors, walls, and ceilings shall be
constructed in compliance with the applicable provisions of Chapter
I;
(ii) Lighting, plumbing, water
and sewage disposal systems shall be installed in compliance with applicable
provisions of Chapter I.
(h) Outdoor Tank Operation. When the wet
storage operation is outdoors or in a structure other than a building, tank
covers shall be used. Tank covers shall:
(i)
Be constructed of a light colored material;
(ii) Prevent entry of birds, animals or
vermin;
(iii) Remain closed while
the system is in operation except for periods of tank loading and unloading, or
cleaning.
(3)
Water Supply.
(a) The quality of source water
prior to treatment shall meet, at a minimum, the bacteriological standards for
the restricted classification.
(b)
Any well used as source water for wet storage shall be constructed, operated
and maintained in accordance with all applicable Departmental
regulations.
(c) Except when the
source of the water is a growing area in the approved classification, a water
supply sampling schedule shall be included in the dealer's operating procedures
and water shall be tested according to the schedule.
(d) Results of water samples and other tests
to determine the suitability of the water supply shall be maintained for at
least two (2) years.
(e)
Disinfection or other water treatment such as the addition of salt cannot leave
residues unless they are Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) [see Title 21 Code
of Federal Register (21CFR) (April 1, 2007)] and unless they do not interfere
with the shellstock's survival, quality or activity during wet
storage.
(f) Disinfected water
entering the wet storage tanks shall have no detectable levels of the coliform
group as measured by a recognized multi-tube MPN test per one hundred (100) ml.
for potable water.
(g) When the
laboratory analysis of a single sample of disinfected water entering the wet
storage tanks shows any positive result for the coliform group, daily sampling
shall be immediately instituted until the problem is identified and
eliminated.
(h) When the problem
that is causing disinfected water to show a positive result for the coliform
group is eliminated, the effectiveness of the correction shall be shown on the
first operating day following correction through the immediate collection,
within a 24-hour period, of a set of three samples of disinfected water and one
sample of the source water prior to disinfection.
(i) For water that is disinfected by
ultra-violet treatment, turbidity shall not exceed twenty (20) nephelometric
turbidity units (NTUs) measured in accordance with Standard Methods for the
Examination of Water and Wastewater, APHA.
(ii) The disinfection unit(s) for the water
supply shall be cleaned and serviced as frequently as necessary to assure
effective water treatment.
(i) Continuous Flow-through Systems.
(i) If the system is of continuous
flow-through design, water from a growing area classified as:
(a) Approved may be used, without
disinfection, in wet storage tanks provided that the near-shore water source
used for supplying the system meets the approved classification bacteriological
criteria at all times that shellstock are being held in wet storage;
or
(b) Other than approved may be
used if the source water is continuously subjected to disinfection and it is
sampled daily following disinfection.
(ii) When a source classified as other than
approved is used, a study shall be required to demonstrate that the
disinfection system will consistently produce water that tests negative for the
coliform group under normal operating conditions. The study shall:
(a) Include five sets of three samples from
each disinfection unit collected for five consecutive days at the outlet from
the disinfection unit or at the inlet to at least one of the wet storage tanks
served by the disinfection system;
(b) Include one sample daily for five
consecutive days from the source water prior to disinfection;
(c) Use NSSP recognized methods to analyze
the samples to determine coliform levels;
(d) Require all samples of disinfected water
to be negative for the coliform group;
(e) Be repeated if any sample of disinfected
water during the study is positive for the coliform group.
(iii) Once sanctioned for use, the water
system shall be sampled daily to demonstrate that the disinfected water is
negative for the coliform group.
(j) Recirculating Water System.
(i) A water disinfection system shall be
required for all recirculating wet storage systems. A study shall be required
to demonstrate that the disinfection system for the recirculating system will
consistently produce water that tests negative for the coliform group under all
operating conditions. The study shall meet the requirements in item
D.3(d)(3)(i)(ii) above.
(ii) Once
sanctioned for use, the recirculating water system shall be sampled weekly to
demonstrate that the disinfected water is negative for the coliform
group.
(iii) When make-up water of
more than ten (10) percent of the water volume in the recirculating system is
added from a growing area source classified as other than approved, a set of
three samples of disinfected water and one sample of the source water prior to
disinfection shall be collected within a twenty four (24) hour period to
reaffirm the ability of the system to produce water free from the coliform
group.
(iv) When multiple tube
ultra-violet treatment with redundant capacity is used as a water disinfectant,
each time a bulb change is required to replace a burned out bulb, or for
periodic servicing, new ultra-violet bulbs shall be installed and old bulbs
discarded. When a single tube ultra-violet treatment unit or a multi tube unit
without redundancy is utilized, each time a bulb change is required either to
replace a burned out bulb or for periodic servicing, new ultra-violet bulbs
shall be installed and old bulbs discarded, a set of three (3) samples of
disinfected water and one sample of the source water prior to disinfection
shall be collected within a twenty four (24) hour period to reaffirm the
ability of the system to produce water free from the coliform group.
Ultra-violet systems using either a single tube or multiple-tube unit with no
redundancy as their disinfection system may utilize an approved ultra-violet
wavelength intensity monitoring unit to demonstrate bulb integrity.
4. Depletion of Closed Areas. If depletion of shellfish in a Prohibited Area is more economical than patrolling, all shellfish of market size and as many of smaller size as can be gathered by reasonable methods may be removed from the area by the Department or under direct supervision of the Department.
5. Shellfish Habitat Preservation. For purposes of shellfish habitat preservation, the Department may, in limited instances and with special conditions, authorize the translocation of viable shellfish beds within prohibited areas. Authorization shall be considered only upon official request from the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. South Carolina may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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