Fees for drilling wells and inspections for everything from child care facilities to shelters could increase, according to a proposal before the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control’s board Thursday.
The board also will review new safety regulations on use of raw milk, which has been growing in popularity nationally.
Fees for inspecting child care facilities, foster homes and similar facilities, were set at $60 in 1987. The agency is proposing an amendment that allows it “to set the fee at a level that will offset the cost of providing the service and conducting the inspections.”
If approved by the board, the new fee structure would be sent to the legislature for approval.
Jerry Cook, president of the South Carolina Child Care Association, said he has filed a letter of opposition and will be present at the hearing.
Cook, operator of a child care facility in Gaston, said he is opposed to the agency’s plan for “an open-ended, carte blanche” fee.
“There’s no doubt they need to increase the fee, but not have an open end to charge what they want to,” Cook said.
Most inspections require about 30 minutes, he said.
“It doesn’t take a lot of money to justify a 30-minute inspection,” he said. “Most of it (cost) is salary and transportation.”
Adam Myrick, a spokesman for DHEC, said the inspection fee has not been increased in 22 years. The agency wants to link the fees to a cost index, allowing it to adjust it “every few years.”
The three-year average cost to inspect a child care facility is $106, Myrick said, and $74 for a foster home. If approved by the board, the fees would be forward to the legislature for review, and if approved, would be implemented shortly afterward, Myrick said.
Also, the health agency is recommending that the current $50 fee for each irrigation well application and $70 for each residential well application be increased to $95 for either.