Pinewood Site Custodial Trust (PSCT)

The Pinewood Site Custodial Trust (PSCT) was formed as a result of a settlement agreement between the Site’s last operator, Safety-Kleen, Inc., its affiliates and debtors and SCDHEC for the closure and ongoing maintenance of the Site. The agreement was approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court as a part of bankruptcy proceedings of Safety-Kleen and its subsidiaries, including Safety-Kleen (Pinewood), Inc., which operated the landfill. The bankruptcy process lasted three years and ended on December 24, 2003. The final settlement transferred the Site, equipment, permits and other Site assets to the PSCT to be held and managed for the benefit and protection of the people of South Carolina; provided certain funding to the PSCT; established a Trustee to oversee closure and post closure care of the Site; appointed SCDHEC as the sole beneficiary of the PSCT; and provided liability releases to Safety-Kleen.

Custodial Trustee

The bankruptcy settlement provided for the appointment of a Trustee to oversee and manage the closure and post closure care of the Site. The Trustee holds the Site permits, and SCDHEC has regulatory oversight of the day-to-day post closure operations at the Site. SCDHEC’s Bureau of Land and Waste Management is the lead agency for oversight of the post closure care. The trust agreement requires the Trustee to perform such measures as are necessary to comply with the Site permits and in the event of unforeseen circumstances which require additional funds, to submit a supplemental budget to SCDHEC as beneficiary of the PSCT for the purpose of securing funding from the New Environmental Impairment Trust Fund (NEITF).

In April 2003, Kestrel Horizons, LLC (Kestrel) of Greenville, South Carolina, was nominated by Safety-Kleen and approved by SCDHEC to serve as Trustee for the PSCT. During the period from April 15, 2003, to December 24, 2003, Kestrel began activities needed to ensure that the PSCT could begin operating properly. On December 24, 2003, the PSCT was formed and Kestrel formally became Trustee. Kestrel served as Trustee until its resignation effective October 31, 2014.

After Kestrel’s resignation, pursuant to the PSCT documents, DHEC exercised its authority to appoint an interim administrator. Pinewood Interim Administrator, Inc. (PIA) was appointed interim administrator effective November 1, 2014, and was vested with the powers of the Trustee pursuant to a contract with SCDHEC and the appointment of fiduciary powers by the Sumter County Probate Court. PIA is a South Carolina non-profit corporation, whose officers and directors are Robert A. Kerr, Jr., Peter J. McGrath, Jr., and Kelly D. H. Lowry. Staff resources and legal counsel are provided to PIA by the law firms of Moore & Van Allen, PLLC and Kerr Law Group, LLC.

PIA changed its name to Pinewood Trustee, Inc. in 2016. Officers and directors thereof have remained the same. 

Pinewood Trustee, Inc. now serves as Trustee of the Trust under the terms of the Pinewood Site Custodial Trust Agreement dated December 24, 2003 (Trust Agreement), as amended by the First Amendment and Restatement of Pinewood Site Custodial Trust Agreement dated March 27, 2017, and the Second Amendment to Pinewood Site Custodial Trust Agreement dated November 13, 2023 (Amendments).  The Trust Agreement and Amendments thereto can be found here.