thallcanada Posted April 4, 2017 Posted April 4, 2017 Anyone know what is required by the state to be legal as a hobbyist in South Carolina.
Mumbles Posted April 4, 2017 Posted April 4, 2017 I can't find a whole lot of information specifically to manufacturing other than a licence exists and it's $2000 a year. I can't seen to find an application for it however. I'd contact this board and see if they have more information. http://www.llr.state.sc.us/POL/Pyrotechnic/
lloyd Posted April 4, 2017 Posted April 4, 2017 I can speak authoritatively about this, because I had the first licensed manufacturing facility in SC. The first one EVER. In 1998, I applied for an ATF manufacturing license for a site a few miles NW of the town of Winnsboro, SC. Fortunately, there was an ATF office in Columbia, which also happened to be where I worked (for state government on the Y2K project). The ATF guy was very polite, but expressed that they'd never HAD a manufacturer in the state, and the only things he knew about were alcohol and firearms inspections, so he needed more information. SC is a class-C 'open sales' state, but although they sell tons of that, there were NO 1.3G manufacturers there, and ATF doesn't regulate class-C. So, we sat in his lobby for about an hour while I explained the regs concerning manufacturing. He listened well, accepted my application, and said he'd schedule an inspection of my site. When the ATF inspector arrived, it was an ATF post Chief Inspector from North Carolina, because they had NO experience with manufacturing in SC. She arrived with: 1) The STATE Fire Marshal, 2) The County Fire Marshal, 3) The Winnsboro Fire Chief, and 4) the young ATF investigator from the Columbia office I'd met with earlier. After polite greetings, her first words to me were, "Mr. Sponenburgh, I'll conduct an inspection, but there's NO WAY we could possibly issue a license for a facility here." I said, "OK, but before you make up your mind, let me show you what we have." I then conducted them on a tour, explaining EACH point in the Orange Book as I went... describing distances, clearances, construction issues, etc. We took about an hour to do it. When we were done, the lady inspector from NC (and she WAS a 'lady') said to me, "I'm astonished that I'm saying this to you, but I can find no reason NOT to issue." And they did. Now... that said, the STATE license is for warehousing and selling Class-C. As of 2015, they still did not have ANY state license concerning manufacturing -- either for hobby or professional reasons; only for sales. If you deal with the state properly, and explain that there is NO commercial activity... and if you get an ATF license... it shouldn't cost you any more than just the Federal license fees. And that ATF license protects you against all sorts of harassment from neighbors and local LEOs! Lloyd 1
pyroman2498 Posted April 5, 2017 Posted April 5, 2017 Very great info Lloyd! Is that facility still open , And still looking for work ? I live in NC and Am looking into getting legal and have been thinking of starting my own business when I am able to.NC laws are much more strict than SC but I'm willing to work around it or move to SC ( or another state )
lloyd Posted April 5, 2017 Posted April 5, 2017 No, sorry. After Y2K was all finished and certified, I took a position as the GM of Santore & Sons fireworks in Florida, and moved 'back home'. We sold the facility as 'general shop' to a non-ATF-licensed person. I'm now (semi) retired, but Santore & Sons is still very busy, and always hiring. <g> Lloy
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