By JIM FAILE

DARLINGTON - Bath salts are now illegal in the unincorporated parts of Darlington County.

Darlington County Council approved an emergency ordinance banning the sale, possession and use of the synthetic drugs, also sometimes referred to as plant food and marketed under such names as Ivory Wave, Purple Wave, Vanilla Sky, Bliss and White Rush.

The 7 – 0 vote to approve the measure came during council’s regular monthly meeting.

The ordinance becomes effective immediately and will remain in effect for 60 days. The measure applies only to the unincorporated areas of the county, not in the municipalities.

Because the measure is an emergency ordinance, it did not have to go through the usual process of three-readings required for the passage of ordinances, said County Attorney Jim Cox.

Darlington County Sheriff Wayne Byrd, who supported the measure, said it can mean fines of up to $500 and up to 30 days in jail for violators. Byrd said his deputies will enforce the measure.

The ordinance notes that Darlington County has seen a substantial increase in criminal activity related to the use of bath salts - synthetic stimulants and cannabinoids intended to replicate or cause a similar reaction to the effects of cocaine, ecstasy, LSD and marijuana and which are often sold in retail outlets. It cites multiple reports from public health and safety providers that the ingestion of the substances has resulted in hospitalization and the need for medical care.

In August, county law enforcement officials said they believe the use of bath salts may have been linked to the death of a man.

Council Chairman Billy Baldwin said he is hopeful the S.C. General Assembly will outlaw the sale and use of bath salts in the state when it returns to session in January.

Councilman Alex “Buz” Shaw was not present at the meeting.

Several other Pee Dee local governments have adopted similar ordinances. The cities of Hartsville and Darlington are considering similar ordinances in their jurisdictions.

In other business, council spent a good portion of the meeting discussing a proposed ordinance to raise the $35 annual recycling/solid waste service charge on all residential properties as a means of making up the $290,000 officials say the county will lose in revenue if council eliminates the so-called yellow bag program for solid waste disposal.

An ordinance to eliminate the program and a separate ordinance to raise the fee were both presented for first reading. No vote is taken on first reading, and normally discussion does not occur on first reading.

But Councilman Le Flowers, who favors keeping the pay-as-you-throw yellow bag program in place, questioned why an ordinance to raise the fee was placed on the agenda for first reading when council had not had an opportunity to discuss it or consider other options beforehand.

“This was not done with the consent of council,” Flowers said. “Council did not have any input on how to make up that $290,000.”

He said other alternatives could be considered, such as not recouping the money, implementing another fee, having businesses share in the cost or raising property taxes.

County Administrator Dale Surrett said council has already raised property taxes as much as it could under the state’s mandatory limit in its 2011 – 2012 budget.

Baldwin said he had the ordinance placed on the agenda. He said debate can come when the measure comes up for second and third reading.

He said if council opts to approve an increase in the fee, the ordinance process will require three readings, which can take time, and he said the county treasurer’s office had indicated there might not be sufficient time to send notices of the increase out to homeowners, which he said could delay collecting any new revenue from the fee for another year.

“It was just assumed that we’d all just go along with it. There’s been no discussion or authorization by members of council,” Flowers said.

“We’re starting first reading assuming that only single-family homes should have to pay this,” Flowers said. “That was assumed without any input from council members. This should have been discussed first to consider it.”

County Attorney Jim Cox, however, said the chairman has the authority to place items on the agenda. Cox said first reading on an ordinance is designed to give the public ample notice that an ordinance is under consideration.

The yellow bag program requires consumers to purchase specially designated plastic yellow trash bags from area retailers for disposal of household garbage. The program is designed to encourage recycling with the idea that the more a household recycles, the less solid waste it will generate and the fewer bags it will have to buy.

After a tied 4 – 4 vote in August resulted in the failure of an ordinance to repeal the bag program, council agreed in September to bring the matter back up for reconsideration when one of the members who voted to keep the program in place, Councilwoman Wilhelmina Johnson, announced she would change her position and vote to dump the program.

Council is scheduled to take up both ordinances on second reading during a special meeting on Oct. 17. That is when the first vote will be taken. A public hearing and vote on third and final reading are tentatively set for a special meeting on Oct. 24.