Some in the Legislature have wanted to give the state more tools to investigate environmental crimes since a 2000 chemical spill at Lexington County chemical company Tin Products killed thousands of fish and contaminated two waterways.

The effort finally succeeded Wednesday as Gov. Mark Sanford signed into law a bill giving the state the power to prosecute environmental crimes.

South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster said the state had to turn the Tin Products case over to the U.S. Attorney's Office because it did not have the authority to gather all the records needed.

Now "we don't have to ask the federal authorities if they can do it. We can do it ourselves," McMaster said.

The new law says an independent engineer hired by the Department of Health and Environmental Control would have to determine the damage exceeds $2 million before the state could intervene.

DHEC would recommend the grand jury's involvement to the Attorney General and the State Law Enforcement Division. An administrative law judge would review the request. People facing the grand jury investigation could not simultaneously face federal prosecution.

"I'm happy as a lark that we now have the authority and power to investigate major white-collar environmental crime," McMaster said.

McMaster said the new law can immediately be used for cases already under investigation.