By Matt Tomsic
mtomsic@scbiznews.com
Published Jan. 25, 2012
The S.C. House of Representatives unanimously passed a joint resolution this afternoon to suspend the state Department of Health and Environmental Control’s authority to issue decisions regarding the Savannah River.
On Jan. 18, state Reps. Jim Merrill and Leon Stavrinakis, both of Charleston, introduced the resolution, H.4627, along with Columbia lawmaker James Harrison.
H.4627 suspends all DHEC decisions since 2007 concerning navigability, depth, dredging, wastewater disposal, sludge disposal and collateral issues on South Carolina’s portion of the Savannah River.
The resolution notes that the Savannah River Maritime Commission supersedes DHEC’s authority for the river. It also says DHEC violated the maritime commission’s authority by granting a water permit to the Army Corps of Engineers Savannah District for the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project, which is expected to deepen the Savannah River to 48 feet.
The permit approval “could present imminent and irreversible public health and environmental concerns,” according to the resolution.
The House vote is the latest shot in the controversy surrounding the DHEC board’s decision in November to issue the permit.
Since that time, DHEC and S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley have faced criticism from state lawmakers and an investigation by a state Senate committee, which found the governor and her staff did not influence DHEC’s board.
State Sen. Joel Lourie, who serves on the committee that investigated the permit’s approval, called the permit a “tragic mistake,” while other lawmakers said the decision will give a competitive advantage to the Port of Savannah as Charleston tries to deepen its harbor.
Haley also has been criticized for a fundraiser held in Georgia less than a month before the approval was given, as well as for comments she made in 2010 at the State of the Port address in Charleston.
“Georgia has had their way with us for way too long, and I don’t have the patience to let it happen anymore,” she said at the time.
Haley and the DHEC board have defended the decision, however.
“There was absolutely no influence brought to bear upon any board member in this case, especially in the form of financial payments,” DHEC chairman Allen Amsler said in a November news release. “That suggestion is offensive to a group of people working very hard to protect South Carolina’s resources.”
Haley said Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal flew to Columbia to ask her to allow Georgia officials to meet with the DHEC board about the permit, which had been previously denied by DHEC staff.
Haley said she instructed the board to set benchmarks, and if an applicant reaches them, to approve a permit.
“They went above the benchmark,” Haley said, adding the deal is merit-based. “It’s not that it is a good deal or a bad deal.”
In exchange for the permit, the Army Corps of Engineers agreed to pay to maintain dissolved oxygen levels in the Savannah River for 50 years and agreed to maintain more than 600 acres of marsh on the South Carolina side of the border.
The resolution will now be sent to the state Senate. If the Senate approves, the resolution will go to Haley for her signature or veto.
Reach Matt Tomsic at 843-849-3144.
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