Conservation Agenda Priorities

Cary D. Chamblee, Lobbyist

This is the second year of a two-year legislative session, and both the Senate and House are hurriedly moving through their backlog of bills and unfinished business.  Among these bills are some important and timely conservation measures that include one of the more important bills to be considered in a number of years dealing with regulating our state’s surface water.  The following is a discussion of the water bill and some of the more active and pressing issues.

Surface Water—With all the rain that we have had this winter, it seems that our long battle with drought may be over – at least for a while anyway.  This is not, however, the time to become complacent about this precious and, at times, scarce resource.  Currently, our state has no regulation or control over the use or overuse of its rivers and streams.  This complete lack of oversight and planning has led to broad support for surface water regulation.  Environmental groups, businesses and water suppliers have been working to pass a surface water permitting and allocation bill for four-years, and it seems that we are finally within striking distance of realizing this goal.

Senator Paul Campbell, R-Berkeley County, has introduced a surface water permitting bill that has gained favor among the business community, agriculture and municipal water suppliers.  This bill regulates withdrawals of more than three-million gallons of surface water per month, grandfathers existing users, largely exempts agriculture, and protects seasonal instream flows as demanded by the environmental community.

Environmental groups are generally in support but are still dissatisfied with some specifics in the bill.  Senator Chip Campsen, R-Charleston, has worked closely with Senator Campbell to craft the bill and continues to press for an amendment that insures that water is available to downstream users, fish and wildlife.  It was Senator Campsen’s comment last year regarding the need for this bill to protect water for “bass, boats and Bubba” that led the environmental community to adopt those words as their slogan.  In fact, more than fifty supporters showed up at a Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee meeting held the last week of January, sporting bright blue stickers that simply read “Bass Boats and Bubba.”  If Senator Campsen’s amendment is adopted, then it is expected that environmental and sportsmen’s groups will line up in support of the bill.  Action on this necessary amendment will likely take place in early February.

South Carolina’s lack of authority over its rivers and streams has implications beyond the state border.  Last year, the S.C. Attorney General filed a lawsuit against the state of North Carolina to block the transfer of millions of gallons per day of water out of the Catawba/Wateree River Basin.  South Carolina is also negotiating with Georgia over the shared use of the Savannah River.  This void of authority over water inside our state will not serve us well in these cross-border disputes.

A strong water withdrawal bill will help set the course of our state’s water use for years to come.  It will give existing withdrawers certainty that the water they need will not be taken by an upstream user; it gives downstream users notice as to how much water will be available for their use, and it protects the recreational and wildlife uses of rivers and streams.

E-Waste—An e-waste recycling bill, introduced by Rep. Dwight Loftis, R. Greenville, is gaining momentum in the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee.  This bill, H. 4093, has significant promise to stop the current practice of burying electronic waste in landfills and require recycling.  The Sierra Club lobbyist testified at a recent subcommittee hearing in support of e-waste regulation and asked that Representative Loftis’ bill be strengthened by banning e-waste in landfills, including televisions in the definition of e-waste, strengthening the modest recycling requirements on manufacturers of electronics, and providing a mechanism for the recycling of orphan e-waste which is equipment manufactured by companies that are no longer in business or that cannot provide recycling.  This bill is scheduled for additional consideration by the House Committee in February.

Conservation Bank Funding—(House Ways & Means Committee/Senate Finance Committee)—Protecting watersheds, working farms and natural resources is a down payment toward saving what is special about living in South Carolina.  Since 2004, the Conservation Bank has been the most important source of funding for land conservation in South Carolina, protecting more than 153,000 acres of natural and historic properties across the state.  Through voluntary easements and acquisitions, vulnerable natural and historic lands have been protected.  The Conservation Community is asking for continued funding for the Conservation Bank in the State Appropriations Bill.

S.384 - DHEC Accountability, Senators Phil Leventis and John Courson (Senate Medical Affairs Committee)—The Department of Health & Environmental Control is charged with protecting the health of the public and the environment, but, too often, its decisions permit excessive pollution.  DHEC needs new leadership and a clear mission to stand up for clean air and clean water.  The head of the agency is accountable only to the DHEC Board, but the Board has been weakened because it no longer has direct oversight over the agency’s permit decisions.  In addition, the need to seek the General Assembly’s approval for new regulations has led to inappropriate legislative interference.  Reforms are needed to make the agency more accountable to the public and to improve oversight of agency operations and decisions.

H.3603 - Emergency Notification of Sewer Spills, Representatives Carl Gullick and Mike Pitts (Passed House; referred to Senate Medical Affairs Committee)—This bill requires DHEC to create a standard procedure for public notification within twelve- hours in the event of spills exceeding 1000 gallons.