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Conservationists: Wetlands preservation in danger

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Conservationists are worried that thousands of acres of freshwater wetlands could be endangered under a proposed resolution to be discussed today by a state House committee.

The changes are favored by developers who want fewer rules governing building in coastal South Carolina.

In April, Reps. William Witherspoon, R-Conway, and Dwight Loftis, R-Greenville, proposed a resolution that would require the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control and its Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management to review coastal management policies that have been in place for more than 30 years.

The resolution also would require the General Assembly to approve any new regulations recommended by DHEC covering coastal development.

A resolution is a bill that, if enacted, does not have the force of law but is instead a request, Witherspoon said. The intent of the resolution is to pressure DHEC to review its policies. If DHEC does not review its policies, then only a law could force it to do so.

DHEC's policies came into question when the state denied Georgetown developer Spectre a permit to develop 32 acres of isolated freshwater wetlands. Isolated wetlands are those not connected to a surface water system, such as a creek or river.

Spectre appealed the decision and won. In February, Administrative Law Judge John McLeod ruled that South Carolina's coastal management program wasn't developed legally. That ruling is being appealed by five environmental groups.

DHEC had promulgated policies to protect isolated wetlands after a 2001 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that isolated wetlands were no longer under federal jurisdiction. The state stepped in to protect isolated wetlands, but did not get its policies approved by the General Assembly.

"They have been operating on policy, and policy is not law," Witherspoon said. "That is what this resolution is asking -- for DHEC to develop regulations so they can control development on isolated freshwater wetlands."

If the committee approves the resolution, it moves to the House floor Wednesday. Because it is after May 1, a two-thirds majority vote would be required in the House for the Senate to consider the resolution before the current session ends June 5, said Michael Hitchcock, assistant clerk of the Senate.

Hitchcock said it's unlikely the Senate will get to it this session. For the measure to be considered next year, it would have to be re-introduced.

In addition, Witherspoon is retiring after this year's session, so the resolution will lose one of its champions.

"I would be surprised if it goes anywhere this year, but it's one of the worst ideas to come along in a long time," said Coastal Conservation League spokesman Patrick Moore. "I hope the full committee sees it for what it is -- a blatant attempt to remove the last protections that our freshwater wetlands enjoy."

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