Keep pushing for rules that can protect rivers

Published Sunday, October 18, 2009

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It's oystering season, and there is an area of the May River where harvesting oysters is prohibited.

That is proof we have failed to do the one thing promised when Bluffton's building boom started a decade ago -- we have failed to protect the water quality of one of the cleanest, most productive saltwater estuaries on the East Coast.

If we're not careful, it won't be long before more stretches of the river are closed to shellfish harvesting and then closed to swimming. It can happen across Beaufort County.

On Monday, Beaufort County Council continued to move forward with new stormwater management rules that would try to keep the hydrology of property proposed for development -- the volume and rate of flow of water from that property -- the same as it was before development.

The ordinance was approved unanimously on second reading. A third vote is still needed before it becomes law. That's where the real test comes.

The key is that toughening the rules for new projects only keeps the situation from getting worse, as Dan Ahern, the county's stormwater manager, pointed out Monday.

The hard -- and potentially expensive -- work comes in correcting stormwater systems that aren't doing what's needed to protect and restore water quality.

Some say more study is needed before the new rules are implemented. If so, then no more projects should be approved, no more building permits issued until the studies are completed.

We get nowhere if it's business as usual in the meantime. And that's what's been happening. We've monitored the Okatie and May rivers even as the water quality has deteriorated. Even a hold on new construction would only maintain the status quo.

Now it's time to do something, and the ordinance that has been pushed by County Council Chairman Weston Newton is based on very sound science and years of study of the impacts of development and stormwater runoff.

County Councilman Stu Rodman said Monday that he worried that passing a countywide stormwater ordinance was an attempt to impose a one-size-fits-all solution on too large and diverse an area.

But the steps needed to maintain the existing hydrology of a property depend on the characteristics of that individual property. What we're talking about is an overall goal ofprotecting the county's waterways.

Bluffton officials say they are on board. Town Council took a modest step earlier this year when it put a hold on any new development plan reviews until the county ordinance was worked out and the town could follow suit. That should happen quickly. The two local governments must work in concert.

Tuesday's Town Council meeting should give us an indication of how strong a commitment we'll get from Bluffton.

In addition to passing stricter stormwater rules, the town and county should measure the percentage of the Okatie and May River watersheds covered today by hard surfaces. And they should account for the percentage of the watersheds that will be covered by hard surfaces if the development already approved is built. We need to know these numbers.

The warnings from Dr. Fred Holland, the former head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration marine lab in Charleston, bear repeating:

If 10 percent of the land is covered by houses, roads, parking lots and other hard surfaces, oystering in the headwaters of tidal creeks is likely to be prohibited. If 30 percent or more of the land is covered, it brings the kinds of changes that can't be turned back completely.

The impact of altering stormwater flow can be tremendous. In a forested tidal creek area, Holland said, a heavy rainfall results in 16 percent runoff. In an urban tidal creek setting, the percentage of stormwater that reaches the creek goes to 63 percent.

That stormwater carries with it pollutants. But just as important to a saltwater estuary's tidal creeks and the creatures that live in them is the volume of freshwater. Freshwater affects the chemistry of the creeks, which are the nurseries of many creatures. And, he warned, when water quality drops so do property values.

We still have a chance to get this right, but the window of opportunity is closing. Tell your elected officials you want them to stand strong on this.

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Governor’s Office, State House, P.O. Box 12267, Columbia, S.C. 29211
Office: (803) 734-2100 Fax: (803) 734-5167
Senator Tom Davis(R-District 46)
P.O. Drawer 1107, Beaufort, 29901-1107
(843) 252-8583
602 Gressette Bldg., Columbia, 29201
Bus. (803) 212-6008
Rep. Curtis Brantley (D-District 122)
194 Bees Creek Rd., Ridgeland, 29936
(843) 726-5998
314D Blatt Bldg., Columbia, 29201
(803) 734-2965
Rep. Richard Chalk (R-District 123)
326C Blatt Building, Columbia, S.C. 29211-1867
Office: (803) 734-3067; Home: (843) 842-5985
15 Goldfinch Lane, Hilton Head Island, S.C. 29928
Rep. Shannon S. Erickson (R-District 124)
(843) 986-1090
306A Blatt Bldg., Columbia, 29201
(803) 734-3261
Rep. Bill Herbkersman (R-District 118)
P.O. Box 11867, Columbia, S.C. 29211
Office: (803) 734-3063; Home: (843) 757-5424
151 Gascoigne Bluff, Bluffton, S.C. 29910
Rep. Kenneth F. Hodges (D-District 121)
PO Drawer 355, Green Pond, 29446
(843) 525-9006 Home (843) 844-8756
434B Blatt Bldg., Columbia, 29201
(803) 734-3062

Beaufort County

Rick Caporale (R-District 1)
17 Salt Wind Way, Hilton Head Island, S.C. 29926
Office: 680-9999; fax: 681-6700
Steven Baer (R-District 2)
10 Heather Lane, Hilton Head Island, S.C. 29926
Office: 689-3570; fax: 689-3569
Stu Rodman (R-District 3)
27 Baynard Park, Hilton Head Island, S.C. 29928
Office: 363-470; fax: 363-6472
Weston J. Newton chairman (R-District 4)
P.O. Drawer 7049, Hilton Head Island, S.C. 29938
Office: 842-6111; fax: 706-9981
William McBride (D-District 5)
P.O. Box 77, St. Helena Island, SC 29920
Fax:(843)838-8303
Home:(843)838-2264
Gerald Dawson (D-District 6)
64-A Horace Dawsone Drive, Seabrook, SC 29940
Fax:(843)846-4738
Office:(843)846-4830
Paul Sommerville vice chairman (R-District 7)
1509 Pigeon Point Road, Beaufort, SC 29902
Fax:(843)379-7115
Office:(843)379-7114
Herbert N. Glaze (D-District 8)
P.O. Box 4053, Burton, SC 29903
Fax:(843)846-3601
Home:(843)846-2845
Brian Flewelling (R- District 9)
25 Petigru Drive, Beaufort, SC 29902
Fax:(843)379-9806
Office:(843)379-9805
Jerry Stewart (R-District 10)
11 Teaberry Lane, Bluffton, S.C. 29909
Office: 705-4753; fax: 705-4723
Laura Von Harten (D-District 11)
166 Fuller Parkway, Beaufort, SC 29902
Fax:(843)379-1380
Office:(843)379-1367

Beaufort County School District

District Office: 1300 King St., P.O. Drawer 309, Beaufort, SC 29902
Office: 322-2300; fax: 322-2371
Hilton Head Island office, 689-4635; fax: 689-4617

Beaufort County Board of Education members

Fred S. Washington chairman (District 11)
PO 325, 804 West Street, Beaufort, SC 29901
(C) 843-524-8404
Bob Arundell vice chairman (District 2)
198 Woodlake Villas, Hilton Head, S.C. 29926
Home: 681-8502; work: 7855-8040; fax: 785-3056;
Joan Deery (District 1)
5 old Fort Drive, Hilton Head, S.C. 29926
Home: 681-8968
Wayne Carbiener (District 3)
Home: 843-363-2113
Laura Bush (District 4)
P.O. Box 172, Bluffton, S.C. 29910
Home: 757-2638; fax: 757-2638
Michael F. Rivers, Sr. (District 5)
734 Seaside Road, St. Helena, SC 29920
(H) 843-838-2277
FAX 843-838-1192
Earl Campbell (District 6)
93 Bruce Smalls, Grays Hill, P.O. Box 768, Lobeco, SC 29931
(H) 843-846-4531
(C) 843-476-7512
FAX 843-846-1373
Jim Bequette (District 7)
4 Broomfield Lane 2532, Beaufort, SC 29907
(H/C) 843-263-8327
Herbert Burnes (District 8)
95 Pine Grove Road, Beaufort, SC 29906
(H) 843-846-445
(C) 843-263-2776
Ronald Speaks (District 9)
3121 Palomino Dr., Burton, SC 29906
(H) 843-525-1163
(W) 843-525-8277
FAX 843-525-1163
George Wilson (District 10)
20 Osprey Circle, Callawassie Island, S.C. 29909
Home: 987-1234; cell: 812-9870

City of Beaufort

Mayor Billy Keyserling
771 Ribaut Rd., Beaufort, SC 29902
(843) 986-2444 (Work)
(843) 521-2600 (Home)
Councilwoman Donnie Ann Beer
P.O. Box 1171, Beaufort, SC 29901
379-6099 (Home)
379-2750 (Work)
Councilman Gary Fordham
860 Ribaut Road, Beaufort, SC 29902
524-3334 (Home)
Councilman Mike Sutton
809 Craven St., Beaufort, SC 29902
252-5687
Councilman Mike McFee
2302 Wilson Dr. Beaufort, SC 29902
843-321-0556 (Work)
843-522-1528 (Home)

Town of Hilton Head Island

Town Hall: One Town Center Court, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928; 341-4600

Town Council

Mayor Thomas D. Peeples
4 Hartford Place, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928-3922
Home: 686-4138; office: 681-2600; fax: 689-3229
Bill Ferguson (Ward 1)
634 William Hilton Parkway, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928
Home: 686-2863
William Harkins (Ward 2)
3 Old Fort Lane Hilton Head Island, SC 29926
263-3261 - cell
Drew A. Laughlin (Ward 3)
5 McIntosh Road, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928
Home: 689-5723; work 689-5700; fax 689-9300
John Safay (Ward 4)
19 Starboard Tack, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928
Home: 785-4489; work: 785-4696; fax: 785-4696
George Williams (Ward 5)
8 Braddock Cove, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928
Home: 363-6601; fax: 363-6604
Ken S. Heitzke (Ward 6)
3 Audubon Place, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928
Home: 681-8182; fax: 681-9864