Horry County approves $1B budget, reallocates funding from landfill expansion

Horry County Council voted to approve a $1 billion budget for the following fiscal year, which included an amendment to reallocate funding for the proposed expansion of the county’s landfill near Highway 90.

The amendment redirected $300,000 originally budgeted for the Solid Waste Authority’s proposed landfill expansion consulting and engineering to be instead used for studies for permitting of a transfer station to haul construction and demolition waste outside the county, a proposal for a mandatory recycling program for council to consider and mandated quarterly progress reports on the studies and water testing, among other uses.

In an April SWA landfill expansion workshop, council members were concerned with the 102.4 acres of wetlands that would be impacted by the expansion.

“If we are going to take the approach that we’re going to start filling in 100-plus acres of wetlands with municipal waste and construction waste, then we need to look at every single viable alternative available to us,” Councilman Dennis DiSabato said at the April workshop.

The South Carolina Environmental Law Project, which submitted comments on behalf of 67 signatories and other local environmental agencies in opposition of the proposal, posted on Facebook Wednesday morning in support of the reallocation of funds.

“This is what happens when people speak up. Thank you to everyone who submitted comments, attended the public hearing and made their voices heard,” the post said.

This story was originally published May 20, 2026 at 3:43 PM with the headline "Horry County approves $1B budget, reallocates funding from landfill expansion."