COASTAL MANAGEMENT POLICIES IMPERATIVE FOR A PROSPEROUS SOUTH CAROLINA
COASTAL MANAGEMENT POLICIES IMPERATIVE FOR A PROSPEROUS SOUTH CAROLINA
May 8, 2008, Columbia, SC – Citizens for Sound Conservation released the following statement regarding yesterday’s hearing on H.5029, a concurrent resolution calling for a review and possible promulgation of regulations for coastal zone management:
“Citizens for Sound Conservation would like to commend members of the House Agriculture Committee for taking a needed first step towards improving our state’s outdated coastal management policy.
The resolution itself does nothing more than call on the members of the South Carolina General Assembly to request that DHEC undertake the actions prescribed and required by the South Carolina Administrative Procedures Act to promulgate, as regulations, certain policies of the South Carolina Coastal Zone Management Plan; but it’s an action that is unquestionably warranted.
Most people will agree that regulation of freshwater wetlands is the most contentious issue regarding coastal zone management, yet there is currently no definition of such wetlands. With unrelenting growth in South Carolina, the state’s continued practice of regulating “wetlands” without a definition or a means for the state to delineate between different types of “wetlands” is both inefficient and imprudent.
The debate over isolated wetlands is a perfect example. Three different court decisions have held that the current policies being employed regarding isolated wetlands are not regulations and may not properly be used as such by DHEC to make permit decisions. As Judge McLeod said in one of the orders regarding this issue, the general public, environmentalists and property owners need to know the rules regarding coastal zone certification.
A review of the process, as being proposed, will provide everyone the opportunity to comment on this vitally important area of regulation. Without action, more lawsuits will undoubtedly be filed by both sides - landowners who claim their private property is being regulated unfairly, and extreme environmentalists who use capricious policies to stifle economic growth and infringe upon private property rights. Meanwhile, untold amounts of money will continue to pour through the courts while our economy and environment suffer.
Through this resolution, members of the General Assembly have an opportunity to show they value coastal resources as well as private property rights and demonstrate that we can achieve a balance between conservation and economic development.”
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Contact: Denver Merrill
Phone: 843-224-3885
