Week of April 13 - 17, 2009

Friday, April 17, 2009


Help make annexation reform a priority {action item}

On the first day of the legislative session, Representatives Bill Herbkersman, Shannon Erickson, Curtis Brantley, Bill Sandifer, and Mike Sottile introduced a great annexation reform bill that includes all of the conservation community’s legislative reforms to our outdated annexation laws. The bill was referred to the House Judiciary Committee’s Special Laws Subcommittee, but the bill has yet to be heard. Members of the Subcommittee are Representatives Thad Viers (Chairman), Seth Whipper, Vida Miller, Laurie Funderburk, and Mike Sottile. To ensure H.3253 moves forward this year, please write your legislators and members of the House Judiciary Committee and ask them to support passage of H.3253 and to place this bill on a subcommittee agenda soon. Click here to link to the Coastal Conservation League’s website where you can write a letter using the talking points provided or craft a letter of your own about the need to reform South Carolina’s outdated annexation laws. Our current laws promote unplanned development, allow local countywide land use plans to be undermined , and ultimately place an undue burden on taxpayers.

Contact: Patty Pierce and Patrick Moore


The "Un"Fair Share Water Bill {action item}

Senators worked this week to build consensus on an amendment to S.452 that would use the Department of Natural Resource’s seasonally variable flows as the minimum instream flow for the state’s rivers and streams. Although they were close to an agreement, senators were unable to reach consensus in time for Tuesday’s Agriculture and Natural Resources subcommittee meeting, so members voted to carry the bill over. The subcommittee will meet again on Tuesday, April 21st at 9:00 a.m. Please take a moment to write subcommittee members in support of the proposed amendment that establishes a seasonally variable minimum instream flow.

In its current form, S.452 by Senator Paul Campbell, places future industries’ rights to water above the public’s right to water. Specifically, provisions that allocate the vast majority of water in the state’s rivers, lakes and streams to existing and future industries and allow them to be drawn down to near drought-level conditions must be changed.

S.452 is bad for the environment, bad for negotiations with neighboring states, and is at odds with the good Fair Share Water bill (S.275) introduced by Senator Wes Hayes. Please click here to urge subcommittee members to oppose S.452 as written and support amendments that will protect our rivers and streams and foster responsible economic development.

S.452 gives higher consideration to future industries than to the people who live here now.

S.452 establishes a one-size-fits-all minimum flow policy for the state that would allow rivers and streams to be drawn down to near drought level flows (20% MAF). Big business and industry believe that year-round drought level flows are “adequate” for the health of our rivers and for the public’s use.

As written, S.452 would exempt some of the state’s largest water consumers from the permitting process. The bill also creates a regulatory process that favors upstream users over downstream users. There are only a few users who aren’t downstream of others.

S.452 is bad for negotiations with Georgia and North Carolina: By adopting the “low flow” requirements noted above, South Carolina would be conceding that it needs nothing more than drought level flows, leaving everything else on the table for our neighbors to claim.

Contact: Heather Spires


Stop wasting SC! Ask House Agriculture Committee to give landfill moratorium a hearing! {action item}

The Senate has done its job and passed S.324, the joint resolution calling for a two-year moratorium on permits for landfills. Now it’s time for the House to demonstrate leadership on the issue. The House is returning from a two-week break on Tuesday, and the landfill moratorium is not on a subcommittee agenda. Write members of the House Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs Committee and encourage them to give this joint resolution a hearing. S.324 has to make it through the House by May in order for it to take effect this year.

Landfill Facts:

• In 2007, South Carolinians produced 4.6 million tons of solid waste destined for S.C. landfills.
• There are 18 fully operational Class III (municipal solid waste) landfills in South Carolina, with a 19th nearly permitted.
• The permitted annual capacity of these 18 landfills is 9.9 million tons, and an additional net 3.5 million tons of capacity could be added if the proposed Williamsburg and Marlboro County double its needed capacity, and could soon have more than three times its needed capacity. landfills were built. This means the State already has more than
• In 2007, 28% of all municipal solid waste landfilled in South Carolina was imported from out of state. This amount has increased steadily as statewide capacity has increased over time. This is a clear market signal that South Carolina has far more capacity than it currently needs.
• The SCDHEC Board recognized in August, 2008 that the state’s Determination of Need Regulation (61-107.17) is not fulfilling the intent of Title 44. The Board also recognized that the DON changes proposed this legislative session do not adequately address the problems. Therefore, the Board directed DHEC staff to set up a Statewide Landfill Capacity Taskforce to review the capacity issues generated by the regulation. This taskforce is directed to report findings by August 2009.

Contact: Heather Spires


Energy Efficiency for Residential Construction

Senator Glenn F. McConnell and Robert Ford introduced S.719, a great compromise building codes reform bill that is supported by a diverse group of conservation, business, builder, realtor, mortgage lender, and energy efficiency advocates. The bill has been referred to the Senate Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee for its review. While the conservation community hoped to not only remove the outdated energy building standards from the code and insert an automatic update to the most up-to-date energy efficiency standards that are adopted by the SC Building Codes Council every three years, we are elated to have reached a compromise with all of the stakeholders to remove the outdated language and to establish the 2006 International Energy Efficiency Code this year. This simple change will go a long way to make our State’s residential construction and renovations save energy and electricity!

Contact: Patty Pierce and Ben Moore


Building Codes Reform Moves Forward {action item}

H.3550 by Representative Cato and others is moving forward. The companion bill to S.719, by Senators McConnell and Ford, was approved by a House Labor Commerce and Industry Subcommittee several weeks ago, and next week the full LCI Committee will consider the bill and the compromise reached among stakeholders. We anticipate the Committee will act favorably on the bill, but just in case you have not written your legislators and members of the Committee, click here and do so now. We need all the support we can garner to ensure this great energy efficiency bill will be approved this year.

Contact: Patty Pierce and Ben Moore

Senate Considers Budget, Conservation Bank This Week {action item}

The Senate will consider the Finance Committee's budget next week. The Committee has included operational funding for the Conservation Bank in its budget. The Senate must approve this operational funding if the Bank is to remain in existence. The Conservation Bank has produced $6 in land value for every $1 it has received and has protected more than 152,000 acres at a price of $534 per acre in South Carolina. Please write and call your Senators and ask them to support funding for the Bank and its administrative costs.

Contact: Patrick Moore