Here’s the latest political update from the Coastal Conservation League. The Conservation Bank will likely face a hard road for funding next year as well. I did not include some of the energy efficiency bills slowly making progress. The Coastal Zone Management and Automatic Stay votes appear to have larger ramifications than some politicians realize.
Conservation Bank’s Base Funding Approved by the Budget Conference Committee
This week the six-member Budget Conference Committee completed its negotiations on the FY 2008 – 09 Budget, and most importantly the proviso that will ensure the Conservation Bank maintains its base funding this year was approved by the Committee! Thank You to all of you who took the time to write your legislators urging them to support this proviso.Legislators Question Validity of Coastal Zone Management Program
On Tuesday, the House Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs Committee, chaired by Representative Billy Witherspoon (R-Horry) approved H. 5029, a Concurrent Resolution by Representatives Billy Witherspoon (R-Horry) and Dwight Loftis (R- Greenville) that requests the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control (SC DHEC) promulgate the policies of the SC Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) in regulation. Developers and business-interested parties challenged the validity of the Coastal Zone Management Program, which was approved by both the General Assembly and the Governor nearly 30 years ago. The conservation community opposes the Resolution because it will direct the SC DHEC to rewrite the CZMP and we anticipate that the new regulations could be weaker in their protections of our natural resources in the coastal zone. We expect this resolution to be debated by the House as early as next Tuesday afternoon.
House Agrees To Weaken Automatic Stay
Late Thursday afternoon the House voted 84-20 to approve the harmful Senate amendments to H. 4328, a bill by Representative Jim Harrison (R-Richland). The conservation community opposed concurrence with the Senate amendments because H.4328 weakens the Administrative Law Court’s automatic stay provision. Essentially, permit holders could begin construction on projects before environmental permit challenges have been resolved in court. If H.4328 is approved by the Governor (the next step), then businesses could request that a “stay” be lifted and a hearing on the matter held within three days—including Saturday and Sunday–providing citizen groups and their legal representation only two days to prepare a case to defend why construction should not begin prior to resolving all permit appeals. In addition, if a permit is given for any portion of a project, then no other related permits can be stayed. The conservation community opposes H.4328 as approved by the General Assembly because the bill places a greater burden on the public to defend why projects should not begin even before challenges of the entire permit are presented and decided in court. The conservation community is urging the Governor to examine this bill closely and to consider the enormous negative ramifications it could have on South Carolina’s natural resources and the greater burden citizens will bear if H.4328 were to become law.
