"Leave It To DHEC" Not Good Enough
The consensus on Horry County Council seems to be that S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control oversight can deter local miners from polluting swamps and waterways and from committing other environmental depredations. If that were so, why have local miners and contractors racked up scores of mining violations in recent years? Why do so many local miners believe it to be a small thing if sediment and chemicals from their mines flow into swamps and waterways, stifling plant and animal life?As a report Sunday in The Sun News makes clear, DHEC inspectors are spread too thin to adequately monitor the plethora of sand, clay, coquina, limestone and topsoil mines that have sprung up in Horry County, thanks to the ongoing boom in road and housing construction. Moreover, state water-quality rules are so vague that some violations would go undeterred, even if the agency had more inspectors.
Yet today, the council will consider new mining regulations that, among other steps, would leave water monitoring to DHEC. If this part of the new regulations remains intact, the county effectively would wink and nod at the local miners who view environmental regulation as a nuisance - a small part of the cost of doing business. More pollution horror stories would ensue.True, the county will be getting deeper into water-quality monitoring over the next five years. As well, the county will try to cover some of the gaps in the DHEC water-monitoring effort during that period - such as overseeing stormwater runoff and ensuring closed mines don't discharge more water than they discharged before the digging began.County Stormwater Director Tom Garigen says the county might even have its own water-testing lab at some point. This is all part of the county's effort to comply with federal regulations that require local governments in populous areas to monitor water pollution from all point sources, including mines.
This is good as far as it goes, but not good enough. During the next five years, as demand for construction aggregates increases, more mines will open across the county-creating more opportunities for the pollution of swamps and waterways.
County Council Chairwoman Liz Gilland is right: The county needs to get into the water-monitoring business now. As she says, leaving it to DHEC to protect local residents and neighborhoods from mining-generated water pollution as the boom continues "is like saying we are not giving any speeding tickets because the Highway Patrol handles that."The hope must be that her fellow council members care enough about environmental quality - and about the well-being of those who live near mines - to set aside their leave-it-to-DHEC attitude. Leaving it to DHEC could jeopardize the fragile environmental treasures that make the county such a desirable place to live. An outbreak of environmental responsibility on the council this week would be timely and welcome.