DHEC officials grilled on ports

COLUMBIA -- South Carolina environmental oversight officials testified Tuesday that they were not influenced by Gov. Nikki Haley or economic consequences when they made the much-maligned decision to lift a barrier toward Savannah port development.

Questions raised during the seven-hour Senate hearing revealed that none of the six members of the Department of Health and Environmental Control board would vote differently today than they did on Nov. 10.

In that unanimous decision, the board granted a water permit that allows Georgia to dredge the Savannah River to prepare for 2014, when more large ships needing deeper ports will begin coming through a widened Panama Canal.

The agency staff originally had denied the permit in a late September decision, citing environmental concerns.

Sen. Joel Lourie, D-Columbia, said the decision is the most significant the board will make for decades to come. The stakes are high for several reasons. The Savannah port dredging would dramatically alter the harbor depth and potentially threaten the environment.

Some in South Carolina also fear that the dredging will make the Charleston port less competitive, and serve as a death knell for a planned Jasper County port.

The ports are a competitive business in a race for limited federal cash and which location can gain an edge to lure commerce.

If Georgia develops the Savannah port before South Carolina can develop the port in Charleston or Jasper, the Palmetto State could be at disadvantage.

Tuesday's hearing is not the end of the matter. The senators will request four of Haley's top staff members, including Chief of Staff Tim Pearson and legal counsel Swati Patel, to voluntarily testify.

Haley spokesman Rob Godfrey said late Tuesday that the governor will not have her staff testify.

"To do so is entirely unnecessary given the testimony that already exists and because it would create a bad precedent for this or any other governor to have his or her staff hauled up to testify any time the Legislature disagrees with a decision," Godfrey said in a statement.

Godfrey said the governor has answered every question the press asked of her on the situation and offered to speak directly to any senator about it.

Haley also was asked to attend the hearing, but she declined due to concerns about the state's separation-of-powers protections.

The Senate panel is expected to meet again to vote whether to subpoena Haley's staff.

Sen. Mike Fair, R-Greenville, said he won't vote to compel Haley or her staff to testify, especially after a day full of testimony did not turn up any evidence that the governor or her staff acted inappropriately.

"There is no smoking gun, fellas," he told the senators on the Medical Affairs Committee which, under Senate rules, has jurisdiction over the DHEC.

The senators grilled Allen Amsler, the board's chairman, for two hours, specifically challenging him on several fronts. They include concerns that the board:

Amsler maintained that Georgia met all of the state's requirements to receive the permit. He also said, in response to a series of questions, that the decision did not factor in the state's economic issues or the development of the Charleston and Jasper ports. DHEC's role is to evaluate environmental issues, Amsler said.

It is uncertain whether Georgia could have gone forward with plans to dredge the Savannah River without South Carolina's permission. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has claimed it had the power to do so without South Carolina's blessing, but some senators speculated that that could have been a bluff.

Amsler's testimony led that of the five other board members. Each swore under oath that they were not influenced or pressured by Haley or her staff to give Georgia the permit. Six DHEC staff officials also were called to testify.

"To be clear: ... All we were asked to do was look at this issue," Amsler said.

The Senate hearing was called after allegations were lobbed at the governor for her possible involvement in the decision. Critics pointed toward an Oct. 28 fundraiser Haley held in Atlanta, where she raised $15,000.

Haley has said she asked Amsler to give Georgia a hearing on the matter at the request of Georgia Gov. Nathan Neal, but she said her involvement ended there. Haley appoints the DHEC board.

Besides the Senate inquiry, the permit also is expected to be the subject of a court case. Environmentalists have vowed to appeal the DHEC decision to the Administrative Law Court.

Reach Yvonne Wenger at 803-926-7855, follow her on Twitter at @yvonnewenger and read her Political Briefings blog.

"Forgive me for being a little demanding of the board and you as the chairman."

Sen. Joel Lourie, D-Columbia, said to Allen Amsler, chairman of the state Department of Health and Environmental Control. Amsler raised Lourie�s ire by referring most of the scientific questions to the agency�s staff

"Our charge was nothing to do with politics. It was nothing to do with the economics in Charleston or in Jasper or, for that matter, in Savannah. We had an obligation to a customer who was requesting a permit. We had an obligation to the state of South Carolina to preserve our resources. So if you're insinuating that we ignore the fact that they met the requirements of the permit and move in the other direction, I don't think that's correct."

Amsler said to Lourie during his two hours of testimony

"I cannot understand and I am perplexed and frankly angered by the fact that this decision was made."

Sen. John Courson, R-Columbia

"Every member of the DHEC board testified under oath today that neither the governor nor any member of her staff influenced the decision in any way. The governor has previously stated the same, taken every question from the news media and offered to speak directly with any senator about this topic."

Haley spokesman Rob Godfrey

"This is astronomically bad for us."

Sen. Tom Davis, R-Beaufort

"There is no smoking gun, fellas."

Sen. Mike Fair, R-Greenville

"To me it seems that the economic benefits all reside on the Georgia side of the river, and the environmental adverse consequences all reside on the South Carolina side of the river."

Sen. Brad Hutto, D-Orangeburg

"Our primary role is to protect the resources of the state and the health and wellbeing of the citizens, so benchmarks were set."

DHEC board member Mark Lutz of Mount Pleasant

"I hope for the sake of our economy and the environment there is. But we don't know yet. People are searching. I was hoping they could back it up, but the body language of the board today that I saw today (suggests they won't). In my 30 years in the Senate, I think this is the most important issue that we've had to deal with when it comes to the economy and the environment."

Sen. Harvey Peeler said of whether DHEC or the Legislature has the ability to reverse the board�s decision to grant the permit. Peeler is a Gaffney Republican who is Senate majority leader and chairman of the Senate Medical Affairs Committee

"We have been told for so long -- I know I have been on this board for almost 10 years -- that it would be very, very difficult if not impossible for Georgia to get a permit from DHEC. I don't understand the haste."