Savannah dredging debacle

If ever there were a decision that needed to be reconsidered, it's the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control's approval of Georgia's plan to dredge the Savannah River. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be a possibility.

Sen. Larry Grooms, R-Bonneau, told us Tuesday, and a DHEC spokesman confirmed Wednesday, that the legal deadline for reconsideration passed last month.

Sen. Grooms said the matter will have to be resolved in the courts. He is a member of the Savannah River Maritime Commission, which has challenged the DHEC Board's decision.

Certainly the action has been nothing short of a debacle for DHEC's board and Gov. Nikki Haley, who interposed herself into the issue by supporting the request of the Georgia Port Authority for a rehearing. The proposal had previously been rejected by DHEC staff.

The DHEC Board considered Georgia's request, all right. At its meeting on Nov. 10, it spent an extended period of time listening to why DHEC staff decided to support Georgia officials and their plans to mitigate the project.

Too bad DHEC didn't give as much consideration to South Carolina's interests. In fact, the S.C. Department of Natural Resources and this state's Savannah River Maritime Commission weren't even consulted in the process.

The Georgia Port Authority sought the S.C. water quality permit to deepen 38 miles of the river to accommodate larger ships to the port of Savannah.

South Carolina port interests complain that the decision will put the port of Charleston at a competitive disadvantage. Environmentalists contend it will degrade the water quality of the Savannah River and damage wildlife habitat.

Gov. Haley has described her appointments to the DHEC Board as business-friendly people who want to make the permitting process easier and faster.

Efficiency is a worthy goal, but not at the expense of the environment, the protection of which is central to DHEC's mandate. Or is supposed to be.

Despite the controversy, the DHEC Board reaffirmed its support of the decision in testimony Tuesday before a Senate committee. So reconsideration of the permit approval might not have made a whit of difference, even it were possible.

The Savannah River Maritime Commission, however, has voted to declare DHEC's decision invalid, and is headed to court. Let's hope that hearing goes the state's way.

The state of South Carolina, that is.