Grand Strand lawmakers have asked a state auditor to investigate whether the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control effectively prosecutes polluters and whether the agency should do more to notify people whose properties might be affected by contamination.

“We’re particularly concerned about the accountability of DHEC to local governments and affected citizens,” said state Rep. Alan Clemmons, R-Myrtle Beach. “If contamination flows onto your property, how accountable is DHEC in informing you of the impact.”

Clemmons and six other legislators sent a letter Friday requesting the audit to the state’s Legislative Audit Council.

The legislators’ request was prompted by concerns over groundwater contamination in a 10-block neighborhood north of electronics manufacturer AVX Corp.’s headquarters on 17th Avenue South in Myrtle Beach.

AVX secretly dumped high levels of trichloroethylene, a degreaser that has been linked with cancer, into the groundwater at its headquarters for decades before informing DHEC of the contamination in 1995.

DHEC learned in 2006 that the contamination had spread to groundwater in the neighborhood adjacent to AVX. However, the agency did not tell residents or Myrtle Beach officials about the problem until the issue was brought to light by reports in The Sun News beginning in November.

“The biggest question is whether DHEC is being accountable not only to the folks in Horry County but also to residents in other places where this type of thing has occurred,” said state Sen. Luke Rankin, R-Myrtle Beach.

“Do we as legislators need to do more so they have the tools to properly investigate and prosecute these cases in a timely manner?” Rankin said.

George Schroeder, the audit council’s director, said the council will meet late this month or in early March to discuss the request.

“When we start an audit, we usually spend some time talking to those who requested it to find out specifically what they want us to look at,” Schroeder said. “After that, our work is done in a confidential manner until the final report is issued.”

DHEC spokesman Thom Berry said the agency “would welcome and fully cooperate with an audit of our activities.”

Schroeder said he has no estimate for how long a DHEC audit might take.

The legislators asked for the audit “as soon as possible in an effort to assuage concerns [and] provide the General Assembly with guidance as to what legislative remedies, if any, need to be addressed this session.”

The General Assembly’s current session ends in June.

“The audit would be twofold,” Clemmons said. “First, to see if DHEC has complied with all of their statutory requirements. And second, we want recommendations on how to fill the gaps if there are areas where the statute falls short.”

The Legislative Audit Council conducts independent performance audits of state agencies to judge their efficiency and effectiveness. Audits can take from two to eight months, and a report outlining the findings is released when the review is completed.

DHEC’s most recent legislative audit was last year, when the council reviewed the agency’s process for issuing water quality permits and certifications. That audit identified several shortfalls, inconsistencies and the potential for conflicts of interest.

Prior to last year, DHEC last was audited in 1996, according to the council’s Web site.

Environmental tests of groundwater in the neighborhood near AVX show TCE levels of up to 19,200 parts per billion.

The Environmental Protection Agency says five parts per billion is the maximum safe level. A part per billion is a measurement equal to one penny in $10 million or one minute in 1,900 years.

The contamination is not in the city’s drinking water, and DHEC still is conducting tests to see whether TCE vapors are seeping through soil in the neighborhood. Such vapors could pose a health risk to residents.

Several property owners near the AVX facility are suing the manufacturer, claiming the contamination has made their land worthless. Those owners want AVX to pay them the fair-market value for their property as if the contamination did not exist.

No court dates have been set.

ONLINE

To read more of The Sun News’ series about contamination at AVX Corp., visit MyrtleBeachOnline.com and click “TCE Contamination” under the “Special Sections” tab.

Who signed

The state legislators who signed a letter requesting a performance audit of the state’s Department of Health and Environmental Control:

Sen. Luke Rankin, R-Myrtle Beach

Sen. Ray Cleary, R-Murrells Inlet

Sen. Yancey McGill, D-Kingstree

Sen. Dick Elliott, D-North Myrtle Beach

Rep. Alan Clemmons, R-Myrtle Beach

Rep. Tracy Edge, R-North Myrtle Beach

Rep. Thad Viers, R-Myrtle Beach

By David Wren

The Sun News

2/2/2008

Contact DAVID WREN at 626-0281

dwren@thesunnews.com.

Sen. Cleary hopes people visiting the website will use it to share their thoughts and ideas about legislation with him. “I’m always looking for input from my constituents. I never forget the primary function of my position is to serve the people living in my district” said Sen. Cleary. “I want this website to be another way for people to connect with me.”

The blog on the website features regularly updated videos on YouTube. Cleary uses the videos to talk candidly about the hot issues being debated in the Senate. His first series of videos, which were filmed this week, tackle tough issues like illegal immigration and various cigarette tax proposals. “Every voter deserves to know where I stand on these critical issues. I’m glad technology is finally affording me this opportunity to share my stance with anyone who wants to find out” said Cleary.

About 200 people attended and listened for almost two hours as most of the county’s delegation spoke on issues they expect to be topics of legislation in the coming session and answered questions posed by chamber members.

Lawmakers were asked if they think they can get $10 million - or more - in the state budget again for tourism promotion, and if it could be a permanent allocation rather than one that has to be considered each year.

Rep. Alan Clemmons, R-Myrtle Beach, said more accommodations tax money was collected from Horry County last summer than ever before, and he believes it is related to the stepped-up tourism promotion.

That will help make a good case for permanent funding because increased revenue helps the whole state, Clemmons said.

How to get permanent funding for I-73 in the budget is another problem. A House-passed plan to do so failed last session because Sen. Hugh Leatherman, R-Florence, opposed it. Sen. Luke Rankin, R-Myrtle Beach, said Leatherman supports I-73 but did not think it was the right time to spend state money on it.

Rep. Nelson Hardwick said the issue is one reason he works on developing relationships with legislators from other parts of the state.

“They enjoy divvying up our money,” he said. So he works on trying to persuade them to help Horry County make more money, such as with an interstate highway.

Rep. Thad Viers, R-Myrtle Beach, also said it’s important to keep pressing the argument that I-73 is needed “from the state’s perspective,” and that it isn’t just to help Myrtle Beach bring in more tourists.

Clemmons commended the chamber members for lobbying other legislators about the area’s needs, especially with the annual reception for lawmakers held in the capital during the legislative session.

“You have made so much difference in how the Grand Strand is perceived in the General Assembly,” Clemmons said. Most of the delegation said they expect some action will be taken on immigration this year. More than a dozen bills on the subject were filed last year, many of them by Viers, and more will be filed this year.

“We just can’t continue to let things go on and on and on,” said Rep. Billy Witherspoon, R-Conway.

“Something’s going to happen,” but legislators will make sure it is fair to employers, Viers said.

Rankin said the state cannot allow local governments to pass their own immigration ordinances. The chamber and most other business groups do not want local governments to be able to regulate immigration, or to investigate employers.

On tax reform, Clemmons said there will be attempts to adjust the swap of sales tax for school operating taxes on owner-occupied homes. One result has been higher taxes for second homes, which affects investing and the real estate industry, he said.

Sen. Ray Cleary, R-Murrells Inlet, said economists predict a slowdown early in the year and local legislators will first have to make sure they hold onto local allocations before trying for additional money.

Lawmakers discuss taxes, I-73
By Zane Wilson - The Sun News  - Nov 29, 2007

It was clear to me that in order to have any positive impact on the residents of this District, I would have to understand how “the system” works to make it work for us. Even before I was officially sworn into office as your State Senator, I began listening carefully - and studying how best to accomplish my objectives in Columbia.

There are many fine men and women serving in the legislature - each with an eye on what is best for his or her constituents and for the entire state. I work overtime to understand their vision and their needs so that I can find ways in which to apply the principles of compromise to maximize our mutual goals. In that process, however, I understand that you elected me to serve you by believing in my vision and my ability to get the job done - but never to compromise the principles that are at the foundation of my political philosophy: That less government is better than more government; that lower taxes are better than higher taxes; and that State government should only invest in those things which cannot better be accomplished by individuals and businesses.”

From broadband Internet access to government taking of property, some local lawmakers are busy with issues in committee meetings even though the legislative session doesn’t start until Jan. 7.

The legislative sessions meet January to June on a two-year cycle. This year’s session was the first of the two-year cycle, so bills that were not passed are still alive until next year’s session ends.

Public hearings on immigation and spending caps, both of which are likely to be hotly debated in the next session, were held in several locations across the state, though not in Horry or Georgetown counties.

Sen. Luke Rankin, R-Myrtle Beach, is on a panel that is studying a proposal to bring broadband Internet service to areas that aren’t currently served.

No other state has attempted such service in the way that South Carolina is looking to do it, Rankin said. The possibility is open with a spectrum that S.C. Educational Television has owned for many years, but has not used.

If the public TV-radio organization does not use it, it must give up the spectrum in 2011, so lawmakers are looking at ways to use it, Rankin said.

“It’s a great opportunity to leverage a state asset, which is this spectrum, and create a first-ever in the country rollout, bringing broadband to areas where it is not available right now,” he said. “From the rural standpoint, it’s an opportunity to catch them up.”

The plan includes providing the service with a public-private partnership, possibly by leasing the spectrum, but among the unresolved issues are how to balance the private sector’s interests.

Commercial providers don’t want free broadband offered to areas they already serve or could serve, Rankin said.

He said the committee is working with a House bill and hopes to have something ready for passage this year, so it can be in place before S.C. ETV has to give up the spectrum.

In the meantime, Sen. Ray Cleary, R-Murrells Inlet, has been working on a judicial selection study committee that is considering whether to change the way judges are chosen and another panel that is looking at criminal justice issues.

Legislators elect judges after they are screened and nominated by the Judicial Merit Selection Commission. The commission includes House and Senate members as well as some from the private sector.

The study committee is also looking at how to increase the number of black judges and any other improvements that can be made to the process, Cleary said.

He said what he has heard so far has not persuaded him that judges should be elected by voters in general elections. He said he fears the influence of large donors in the races.

It isn’t the same as electing lawmakers - when one or two of lesser quality can’t have enough influence to wreak havoc - but a lower-quality judge can affect people’s lives, Cleary said.

As for the calls for more black judges, he said one issue is that only 8.5 percent of lawyers are black, far lower than their proportion in the general population, which was 29.5 percent in the 2000 census.

The criminal justice panel is considering laws that would expand the DNA database, aimed at solving crimes sooner, and adding to the list of officers who are allowed to check on prisoners who are on parole or probation.

Only probation and parole officers are allowed to check on them, Cleary said, and the committee is reviewing a bill that would allow any police officer to monitor the location and activities of people who are on parole or probation.

Cleary, a dentist, was also assigned to a committee studying limits on certain types of medical malpractice liability, but he could not attend Wednesday’s meeting because he had a patient with a longstanding appointment, he said.

“That’s the only one I’ve missed,” he said. But he does not believe the bill will pass this year, he said.

Rep. Tracy Edge, R-North Myrtle Beach, was assigned to a House-Senate committee to study revisions in the law that allows government agencies to take private property for public use, with fair compensation that can be awarded by a jury.

Edge said he could not attend Wednesday’s committee meeting but was not sure what the panel could accomplish. Lawmakers are trying to resolve a bill that limits agencies’ ability to condemn private property for public use.

Most of the bill’s provisions are agreed on by everyone, and something is likely to pass in the upcoming session, Edge said.
Contact ZANE WILSON at 357-9188 or zwilson@thesunnews.com.

A native of Italy, Tempest served in U.S. Army Intelligence because he was fluent in German and French - which led to unusual assignments after landing in Normandy on D-Day.

He got his start as an artist in Myrtle Beach, then went on to be recognized for his work in Europe and the U.S. His paintings hang in permanent collections here and in the Vatican.

Murrells Inlet American Legion Post 178 will host a veterans’ ceremony at 11 a.m. today. The event includes guest speaker state Sen. Ray Cleary and members of Rolling Thunder. Donations are appreciated for a post-ceremony picnic. For more information, call 651-8784.

Georgetown’s annual Veterans Day Parade begins 10 a.m. today at East Bay Park. Chairman Richard Hathaway, Commander of Georgetown VFW Post 6444 wants to recognize not only veterans of past wars, but also our military veterans of the Iraq War.

Parade participants will assemble at East Bay Park at 9:30 a.m. to march as a unit or ride in personal vehicles up Front Street to King Street. Participants are responsible for their own banners, flags and signs.

Local merchants and residents are asked to display flags and banners through the weekend.

For more information, contact Commander Richard Hathaway at 546-0529 or Paige Sawyer at 546-3745.