Tag Archives: S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control
Commercial oyster farms that float in SC creeks need closer eye, lawmakers say
Two state senators are asking for more scrutiny on the permitting for caged oyster farms, a growing South Carolina industry that has attracted ire from some locals as they expand in coastal waterways. Sens. Chip Campsen and Sandy Senn, both Charleston Republicans, have asked two state agencies to do a better job of notifying neighbors when a business applies to grow oysters with floating cages. >click to read< 11:59
SC anti-drilling group calls on DHEC to pull back seismic permit approvals
Don’t allow three companies to conduct seismic blast testing offshore, an environmental group is telling state regulators. The South Carolina Environmental Law Project urged the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control to work with federal regulators to reconsider approvals given four years ago. The request, which is not binding, was sent Tuesday. It comes after DHEC in July rejected plans by WesternGeco, a Texas-based exploration company to conduct seismic testing offshore. It is one of six companies seeking federal permits. >click to read< 17:15
A week later, overturned F/V Miss Annie in Bluffton’s May River is still there. Here’s why
State officials said Friday they still didn’t know when the boat, which leaked an unknown amount of fuel into the river, would be removed. The boat, “Miss Annie,” overturned Sept. 15, when it was docked in the May to avoid Florence’s wrath. An official with the S.C. Department of Natural Resources and another with S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control visited the site that day. Crews from the U.S. Coast Guard didn’t arrive until Monday because the boat was “reported as stable” and all of their “assets were engaged in the hurricane response with the impacts in Myrtle Beach and Wilmington,” U.S. Coast Guard MSTC Clayton Rennie said Thursday morning. >click to read<10:00
County Council greenlights stricter rules for jellyfish companies
Beaufort County Council approved new rules designed to more strictly regulate local jellyfish operations Monday night. However, representatives of the only existing local jellyfish business and two council members worry the changes are too vague for the business to follow. Read the rest here 17:41
Cannonball jellyfish operation – Let science decide if business is good fit
You don’t have to like the idea of a cannonball jellyfish operation — or trust the people who would operate it — to admit their legal representative makes a valid point: A zoning change designed simply to throw another hurdle in front of an unpopular enterprise would be “an irrational, knee-jerk reaction.” Read the rest here 09:05
