Monday, June 8, 2015
Folks,
The news of the week is that the S.C. Legislature has adjourned, abiding (perhaps unintentionally) by the principle “First, do no harm.” (This mandate, incidentally, originates from the Hippocratic school of philosophy, but is not part of the Hippocratic Oath.)
In fact, the 2015 legislative session produced almost nothing. In the case of transportation funding (and a variety of anti-environment measures), this was a good thing. Both the House and the Senate had persistently refused…
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
Coastal leaders should follow IOP’s lead on plastic bags
BY KATIE ZIMMERMAN
Jun 2 2015 12:01 am
Last week, the City of Isle of Palms unanimously passed first reading of an ordinance to prohibit single-use plastic bags by business establishments within the municipality’s boundaries. The ordinance is an excellent first step…
Sunday, May 31, 2015
Folks,
If you aren’t confused by what is going on with Captain Sams (no apostrophe) Spit, then you haven’t been paying attention.
The latest news flash on the proposal to develop the sand bar on the western end of Kiawah Island is that the state has issued a permit for a sea wall. It is essentially like the one the Kiawah developers applied for some years ago. The first permit request was blocked by an SC…
Thursday, May 28, 2015
The tides rise and fall, continually eroding and accreting Captain Sam’s Spit.
Similarly, state courts’ and permitting authorities’ opinions have swung back and forth, alternately eroding and building people’s h
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
State regulators have approved a new permit that would allow development of Captain Sam’s Spit. The move came a little more than five months after the state Supreme Court ruled against granting an earlier permit.
Environmental opponents characterized the move by Charlotte-based Kiawah Partners as trying to find a loophole around the court decision, and have appealed the staff decision to the Department of Health and Environmental Control board, likely setting…
Monday, May 25, 2015
I suspect many of you have been sitting by the computer this Memorial Day thinking, “I hope I will receive an update from Dana.” Actually, I hope you are outside enjoying this magnificent weekend and don’t see this until Tuesday.
After a three week hiatus from me, I can say that things have not changed much in the transportation arena. The Legislature is still considering passing a massive tax…
Thursday, May 14, 2015
WASHINGTON, DC — Coastal Conservation League Director Dana Beach will be honored along with H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco and U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry, among others, at the 2015 Peter Benchley Ocean Awards ceremony tonight at the Carnegie Institution for Science at 1530 P St., NW, Washington, DC. The world’s preeminent ocean honors are named after the late author of Jaws and lifelong marine conservationist…
Thursday, April 30, 2015
CHARLESTON, SC – After the Coastal Conservation League and the Southern Environmental Law Center disclosed arsenic pollution and the dumping of low-level radioactive waste at the site, Duke Energy today announced it would clean up its coal ash stored beside Lake Robinson in Darlington County, South Carolina. For months, the groups urged Duke Energy to excavate its polluting ash from unlined pits to dry, lined, storage away from the lake. With this announcement, all South Carolina…
Sunday, April 19, 2015
This week’s theme is edges. The first article, by Sammy Fretwell with The State, describes the threat to the edge of the Francis Beidler Audubon Sanctuary at Four Hole Swamp from the expansion of a solid waste landfill. Waste Management received a permit to fill 14 acres of wetlands in the Four Hole drainage to increase the capacity of their facility. The law regarding wetland fill establishes an extremely high standard for…
Thursday, April 16, 2015
Recognizing the need for transit alternatives (like Bus Rapid Transit, Light Rail, or Commuter Rail) along the I-26 Corridor between Summerville and Charleston, the Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments (BCDCOG) initiated the I-26 Regional Fixed Guideway Transit Alternatives Analysis study (I-26ALT). The purpose of I-26ALT is to enhance regional mobility with transit along the I-26 Corridor between Summerville and Charleston – providing people with an alternative to sitting alone in their car in gridlock on…