State agencies drop the ball on collaboration

FOUR YEARS AFTER a state agency was asked to pass on inspecting a suspect site for possible environmental contamination, it still has not been checked.

Not only did the Transportation Department fail to inspect the site — belonging to Safety-Kleen, which has had numerous past pollution problems — it did not report the problem to the Department of Health and Environmental Control. That’s an indefensible lapse in protecting the public.

The Transportation Department was doing preliminary work on property that would be utilized by a new bridge over U.S. 601 near Lake Marion. The department asked to check the soil in an area belonging to Safety-Kleen, a company that disposes of hazardous waste. Safety-Kleen’s lawyers made it clear that the company feared DHEC investigation. Not only did the Transportation Department back off, but it also neglected to report what seems a likely violation to DHEC.

Neighbors are understandably concerned. “They should have investigated to know whether the water is safe,” said longtime resident Mary Cantey, 77. Yes, they should have, and the fact that Transportation is a separate agency from DHEC strikes no one who’s been drinking the local water as a valid excuse.

If you’ve just arrived in South Carolina, you might wonder why two state agencies failed to work together in the public interest. But in the Palmetto State, many state agencies operate as separate fiefdoms. Cooperation is a perennial problem, and this is reflected down from the structure at the top. Agencies tend to be most attuned to the views of legislators who sit on relevant committees; neither agency has a leader appointed directly by the governor. The Transportation Department especially has operated as a separate entity from most of state government.

Transportation officials say it’s not unusual for them to back off on an investigation request that early in the process. Beyond the public health concern that was ignored here, there seems to be another risk: to taxpayer dollars. If work on a highway moves ahead, it could be considerably later in the process when an expensive problem is found, running up the project cost drastically. Better to find out earlier, when it is easier and less expensive to change plans if necessary.

Transportation Department officials say the law puts them in a bind: They can’t investigate if they don’t own the property, but once the state owns the property, it owns the problem. South Carolina law needs to be changed to allow the department to conduct soil tests earlier in the process, as highway departments in other states can. That authority would better protect taxpayers and local residents.

More importantly, mind-sets need to be changed, at the Transportation Department and elsewhere. There seems to be not enough fear of being held accountable for not protecting the public. The best, most obvious solution for this: Have the agency heads report directly to the person the public thinks is running all state agencies — the governor.

The problem down by Lake Marion will not, we hope, turn out to be a major one. The one in our state agencies, we know too well, continues to be.