PRESS RELEASE

South Carolina
Office of the Governor
David M. Beasley - Governor

For Immediate Release:

Contact: Gary Karr (803)734-9840
September 3, 1997

GOVERNOR ASKS CORPS OF ENGINEERS TO STOP FISH KILL


(Columbia) -- Governor David M. Beasley wants the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to halt the use of turbines on Richard B. Russell Lake that have led to the death of millions of fish.

The Governor wrote the Corps late Thursday, saying that testing of the pump storage turbines at the lake has led to severe damage to the fishery habitat, hurting recreational fishing.

"Over the life of the project, billions of fish will die and an extremely valuable recreational asset will be seriously damaged or even destroyed. We simply cannot and will not let this occur, and neither should you," Governor Beasley wrote in a letter to Col. Grant M. Smith of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is in charge of the turbine project.

Col. Smith's predecessor had promised that the turbines would not be operated unless they could be operated in an environmentally safe manner. "The test results have clearly established that this cannot be done," the Governor wrote.

The Governor said today he intends to work with the state Department of Natural Resources and South Carolina's congressional delegation to protect fishing at the lake, which is located on the state's border with Georgia.

"I want to protect a wonderful natural and recreational resource for South Carolina," the Governor said. "These turbines are turning what would have been prize catches into fish puree. I don't want to let that happen."

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