The governor's hesitation to sign a tax-credit bill for the ailing Georgetown Steel mill is fueling the ongoing fears about the fate of the plant.

"This is a major deal for Georgetown County, a major deal," said state Rep. Vida Miller, D-Pawleys Island. "I'm very concerned."

Gov. Mark Sanford has not decided whether he will sign the bill, said Will Folks, his spokesman.

"He's definitely looking at it and considering the bill on its merits," Folks said.

The credits are worth $4,500 for every job saved, for five years, up to a maximum of 50 percent of corporate income taxes owed.

If the plant had gone bankrupt and closed, a new owner would automatically be eligible for the credits, but it continued to operate.

A bill passed on the last day of the legislative session gives the new owner, Midcoast Industries, the same tax break as if it reopened the plant after it shut down.

Folks said the governor has until January to act on the bill.

Miller said supporters are aware Sanford does not have to decide until January, but his failure to immediately approve the bill is creating worry in the community.

"The whole county depends on this mill," Miller said. "I think it's a real slap in the face to Georgetown to do that."

Miller said Sanford's legislative staff told her the governor objects to a bill designed to affect one industry, though it could apply to any other company in the same situation.

State Sen. Yancey McGill, D-Kingstree, who sponsored the bill at the steel mill's request, said he talked to Sanford's chief of staff Friday and tried to convince him of the urgency of signing the bill.

The governor needs to send a positive message to existing manufacturing by signing the bill now, McGill said.

"This is not a time for blinking," he said. "We cannot afford to send any negative messages."

County Attorney Jack Scoville said the governor's hesitation about the bill is adding to fears that the plant will shut down.

If that happened, "it's going to put us in a depression here locally," Scoville said.

"This gives [Georgetown Steel] another tool to make them more competitive," he said.

Steelworkers Union Local 7898 President James Sanderson said he is very worried. It would cost the state more than the credits to attract a new industry the size of the mill, he said.

"I'm just startled that he is reluctant to sign off on it," Sanderson said. "Something of this magnitude would fall under the category of economic development."

Mill officials could not be reached for comment. Georgetown Steel asked for the tax-credit bill and hired the state's top lobbyists to help usher it through.

Georgetown Industries, the mill's parent company, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February 2001. In July 2002, Midcoast Industries, headed by part-time Georgetown resident Daniel Thorne, bought the plant for $53 million.

The sale will not be complete until the bankruptcy case is finished. The tax credits could not be claimed until after the sale is complete.