But the former chairman of the state board for the Department of Health and Environmental Control contends the area is getting less attention under the existing agency framework than it did with the old Coastal Council. The state's Council on Coastal Futures should give close attention to the remarks of Brad Wyche. So should the governor and the Legislature.

Mr. Wyche recently urged the coastal futures panel to consider what the consolidation of the Coastal Council with the state Department of Health and Environmental Control has meant for the coast. The merger put the coastal program under DHEC, as the Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, and subsidiary to the larger agency.

"The coast is -- and will continue to be -- the most important ecological and economic resource of our state and thus should be the sole focus of a separate agency," Mr. Wyche said. "DHEC has too many other programs, mandates and responsibilities to give the coast the attention and protection it deserves."

Gov. Mark Sanford has called for the merger of state health and human services agencies into a single department within the governor's Cabinet. His plan would reduce administrative expenses and duplication among eight existing agencies.

DHEC's health component would certainly be included in the consolidation. But its environmental programs, including those overseen by OCRM, would be buried under such a merger.

Dana Beach, director of the South Carolina Coastal Conservation League and a member of the coastal futures panel, suggests that a state environmental agency, including the coastal program, could be created from the environmental component of DHEC. In any event, coastal issues should have a higher priority in a new environmental agency.

Mr. Wyche explained the necessity of improving coastal protections: "There is a perception among many that protecting our environment and natural resources hurts the economy. But study after study shows that we can have it both ways -- protecting the environment not only improves the quality of our resources and the health of our citizens, it helps the economy. This is especially true in a state where tourism is the number one industry."

Mr. Wyche made a number of additional suggestions worth the state's review. For instance, he says the state should lease submerged coastal lands upon which docks and marinas are built, and use the funds for coastal programs. He urges the Legislature to enact a law protecting isolated freshwater wetlands. And he recommends additional funding for the state Conservation Bank, which can provide permanent protections to important habitat and scenic land.

But his recommendation for a coastal agency deserves special consideration, in view of Mr. Wyche's previous role as the chairman of DHEC's board. The ongoing development of a government restructuring plan by Gov. Sanford makes the idea particularly timely.

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