Posted on Sat, Jan. 20, 2007

email this

print this

reprint or license this

Lake Marion bridge hits ‘huge’ roadblock

DHEC denies crucial permit for $150 million project

By SAMMY FRETWELL

sfretwell@thestate.com

A $150 million Lake Marion bridge project, pushed by U.S. House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, has suffered a major setback that threatens to stop the disputed structure.

The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control has denied a key water-quality permit to build the bridge between Lone Star and Rimini.

Without the permit, the state Department of Transportation cannot begin construction on the bridge and approach roads.

“It’s a significant decision because they can’t proceed,’’ DHEC spokesman Thom Berry said.

The decision is the latest blow for the project. Conservation groups sued in federal court in September, saying the bridge would take too great a toll on the environment.

It was unclear Friday how the DOT would respond.

The agency could appeal the decision in the next two weeks, but that could tie up the issue in court for months. The agency could submit new requests for water-quality certification and wetlands-destruction permits, which could take a year.

DOT Commission Chairman Tee Hooper said he’s not inclined to appeal the permit decision because he says the bridge isn’t needed.

The bridge “is an extremely low priority,’’ Hooper said.

“My gut feeling is we would let it stand,’’ Hooper said of the permit decision. “We have very limited funds. To be spending money on that bridge, with all the environmental questions, does not seem to make sense.’’

Commissioner Hugh Atkins agreed the agency should not appeal.

Acting agency director Tony Chapman, who has the authority to appeal, has not decided what to do, said DOT spokesman Pete Poore.

DHEC based its decision to reject the permit on a lack of information from the Transportation Department.

According to plans, the 3-mile-long Lake Marion bridge would connect the tiny communities of Lone Star and Rimini in a sparsely populated area 45 miles southeast of Columbia.

The bridge would cross the lake near the Upper Santee Swamp, a thicket of wetlands and wandering creeks adjacent to Congaree National Park. The Upper Santee Swamp is a wildlife-rich area and one of the last places in South Carolina with sightings of ivory-billed woodpeckers more than 60 years ago.

Clyburn contends the bridge is part of his plan to bring development to one of South Carolina’s poorest regions, while also moving traffic. Citing a detailed DOT environmental study, Clyburn said the bridge will have little effect on the surrounding environment.

On Friday, he downplayed the effect of the DHEC decision.

“This is part of the process every road and bridge project must undergo before it receives approval,” Clyburn said in a statement. “We must wait for it to play out in all of these government jurisdictions before any declaration can be made on the connector’s future.”

DHEC could not certify that water quality would be protected without more information from the Transportation Department, Berry said.

One hang-up was DOT’s failure to provide a proper “mitigation package,’’ Berry said. This is the agency’s plan to offset effects the bridge and approach roads would have on about 15 acres of wetlands.

Information was so lacking that DHEC staffers urged Transportation officials to withdraw their request. The environmental agency said it had to make a decision because of an early February deadline.

DHEC’s decision prevents the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from issuing a wetlands permit for the bridge. Hundreds of people wrote letters to the corps opposing the project last year.

Attorneys for the Southern Environmental Law Center said the permit denial is a major victory for conservation.

“We hope the DOT will be wise enough to accept this decision,’’ said center attorney David Farren. “This is a huge blow for this project.’’

The decision comes at a time of increasing scrutiny of the Department of Transportation. Hooper’s agency has been under fire for its road-building priorities, including the Lake Marion bridge. Legislators are debating whether to restructure the agency.

Reach Fretwell at (803) 771-8537.