The preservation of the Confederate submarine Hunley already exceeds the $10 million originally envisioned and could cost as much as $100 million -- with most of that burden borne by taxpayers, according to an analysis by The (Columbia) State newspaper. But the actual price tag is not certain, and that's why state leaders should demand an independent audit.

The newspaper reported also that Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell has used his power to direct state money toward the project without public scrutiny and debate by elected officials.

McConnell's original estimate for preserving and promoting the Hunley was between $5 million to $10 million. Much of that money was supposed to come from private donors. A huge increase in the cost to taxpayers should prompt immediate attention from lawmakers.

Even if the cost of the Hunley turns out to be far less than $100 million, the lack of accountability for public money is cause for deepest concern. McConnell's ability to steer money to the project is "obviously outside the framework the state has provided for disbursement of public funds," said state Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom. Members of the Hunley Commission were unable to say how much the Hunley was costing.

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The Hunley sank on Feb. 17, 1864, after ramming a spar with a black powder charge into the Union blockade ship Housatonic off Charleston. The 40-foot, hand-cranked submarine was lost for more than a century after becoming the first submarine to sink a ship in warfare. It was located off Sullivan's Island in 1995, raised five years later and brought to a conservation lab.

About $17 million has been spent since 1998 on raising, excavating, preserving and promoting the Hunley, according to The State. The Associated Press reported that Clemson University has taken over the Hunley preservation lab with 90 full-time workers and a $5 million payroll. A proposed Hunley museum, meanwhile, would cost $42 million. About $3.5 million is being spent to buy a Civil War collection of 10,000 paintings, maps, books and other objects for the museum. Clemson, meanwhile, would spend $35 million on the first phase of a Hunley-centered campus in North Charleston, according to the State. A number of six-figure miscellaneous expenses are adding to the cost of the project as well.

The Hunley's preservation is certainly a worthwhile endeavor and deserves taxpayer support as an important part of this state's history. But the project should never have been allowed to escape the public scrutiny expected of every state expenditure. It's possible that the project's ultimate cost might even be acceptable to many South Carolina taxpayers. But an audit is needed to put a more exact price tag on plans for the Hunley.