Home rule is under attack again in the S.C. House. The issue this time revolves around regulations for livestock farms in South Carolina and whether stricter county regulations can override state law.

The House is poised to reconsider the bill again Tuesday after Thursday's tie vote. The split in the House echoes the split in Beaufort County's Legislative Delegation. The county's three Republicans share differing views.

Large livestock farms are more commonly seen in the form of hog farms in the South, even in some central U.S. states. The issue before the Legislature is whether state Department of Health and Environmental Control regulations implemented in summer 2002 to restrict large hog farm operations prevail over counties that want stricter laws. DHEC set environmental guidelines restricting the distance hog farms and the pig houses have to be situated from other property and bodies of water.

While DHEC regulations say state operators must comply with local zoning laws and regulations, five counties have adopted strict zoning regulations that prevent hog farms from locating there. Hog farmers think other counties may follow suit

Caught up in this debate is a difference of opinion over health laws and zoning laws. Some are afraid the new rules will interfere with the state's 27-year-old Home Rule Act that gives counties the right to govern themselves and decide whether they want hog farms.

Rep. Catherine Ceips, R-Beaufort, voted to approve the new rules. Rep. Bill Herbkersman, R-Bluffton, and Rep. JoAnne Gilham, R-Hilton Head, voted against the rules, which many say is a vote for Home Rule.

Ceips told a Gazette reporter that the new rules don't have anything to do with Home Rule. She just doesn't want 46 sets of rules for South Carolina.

The S.C. Association of Counties opposes the proposal on grounds it attacks Home Rule by establishing a one-size rule that fits all. Not only does the Association of Counties oppose the legislation, but the S.C. Coastal Conservation League says successful passage of the bill could open the door for an attack on other counties which have laws stricter than state rules.

All Lowcountry legislators should be opposed to any bill that would continue to restrict a county's decisions about its own fate.

While lawmakers are looking out for the interests of local governments, they also should be encouraging local governments to approve rules strict enough to prevent hog farms and the like from locating in the Lowcountry. Water quality and industry preservation are big issues in this community. The Lowcountry has some of the most sensitive environment in South Carolina. With hog farms, or chicken farms, come the potential for foul odors if the wind blows the wrong way and a huge contamination problem should a hurricane hit, flooding waste storage ponds.

The seafood, shellfish and tourism industries all would suffer a severe impact if that should happen.

Lawmakers should be on the side of Home Rule.