A bill dealing only with isolated freshwater wetlands was passed on a voice vote Thursday by the state Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee.
But before that bill headed to the Senate floor, a separate Senate bill designed to deal with the Catawba River basin was amended by a state House committee Wednesday to add a provision that doesn't protect as many isolated freshwater wetlands. The basin bill already has passed the Senate.
The text of the amendment added by the House committee is the same as the isolated freshwater wetlands bill the House passed last month. It allows wetlands 1 acre and smaller to go unregulated. Wetlands from 1 to 5 acres require mitigation if they are developed, and wetlands greater than 5 acres require a state permit.
The bill passed by the Senate committee requires permits for wetlands greater than 1 acre.
Environmental groups have decried both actions, saying they don't offer enough protection. But some groups represent-ing landowners, developers and real estate agents support the measures.
There are an estimated 300,000 acres of isolated freshwater wetlands in South Carolina's coastal plain, including about 16,000 in Beaufort County. Some isolated wetlands are dry part of the year, and others are fed by groundwater. The wetlands provide critical habitat for many species, filter stormwater runoff and minimize the impact of floods, and help restore groundwater stores, scientists say.
A U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2001 left all isolated freshwater wetlands unregulated at the federal level. State regulations were based on federal oversight.
Either of the competing pieces of legislation could end up as the state's protection for isolated freshwater wetlands.
The practice of adding full bills as an amendments to another bill, called bobtailing, happens a lot in the House near the end of a session, said Rep. Bill Herbkersman, R-Bluffton. It is a way to get bills through that were passed by the House but delayed in the Senate.
Herbkersman, a member of the House Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs Committee, which amended the Catawba River basin bill, said he voted against the adding the amendment and against the bill after the amendment was made.
The House could vote on the amended basin bill next week. Even if it is passed, the Senate could require it to go to conference committee, where specially picked senators and representatives would reach a compromise between the different versions.
The bill in the Senate also could be debated next week.
Christie Renken, legislative director for the Coastal Conservation League, said the group has problems with the bills. A major issue is that entities are exempted from permit requirements, including the state Department of Transportation.
"They are the single biggest impacter of wetlands in the state," Renken said.
She said the group would like neither bill to pass this legislative session, which ends June 3.