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Letters to the editor for Tuesday, September 29, 2007

Inland port supporters ignoring security

The Port Authority's expansion and proposed inland port in Santee are raising great concern for security.

The state and local leaders are touting jobs for the future, but is anyone "guarding the henhouse?"

We currently inspect a small percentage of cargo that's is shipped into the United States. Even with new X-ray and radioactive-detection equipment, most containers go untouched.

The ongoing debate about placing an inland port/distribution center in Santee raises even more concerns. Now someone is negotiating with Jafza, a subsidiary of Dubai World and an agent of the country of Dubai.

Here lies the big question. Who in South Carolina is talking to Dubai? Orangeburg County officials have been quoted as "only knowing what they read in the papers." Mr. Harrell of the state legislature has stated he wants Jafza to "call us," So that means no current legislative involvement. Mr. Robinson of the Orangeburg County Development Commission remains mum on details. Never any mention of the state Department of Commerce being involved.

Now there is a rush to deem this area a Foreign Trade Zone. That means cargo can be shipped directly to the site without ANY inspection and off-loaded onto trucks or trains to be taken anywhere in the United States.

President Bush recently signed into law a bill requiring any foreign investment that may have effect on national security to undergo an investigative and approval process, but again there is no evidence that any of this if being done. Read the complete bill:

www.vote-smart.org/issue_keyvote_detail.php?cs_id14389&can_id27066

Rep. James Clyburn orginally supported an inland port site at the junction of I-26/I-95. But now the Santee site is being promoted. It appears the "good old boy system" is alive and well in Orangeburg County. The owner of the Santee property is a wealthy Republican contributor. The owner of the I-26/I-95 land has never been contacted. This land is still in Orangeburg County. It's closer to the port and has direct access to both interstates.

Is our security being sold for $10 million? Are our state and national representatives aware of the risk that this huge venture could bring to our area?

We need to call, write or e-mail our elected officials and make sure they are looking out for our safety.

-- Sandra Turner, Santee

DHEC shares blame with Santee Cooper

The recent announcement by the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control that it would grant a draft air permit for Santee Cooper's controversial coal plant proposal underscores the lack of meaningful environmental oversight of coal operations in South Carolina.

Because it is state-owned, Santee Cooper does not need to publicly vet any of its claims for coal plant expansion before any other public regulatory oversight entity, like our S.C. Public Service Commission, as do other S.C. utilities. They merely announce their intentions and start the permitting process.

Meanwhile, DHEC claims it lacks the authority to even delay coal plant air permitting once the appropriate paperwork is filed. Citizens and environmental organizations across South Carolina had requested that DHEC delay issuing the permit until the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' environmental impact study of the coal plant, already under way, is completed

DHEC is charged as a state agency to protect the health of the state's citizens. Issuing the draft air permit without allowing a thorough study of the impacts of coal emissions on the health of South Carolinians is irresponsible and abdicates the agency's role as the state's health regulator.

Santee Cooper's proposed coal plant will dump 8.7 million tons of carbon dioxide, 300 pounds of mercury and thousands of tons of smog and soot-forming pollutants into our atmosphere annually. Meanwhile, other utilities across South Carolina are moving away from coal and toward conservation. Policy-makers in Washington are contemplating significant energy and climate legislation that will eventually change the economics of using coal in South Carolina and across our nation.

The Coastal Conservation League regrets DHEC's decision to issue Santee Cooper a draft air permit. The days of treating our air and our atmosphere as a huge dump that we can use without effect must end. The league will continue to advocate for a forward-looking "best practices" approach to energy generation in this state and will continue to closely monitor the coal plant permitting process in order to protect South Carolina citizens and our environment.

-- Dana Beach, Executive Director Coastal Conservation League

September example of honesty

To the person who picked up my credit card on Monday, Sept. 10, at Dodge's Store in Orangeburg and turned it in to the clerk, I say a huge THANK YOU! I believe the character trait for this month is honesty -- this is an excellent example.

-- Mary Copeland, Ehrhardt

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