Savannah Smackdown: House unanimously votes to block DHEC’s port sellout

Who’d have thought Gov. Nikki Haley could so effectively bring Democrats and Republicans together?

The South Carolina General Assembly voted 111-0 Wednesday in favor of a measure that would block the Department of Health and Environmental Control’s ability to issue a controversial dredging permit to the Georgia Ports Authority that goes against South Carolina’s best interests. Dubbed the “Savannah River Sellout,” the scandal revolves around accusations that Gov. Nikki Haley instructed her appointees at DHEC to reverse its previous decision and grant the permit for political gain.

In a statement applauding the unanimous vote, House Speaker Bobby Harrell said DHEC’s reversal would have caused irreversible environmental and economic damage to the state. “Not only has this placed Charleston’s port at a competitive disadvantage and jeopardized the very existence of a future port in Jasper, it may have also put our state’s taxpayers on the hook for paying a significant portion of Georgia’s port dredging,” he said.

The bill, H. 4627, requires any of DHEC’s actions regarding the Savannah River’s “navigability, depth, dredging, sludge disposal and other collateral issues” to be approved by the Savannah River Maritime Commission. DHEC’s permit reversal ignored the commission, which legislators called a violation of state law.

The General Assembly’s bipartisan smackdown of the Haley Administration comes on the same day the governor appointed former Labor, Licensing and Registration Director Catherine Templeton as head of DHEC.