Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2011

Sanford leaves green politics to Haley

Conservationists give outgoing Gov. Mark Sanford good grades on environmental protection, but they wonder whether Gov.-elect Nikki Haley will see it their way after she takes office this morning.

While Republican Sanford was governor, South Carolina saved more than 150,000 acres of land, passed a law protecting rivers from unchecked water withdrawals and dialed up the public discussion on energy efficiency.

But Haley, also a Republican, is a relative unknown on conservation matters.

Haley said little during the election about environmental issues, instead pushing a jobs and lean government agenda. Her only lengthy comments resulted from an interview with The State newspaper during her campaign.

In the interview, she said South Carolina needs to be more business-friendly and its environmental protection agency should be more prompt with permit decisions for industries. The comments rankled conservationists, who say businesses have it too easy when seeking environmental permits.

“The biggest problem I see with Haley is she knows so little” about environmental issues, said Dana Beach, who directs the S.C. Coastal Conservation League. “But I think she can learn. I’m going to be optimistic about it for now.”

Environmentalists say they remember few conservation bills Haley backed or introduced while a House member.

“I think she is going to let business interests dominate,” said former Green Party U.S. Senate candidate Tom Clements, an anti-nuclear activist with the group Friends of the Earth.

Haley’s office released a statement Tuesday saying South Carolina should not have to choose between a healthy economy and a clean environment.

“Finding a balance between keeping our businesses healthy and protecting our rich natural resources is integral to the success of those industries and to the vitality of our state’s economy,” Haley’s statement said. “In order to ensure a clean, healthy and safe environment for South Carolina, I will work with other state leaders to ensure that our state’s most precious resources are maintained and protected.”

Among the issues facing Haley is whom she will appoint to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control board. The board has been centrist under Sanford, continuing a trend established by Democratic Gov. Jim Hodges. But the terms of many of the sitting members have expired. The board’s duties include hearing DHEC permit appeals.

The state also must wrestle with funding for the S.C. Conservation Bank and for natural resource agencies. And it must crystallize its position on future missions at the Savannah River Site near Aiken, including whether to allow the nation’s high-level nuclear waste to be shipped there.

Many in the conservation community disagreed with Sanford on some issues — including one of his choices to chair the DHEC board. They also say his toxic relationship with the Legislature hurt some environmental initiatives.

But, overall, they say he had the right ideas. They hope Haley gets along with the Legislature better — and follows Sanford’s lead on conservation.

Conservationists give Sanford credit for opposing sprawl and keeping quality-of-life issues before the public. He also fought a bridge across a sensitive Lake Marion swamp, opposed a coal-fired power plant near Florence, laid the groundwork for a surface water permitting bill and presided over substantial land protection accords.

During his tenure, the state saved more than 150,000 acres of land, including two chunks of Lowcountry forests along the Pee Dee and Savannah rivers. The $32 million deal, done in concert with two national conservation groups, protected about 39,000 acres of wildlife habitat. The amount of land saved was more than that protected in the landmark Jocassee Gorges initiative of the late 1990s.

Sanford’s support for the deal should surprise no one. At one point during his tenure he proposed spending a whopping $50 million for land preservation accords. His final budget included about $8 million.

Sanford, a wealthy Lowcountry landowner, said he’s proud of his environmental record — particularly on protecting the landscape.

“I’m a big land guy,” he said. “More land has been set aside during this governorship than during any other in South Carolina history. There’s a lasting component to land, the way it looks and feels.”

Sen. Phil Leventis, a Sumter Democrat who often clashed with Sanford, said he doesn’t think the environment was ever the governor’s focus. But Leventis said Sanford was more eco-friendly than GOP governors Carroll Campbell and David Beasley.

Sanford is also one of the first Republican governors anyone can remember who received active campaign support from environmentalists. In 2006, the Conservation Voters of South Carolina endorsed him in his re-election bid against Democratic state Sen. Tommy Moore.

Leventis and Ann Timberlake, director of the Conservation Voters, said they are hopeful about Haley.

“We intend to have a constructive dialogue with her administration,” Timberlake said. “This is a tremendous opportunity to really move the state forward, embracing the idea that we can protect natural resources and promote jobs at the same time.”

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