The following letter from Mike Massey, Chairman of LHA Legislative Committee, and Harry Shelley, of the Friends of the Savannah River Basin, describes the formation of the new South Carolina Savannah River Basin Advisory Council. As you will note, Mike and Harry were elected co-chairmen of the SRBAC. The letter and attachments will provide information regarding the formation and goals of this new organization.
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Hello Friends in the LWASC:
Harry Shelley of the Friends of the Savannah River Basin and me, from LHA, have been elected Co-chairmen of the new South Carolina Savannah River Basin Advisory Council (SRBAC). We are both proud to serve in this capacity. The SRBAC (or Council) is supported by DHEC and DNR and is expected to be the “pilot” program for the establishment of BAC’s in the rest of the state. The attached documents will explain the purpose and preliminary goals of the SRBAC. A bit of background on where we are and how we got here:
After years of many of us working to improve water planning in South Carolina we are making headway. I am sure you are all aware the SC Legislature recently passed the Water Permitting bill (S452/H4285) and the governor is planning to sign it in the next week or so. Bottom line – new businesses using large amounts of water (over 3 MGD) must apply for permits (current users are grandfathered), all major users must report their water use, minimum in-stream flows will be established and managed by the state, and rules for interbasin transfers will be revised and strengthened.
A NOTE: While most of us have supported this measure in some way, thanks to the Lake Wateree Homeowners Association (and Gary Faulkenberry’s team) for getting it started and following through for almost four years.
This passage clears the way for the next step - a new Comprehensive Water Planning Process for SC via bills H3121/S358. These bills, while stalled as the permitting bill was being debated, will be looked at again for introduction in the 2011 session (the numbers will change). It was virtually impossible to do effective water planning if we didn’t know how much water was being used – or by what companies. The permitting bill had to be approved first.
The good news is that while the Comprehensive Planning bills call for a new South Carolina water planning committee with a single chairperson to manage the development of a new water plan in SC, years of meetings have resulted in many of the other components being recognized as necessary and they have already been started or planned. For instance:
1. DNR has indicated it has already started revising the water plan to make it more "comprehensive",
2. Interbasin-transfers will be revised in the above permitting bill,
3. DHEC, with DNR, have agreed to support the introduction of Basin Advisory Councils for each basin in the state.
A NOTE: These are great steps but one of the missing links is to have the new water plan legislatively requested and approved to guarantee the recommendations will be implemented in an integrated, well-planned manner. If you all recall, that is the problem with the current water plan (2004). So, there is still work to do but a great start – THANKS TO ALL OF YOU!!!
The kick-off meeting for the SRBAC was held on June 19, 2010. Attached with these notes are the initial efforts from that gathering. Included are the following attachments. Just click on the one you would like to read.
1. The Meeting Summary from our first meeting.
2. The draft Vision Statement.
3. The draft Operating Guidelines
4. A preliminary look at our proposed web site (our membership list is included for those of you interested).
In addition, our current efforts are to document a list of all studies and plans currently being undertaken or planned for the SRB, who is responsible and what the planned review and completion dates are.
I think you will all agree a great amount of positive effort has been accomplished in just a few weeks – but we are just beginning.
Please take a look at the information provided. Harry and I are interested in your thoughts and comments. Send them along to either of us.
Also – feel free to use any of this info in your newsletters.
Respectfully:
Mike Massey
Harry Shelley
Co-Chairmen, South Carolina Savannah River Basin Advisory Council