IT AIN'T

Since our last post, GE&P, and others, have done an immense amount of research and acquired a voluminous stack of documents on the new Storm Water Management Program fee. Today we would like to impart to the taxpayers of BC new and sometimes corrected information on the subject. So, fasten your seat belts because you're in for a bumpy ride. We will endeavor to include enough information for you to understand the issue without causing you to doze off from boredom. Believe us, most of the documents involved would not qualify for the best seller list.

First, despite the clumsy wording of the SC State Statute, the SWMP IS mandated by the State to, supposedly, assure that local governments adhere to the Clean Water Act. When you read the original Act, or the directives from SC DEHEC for that matter, you immediately notice how vague and nebulous the wording is. It's all Greeny "pie in the sky" prose. Wouldn't it be "lo-ver-ly". But, let's start at the beginning.

The ultimate goal of the Clean Water Act is to have "all waters of the US 'swimmable and fishable' ". Sounds good. But, when we get down to the fine print in the mandate from the Feds to the State and from the State to the local government, the particulars of the Rules and Requirements are quite murky. It reads like they're making it up as they go along, which they are. Many portions seem left to interpretation. Many portions are so convoluted with bureaucratic BS that they cause headaches.

The most important element is for us to get a full understanding of exactly how insidious this overall "Plan" really is. This plan is a clear example of the Feds' intrusion into State government and, following, the State's intrusion into local government. The plan encourages yet another expansion of an already bloated government system, providing a plausible excuse for local governments to increase taxes. It, also, provides an open door to the possibility, or probability, of the misappropriation of public funds. As we all know, at this time, we have no control over changing the base issue but we can address and, possible correct, the latter issues. So, let's get to these issues that concern us at the moment.

Under the SWMP, the counties and municipalities are, generally, required to reduce existing (and potential) pollution and flooding created from the runoff of storm water and to eliminate the possible dumping into the environment of hazardous substances by existing (and future) industry. Among the specific requirements are, but not limited to, overseeing construction projects to assure that drainage systems are adequate and properly installed; monitoring post construction to assure that these systems are working properly; assuring that these systems are maintained properly; testing water sources to assure waters meet EPA standards; educating the public as to the necessity for the "program"; and sending detailed reports to "the powers that be" on all such activities of the entity involved.

We will all agree that most of the goals itemized by the SWMP are not only laudable but necessary. There's only one hitch to organizing this "NEW" program. The counties and municipalities of SC ALREADY HAVE BUILDING CODES AND ZONING LAWS THAT ADDRESS ALL OF THE IMPORTANT ISSUES INVOLVED. Documents we obtained from SC DEHEC state this to be a fact. This leaves BC with two "administrative" projects to be completed in order to remain in compliance with the mandate; organizing some sort of effort to "educate the public" (brainwash the public) into accepting the necessity for this "new" program and compiling and sending in the "annual reports" to the Feds on every applicable element of our county business.

GE&P is in possession of letters from Dan Davis to Ann Clark, DEHEC Columbia, and from Ms. Clark to Dan Davis, which firmly establish that BC is in complete compliance with the permit we have been operating under for the last 5 years. Also, BC has successfully obtained an extension of that permit which will protect the County from any fines until the new 5 year permit is complete. REPEAT: BC IS IN COMPLETE COMPLIANCE WITH THE MANDATE.

DEHEC recommends that the entity involved, county or municipality, should create a Storm Water Management Program "department". They recommend hiring people to staff this new department. They recommend passing an Ordinance that imposes a "fee" to finance this new department. Do we all recognize the "expansion of government and increase in taxes" referred to earlier? We, the taxpayers, are being "told" we have to accept increased taxes (the fee) to support the organization of a new department to conduct business that, on the whole, is already being done by BC government employees.

From the facts established from the official documents on this subject, it is clear beyond a shadow of a doubt that the imposition of an additional fee to support the SWMP is unreasonable and unnecessary. Mr. Davis is being disingenuous when he insists otherwise but what's news worthy about that statement? Mr. Davis sees this situation as an opportunity to collect additional revenue under the guise of complying with a Federal mandate. Could all this have anything to do with Mr. Davis' pet Sheep Island Project? Just asking. After all, he IS a bit short on funding there.

In support of GE&P's contention that the whole "Plan" is a bit more than questionable, allow us to provide some direct quotes from an inner office document from DEHEC:

1. "Establish a "SWMP Manual which can be amended without having to go to Council".

2. "When you collect a bunch of data, know how you're going to use it".

3. "Zoning and building codes (already) include a lot of the components needed to comply with Stormwater management permit requirements".

4. "Develop joint workshop with neighboring MS4s to encourage consistency and cohesion".

5. "Be as "Green" as possible".

6. "It is important to have a good funding source so that you may have funds to hire the staff needed to fulfill program requirements".

7. "Be flexible to allow for change".

8. "....try new things then use what works and discard what doesn't".

9. " If you have a good working relationship with the entities around your MS4 area then cooperating on the permit will save you a lot of work and money". (Reduce the fee? NOT)

10. "An educated public is involved and generally wants to do the right thing".

11. "Don't be afraid to copy what other people have found successful. Take proven ordinances and tweak them to local needs".

12. Stats from Horry County: "Average annual fee of typical gas station= $250: annual fee of typical shopping mall= $10K". (If you will notice, BC has only made public the intended fee for small individual properties with buildings. There has been no mention of the intended fee for gas stations or shopping centers or fast food places. If the final annual fee for these properties is going to be based on the amount of impervious area involved on the properties, hang on to your wallets and get ready for a $10 Big Mac.)

It is common knowledge that GE&P has a long history of being anti-Big Government. It is, also, true that Big Government entities are seldom as careless in divulging damaging information on themselves as is the case with EPA/SCDEHEC concerning this SWMP. Please ask yourselves: When you drive down I-26 and see the 70MPH speed limit, is that just a suggestion? Or is it a well defined LAW? Does the sign really mean that you can drive 90MPH if the 70MPH limit doesn't work for you? Are you allowed to "try something different"? If you buddy up with 10 additional cars and a few big rigs, is it then OK to drive 90MPH simply because "everybody's doing it"? Is it OK for this convoy to run over the County Mounty to avoid arrest?

Our analogy, admittedly, is a bunch of silliness but, upon review, so is the SWMP. If this program is on the level, wouldn't there be a set of established and well defined Rules? If the County has the responsibility of developing their own Rules, wouldn't there, at least be a set of Guidelines instead of telling the entity to "make it up as you go along"? And, why is the entity encouraged to develop a Manual that can be expanded or amended without the approval of Council?

The bottom line is simple:

1. The lion's share of the requirements of this "mandate" has historically been addressed by existing County government departments.

2. In the new permit, the County has two additional requirements that must be met: brainwashing, sorry about that, educating the public into accepting the need for the "Program" and sending in a more detailed annual report to DEHEC.

3. The majority of the information needed for the annual report is readily available from County records. BCW&SA, Engineering, Code Enforcement, and Roads and Bridges address the majority of the issues involved. All that is required here is having the existing employees collate the collected information to the report form. Over the last 5 years of the old permit, compliance with the SWMP has, according to the Finance Department, cost the County between $43,000 and $73,000 annually. The only requirement of the new permit that has not been mentioned so far in this post is that BC government has to assure DEHEC that BC government, itself, is not violating any of the DEHEC Regulations already in place to prevent pollution.

4. Of the 6 "expanded" requirements of the new permit, only 1 has to be met by the end of the first year. For others, the County has 3 years to comply. All of these requirements are administrative.

GE&P will be the first to admit that this SWMP is an imposition on BC government. It is intrusive, burdensome, and, quite frankly, a useless waste of time. It requires that unnecessarily redundant paperwork be done and it detracts County employees from other County business. BUT, for Mr. Davis to use this situation as an excuse to pad the County coffers is egregious. But, you have to admit that, on this occasion, Mr. Davis is being completely transparent. A fee (new tax) will be imposed on the taxpayers; salaries to certain existing employees will be paid with this new revenue; a dubious private contract situation will be developed (at inflated prices, of course)to perform work usually done by other employees; and then the newly created excess money can be funneled to his wasteful spending. This situation is beyond the perimeters of acceptable government behavior. Simply put, IT'S CROOKED AND CORRUPT.