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House sustains veto on rail line control

May 21, 2009 By

Members of the House have sustained Governor Mark Sanford’s veto on an amendment that would have opened up the doors for a state agency to control rail access into the Port of Charleston. House Speaker Bobby Harrell says it’s all about keeping competition between the two carriers, Norfolk Southern and CSX, bringing business to the state.

“The issue is we need to make sure we get rail access, in fact, dual rail access into the shipyard, but that’s not the way to do it. So, we’re gonna try to come at this at a different direction to make sure we have rail in and out of the port once we get it done,” says Harrell.

North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey said earlier this week opening up rail access through the northern end of the port undermines the agreement made with the State Ports Authority in a memorandum in 2002. The reason for the dispute is because if rail lines ran through North Charleston to the northern end, a community that Mayor Summey is revitalizing would be, in their words, “destroyed,” possibly marking down the value of homes and property. Harrell says there are other ways to get rail access to the port.

“You could come in from the south, which my understanding is, the mayor up there is fine with doing, and the folks in North Charleston are fine with doing. To come in from the south you have some issues you have to deal with CSX and Norfolk Southern, the two rail lines, that we’ve gotta work through to get it done. There are a couple of ways to skin this cat, the bottom line is when the dust settles, we need to make sure we have rail access,” says Harrell.

The General Assembly is scheduled to vote on the reorganization of the State Ports Authority, though time is running out in the session.

Filed Under: Business, News, Politics & Government, Transportation

Savannah River Site gets biomass facility

May 21, 2009 By

The US Department of Energy has approved the construction of one of the largest biomass facilities in the country to be built on the Savannah River Site. The facility will provide on-site power and be paid for by the savings anticipated over the next 15 years. It is expected to save the site $34 million dollars a year and is being built at the cost of $795 million. Savannah River Site Spokesman Jim Giusti says there are many advantages to the new facility.

“It reduces our emissions,” said Giusti. “This plant will annually reduce 100,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions from the site. It will save us money because it is going to be more efficient and more economical to operate then our current plant which, again, is a very old plant. It has outlived its usefulness and isn’t designed with the current technology of today.”

Giusti says that biomass products will be used to fuel the plant instead of coal. “Instead of using coal like our current plant on site, it will use wood chips and recycled shredded tires and other biomass materials that can be burned to generate steam and generate both steam for us for heating and operational purposes and some of our electrical requirements on site.”

Pat Burke, Project Manager of the biomass facility, says that some people may be concerned about the burning of tires but they need not be. According to Burke, “People get a little emotional with tires. We’re only going to burn a small quantity of tires and we’re permitted to burn up to 30 percent but we may not burn that much.

“It’s really going to be a fuction of the boiler. If the boiler can handle it, they will burn as many as they can but no more than 30 percent of the fuel will come from tires.”

The plant is expected to open by December of 2011.

Filed Under: Economy, Environment & Conservation, News

Governor files suit, says lawmakers irresponsible

May 21, 2009 By

The fight over the stimulus money has only just begun in the state of South Carolina. The General Assembly overrode Governor Mark Sanford’s vetoes yesterday prompting the governor to file a lawsuit against the state lawmakers. The two sides are fighting over who has control of the stimulus money. Mark Sanford says only he can decide where the money goes while the General Assembly included it in their budget. Lexington Senator Jake Knotts says the time to argue over the stimulus money has passed.

“If you’re against the stimulus money, you should have been up there in Washington fussing about it when the federal government passed it,” said Knotts. “Don’t be a day late and a dollar short.”

Knotts showed his frustration with Governor Sanford saying, “Only thing I’ve got to say is we’ve got 616 days left of him.”

Senator John Scott of Richland agreed with Knotts and says their was a precedent set when the state excepted federal money previously. “It’s OK for us to except federal money to pay unemployment insurance,” he said.

Filed Under: Economy, News, Politics & Government, Uncategorized

Sessions ending “day late, dollar short” says some lawmakers

May 21, 2009 By

With one day left in the session, state Senators were conflicted over how to best use the time they had left to address the Governor’s vetoes or to try to resolve a few of the long list of bills that will now have to wait until next year.

Lexington’s Jake Knotts ,  in frustration, took the podium to tell his peers they are, quote, a day late and a dollar short.”

According to Knotts, “I told y’all, shortening the session is not a good thing for the people of South Carolina because it shortens what you can get done and it limits what you can get done.”

Sumter Democrat Phil Leventis also admonished fellow senators that everyone is entitled to introduce a bill but “no one is entitled to having their bill pass.”

He said, “It is presumptuous indeed to believe that, because a bill is on the calendar, it deserves passage or even debate.  It is within the purview of this body to determine that.  I always laugh when my friends tell me, ‘there is a bill under consideration in the North Carolina House to do this very thing.’  A bill under consideration doesn’t mean anything.  Only if this body, with its wisdom and deliberation, wants to pass something. So, you are entitled to your opinion, you always are, but you are not entitled to your facts.”

Thursday is the last scheduled day of the 2009 session.

Filed Under: News, Politics & Government

Vetoes overridden, Governor Sandford sues

May 21, 2009 By

The General Assembly quickly answered Governor Mark Sanford’s veto of parts 1-A and III of the state budget. In one afternoon, the House quickly overrode the governor and handed  the items to the other chamber.  After some dispute over how to spend remaining time in session, Senator voted 34-11 to stand by the House.

The Governor’s response was swift. A  little after 8:30 P.M., Sanford announced he would sue the General Assembly in Federal Court.

In Sanford style, his orginal veto explanation was a 33-page response  with  charts and graphs.  

In a statement, Sanford says,” We know that a suit will be filed against us on this issue, and as such we’ve filed a suit tonight in response. We believe the legislature’s end-around move on the stimulus won’t pass constitutional muster, and if it were allowed to stand it would have far reaching implications for future governors of this state and for governors of other states as well.”

The Governor is holding a press conference Thursday to address the suit.

Filed Under: Legislature, News
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