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Rep. Norman on dredging vote: Competition is good

February 29, 2012 by

Reported by Andrew Kiel, WRHI

Rock Hill Rep. Ralph Norman was the lone dissenting vote in a house decision on Tuesday. The final vote was nearly unanimous tallying out to 111-1 overriding a veto from Governor Nikki Haley.

Haley vetoed a resolution by the house blocking the dredging of the Savannah River on Monday.

Norman says there was no reason for him to doubt the decision initially made by the state health department to approve the dredging permit.

“They were comfortable with the concessions that Georgia made that the oxygen would be put back into the water,” said Norman. “It’s not like South Carolina’s paying for Georgia’s widening.”

SC House Minority Leader Harry Ott (D-St. Matthews) who was among the majority ruling against Haley says the governor needs to admit she’s wrong. Norman still disagrees.

“In the governor’s mind it went through the proper course of action,” says Norman. “DHEC (Department of Health and Environmental Control) decided an issue that should be decided by DHEC. They researched it over a year and found out with the concessions that they were okay with it.”

Ott and others against Haley’s veto say the governor is doing more to help Georgia than South Carolina. Norman says he welcomes the healthy competition from the Savannah port and thinks it will lead to greater growth in the years to come.

Filed Under: Legislature, News, Politics & Government

Legislative Update: February 29

February 29, 2012 by

The latest headlines from the State Capitol (see a schedule for Wednesday here)

Students from the South Carolina School for the Deaf and Blind perform a song in the House Tuesday (Courtesy: SCETV)

–The House decisively overrode Governor Nikki Haley’s veto of a joint resolution that would have blocked the dredging of the Savannah River. Legislators accused Haley of acting in Georgia’s interests ahead of her own state. The governor insists the resolution is overreach into an executive agency.

–Senators ended a filibuster and voted to confirm Catherine Templeton as the new director of the Department of Health & Environmental Control by a 38-3 vote. Sen. Phil Leventis (D-Sumter) had spent the past three legislative days preventing a vote, arguing Templeton’s labor law background did not qualify her to lead the agency.

–A prominent lobbyist was found dead Tuesday after a nine-day search. Columbia Police say they believe South Carolina Hospitality Association President Tom Sponseller committed suicide. His organization was being investigated by federal agents amid accusations that it’s missing hundreds of thousands of dollars.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Legislature, News

Wednesday’s weather

February 29, 2012 by

Cloudy to mostly cloudy skies for your Wednesday with the best chance for showers and thunderstorms being in the Upstate,with a slight chance for showers and thunderstorms in the Midlands. Highs will range from the upper 60s for the Upstate to the mid and upper 70s for the Midlands and Lowcountry. Evening showers and possible thunderstorms will be with us in the Upstate with a chance for a few showers in the Midlands and Lowcountry. Lows will fall into the mid 50s to low 60s.

Weather reports are provided by South Carolina Radio Network staff meteorologist, Tom Crawford (from WCIV-TV, Charleston).

Filed Under: Weather

On Tap: February 29

February 29, 2012 by

Here’s a list of what’s on tap at the Statehouse Wednesday

–The Joint Bond Review Committee will meet at 9:00 a.m. in Gressette 105 to decide whether to advance several highway projects from the State Infrastructure Bank. Those include an $88 million loan for the city of Charleston to fix drainage problems on the Crosstown Expressway. If the committee does approve the bonds, they would then go to the Budget & Control Board.

–A conference committee will try to iron out the differences between House and Senate on a bill to increase the number of special license plates recognized by the state. These are created by nonprofit groups for a fee. Part of the hang-up between the House and Senate involves whether that should be a fee or a deposit. The House also does not want a “Coon Hunters” plate, which the Senate included in its version of the bill.

SENATE (all meetings in Gressette building unless otherwise noted):

9:00 a.m. (Room 207) — A Judiciary subcommittee will hear from the public on a bill by Sen. Glenn Reese (D-Spartanburg) that would expunge the criminal record of a person who is pardoned. Currently, state law only allows the records to be wiped if a charge is dismissed or the person is found not guilty.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Legislature

SC wind turbine testing facility nearly complete (AUDIO)

February 29, 2012 by

A huge step toward the nation’s energy future is taking place in the North Charleston area, as the transformation of a 70-year-old U.S. Navy warehouse into a wind turbine testing facility is nearing completion. The testing facility at Clemson’s Restoration Institute will be the largest of its kind in the world. The Restoration Institute’s executive director Dr. John Kelly says despite being in a hurricane zone that has frequent earthquake activity, the testing facility is in an ideal location.

Depiction of facility (Clemson University/AEC Engineering)

 
The Department of Energy gave Clemson $45 million in federal stimulus money for the test facility, with state and private donors providing another $53 million. The facility is being retrofitted to withstand both earthquakes and hurricanes.

Kelly says prior to actual testing, the facility will be receiving its first test rig, which is for a 7.5 megawatt turbine in April. A second, larger testing unit, one weighing 400 tons and capable of testing turbines that can generate up to 15 megawatts will also be installed, even though turbines that size have yet to be built. A 15-megawatt turbine could provide power to about 6,000 homes.

Kelly says the actual goal of the testing process is to push a turbine push it to the stress point in which it fails. Kelly points out that it’s much more difficult to repair a turbine after it has been installed miles offshore.

AUDIO: Kelly says the facility’s location is ideal (:54)

Kelly says a number of European nations have taken full advantage of the offshore wind opportunity and some of the largest turbine manufacturers in the world are located Europe. Kelly says the U.S. has been slow to adapt to offshore wind, but momentum is building, and areas along the U.S. Eastern Seaboard are seen as prime locations for future “wind farms.” Kelly says there are two prime spots along the South Carolina coast that many view as ideal for “wind farms.”

Kelly says there have been meetings in Washington to discuss offshore winds, especially in the northern states. Kelly says any area that gets on the ground floor of the offshore wind energy industry in the U.S., will reap the economic benefits future economic opportunities.

AUDIO: Kelly says areas of the SC coast could be used for wind farms (1:00)

Filed Under: Business, Environment & Conservation, News
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