A state commission joined the fight against Georgia’s plan to deepen the Savannah River on Friday, as officials warned that a pact with the Peach State could require South Carolina to pay for a large share of the costs.

While a number of unlikely things would need to take place for the funding provision to take effect, South Carolina could be liable for more than $100 million for a project opponents say would harm the Port of Charleston and environment.

The funding issue stems from a 2008 bistate agreement to develop a new port on the South Carolina side of the river in Jasper County.

State Sen. Larry Grooms, R-Bonneau, and others discussed the provision at a James Island meeting of the state’s Savannah River Maritime Commission, which voted to challenge the November dredging approval by the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control board.

“It’s like DHEC stuck the knife in the back of South Carolina’s economy and environment, and now someone could twist it,” Grooms said Friday.

The dredging sought by the Georgia Ports Authority would increase the river’s depth to 48 feet, making the Garden City Terminal in Savannah more accessible to large container ships.

Georgia and South Carolina port officials disagree as to whether the dredging would help or harm prospects for the proposed Jasper port.

The commission, established to oversee Savannah River matters, said the DHEC board’s decision to OK the dredging plan was unlawful and improper, partially because the commission was left out of the process. Its challenge will go to an administrative law judge, joining one filed Thursday by the Southern Environmental Law Center.

Commission members agreed with environmental groups — and with DHEC staffers who had denied the Georgia permit before their decision was overturned — on several issues. They said the dredging would destroy rare freshwater wetlands; threaten the endangered shortnose sturgeon; and impair the river’s ability to support aquatic life such that machines would be required to pump air into the river.

The commission also issued a statement saying its greatest concern was that the deepening would not serve the planned bistate Jasper Ocean Terminal. While there are worries that the upriver dredging is deep enough to cause environmental harm, opponents also say the waterway wouldn’t be deep enough to serve the Jasper container port, nine miles closer to the ocean than Garden City.

An agreement to develop the new port includes a provision about South Carolina paying for half the dredging, up to the boundary of the 1,500-acre Jasper site. But for that to take effect, there would need to be a compact dealing with funding and operations, requiring the approval of lawmakers in both states and Congress.

The S.C. General Assembly previously passed resolutions opposing the dredging. Officials including Grooms and State Ports Authority Chief Executive Jim Newsome said this week that the Jasper deal needs to be renegotiated.

Courtesy of Post and Courier

Senator Grooms expects lawsuit to be filed to stop DHEC permit for Savannah River dredging. Grooms says there are a couple of things that could be part of a suit.

South Carolina’s Department of Health and Environmental Control staff had denied approval for a permit to deepen the Savannah River for port access. Then Gov. Nikki Haley called the chairman of the DHEC board and asked them to re-consider. They did, and the board voted to approve the permit.

State Senator Larry Grooms says, “The Savannah River will be impaired if you dredge it to the depth that they would like to go.” Grooms is Chairman of the South Carolina Senate Transportation Committee, and a member of the Savannah River Maritime Commission. He believes State Attorney General Alan Wilson will file a lawsuit on behalf of the commission soon. Grooms tells News 2, “It is our contention that the DHEC permit was issued in violation of South Carolina Law.”

Grooms says the commission was specifically created by legislators to help make decisions for the state related to the Savannah River. The fact that DHEC is making the decision for the commission could be the target of one lawsuit, but there could also be another. Grooms says DHEC officials initially denied the permit due to environmental concerns, ”We contend that there were serious environmental issues that were not addresses in Georgia’s application. Particularly those related to the depletion of oxygen in the river.”

The lawsuits have to be filed within 30 days of the recent permit decision by DHEC, so any legal action will be filed in the next 2-3 weeks.

Courtesy of WCBD TV

Senator Larry Grooms (R-Berkeley) serves on the SC Maritime Commission and chairs the Senate Transportation Committee. He says, “We haven’t heard the last of this” regarding the Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) approving Georgia’s plan to dredge the Savannah River and deepen the waters for a Savannah port.

“There are questions I want answered,” he says. “DHEC is the one that originally said “you are harming our environment, you cannot have a water quality permit. And at the last hour, they reversed themselves and said, here’s your permit, go ahead and pollute the river, everything’s fine.’”

The SC Senate Medical Affairs Committee has asked Gov. Nikki Haley and DHEC officials to appear at a Tuesday hearing to explain the sudden reversal. The governor will not attend, but will make statements on the issue at a press conference this afternoon.

“I believe that there will be a number of questions asked at the Medical Affairs Committee, as a starting point, ” Grooms insists. “And a state statute gives us (the Maritime Commission) the authority to work with DHEC on this. The statute says that all matters related to dredging and the navigability of the Savannah River belong squarely with the Savannah River Maritime Commission.”

Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell says he is confused by DHEC’s actions too.

“I don’t see that kind of quick action for the general public and the businesses of South Carolina when they dig in on an environmental question. And it’s just interesting how fast they seemed to have reversed course on this particular thing,” he says.

Grooms also wants to know what Georgia is doing in return for South Carolina’s gesture of good will: “The governor did indicate that we should all work together on this. Well I think the state of Georgia should work on its permit but they don’t need to harm our shared resources.”

Some of those questions may be answered at a news conference called by the governor for 2:00 p.m. today.

Courtesy of the South Carolina Radio Network

Courtesy of Post & Courier

The U.S. Justice Department has decided that it will not oppose South Carolina’s redrawing of state Senate election district lines, state Senate leaders said Tuesday.
The decision — which Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell said he learned from a Monday letter from Justice officials — means that that the 46 districts may now be lawfully implemented. However, there are already plans to challenge them in court.

State Democratic Party Chairman Dick Harpootlian, a top lawyer who has handled similar cases in the past, said Tuesday he planned in the next two weeks to file a lawsuit challenging the validity of both the state House and Senate district lines.
“That will allow the process to go forward,” Harpootlian told The Associated Press Tuesday.

Because of South Carolina’s growth in the past decade, the population of each of the 46 Senate districts has increased to approximately 100,551 people, McConnell, R-Charleston, said.

In September, Justice Department officials questioned plans drawn by the South Carolina Senate for its districts, asking specifically about District 17, which now serves voters in Chester, Fairfield, Union and York counties. The American Civil Liberties Union had argued that the district could be drawn with a black majority, but the state Senate rejected that argument.

The Justice Department sought details on precinct-by-precinct voting tallies for state and federal offices dating to 2006 that included candidates’ race as well as voter demographics.

When it comes to illegal immigration, Washington suddenly has stepped up to the plate. Problem is, the feds are on the wrong team.

Last week, South Carolina became the latest of several states to be sued by the Justice Department. The transgression? Passing state laws to take on illegal immigration.

This week the plot grew thicker, as 16 Latin American nations asked to join the lawsuit. When I wrote the bill I could have never imagined a scenario where other nations would be joining our federal government in a fight against our state.

Because our goal is simply to ensure that people who are in our state are here legally, I can only conclude that these countries want the influx of illegals to continue. As offensive as being sued by our own government is, I’m dumbfounded that most of Central America, much of South America, and some Caribbean countries have piled on.

The lawsuit suffers under the delusion that Washington is serious about illegal immigration. South Carolina’s move damages D.C.’s ability to “fairly and consistently enforce” immigration laws, it reads. Homeland Security Director Janet Napolitano claims in a press release that the agency “continues to enforce federal immigration laws in South Carolina in smart, effective ways.”

Fair and consistent? Smart and effective? By Homeland Security’s own estimates there are nearly 11 million illegal aliens in the U.S. Forty percent came here within the last 10 years. Despite these staggering numbers, despite Americans’ enduring outrage, Washington politicians sit idly by.

The danger with illegal immigration is not only its inherent fraud, but the culture of corruption it can cause. Unscrupulous businesses exploit cheap, illegal labor, undercutting businesses that play by the book. Honest businesses soon face the stark decision to break the law or go bust. More illegals are hired, the underground economy grows, more lives are risked crossing the border. The vicious cycle continues. Instead of exporting freedom, Washington imports corruption.

America is enriched by those whose eagerness to be here is attended by a healthy respect for the rule of law. Legal immigrants, those for whom our melting pot once seemed a noble concept, must question why they bothered playing by the rules. But Washington’s negligence, and now its attempt to stop state enforcement, suggests acquiescence, if not an outright sanction, of lawlessness.

Because state action was the one option left, we introduced Senate Bill 20, now Act 69. I’m thankful to Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell for shepherding the legislation and to Governor Haley for signing it in June.

Unfortunately, some news reports about the law erroneously claim that every officer will be required to check the immigration status of anyone they detain for any reason. Here’s what Act 69 says: “Nothing in this section must be construed to require a law enforcement officer to stop, detain, investigate, arrest, or confine a person based solely on the person’s lawful presence in the United States.”

Only when a person is stopped for some other crime, and only then if there is reasonable suspicion that the person is here illegally, may an officer make a reasonable effort to determine the person’s status. If status cannot be determined, a person cannot be further detained unless there’s some other, unrelated charge.

Finally, the law “must be implemented in a manner that is consistent with federal laws regarding immigration, protecting the civil rights of all persons, and respecting the privileges and immunities of U.S. citizens.”

The feds say these common-sense steps would upset “the balance of complex and often competing objectives that animate” federal statutes. Lawyers write that “in the exercise of discretion” federal agencies may decide not to remove a known alien “if deferred enforcement will serve some other goal.”

Pardon me for not buying the notion that enforcing immigration law is a matter of discretion and tact and proper timing. In my book, either you’re here legally or you aren’t.

Secure borders are a prerequisite to government’s fundamental duty — protecting citizens. This litigation exposes federal immigration policy for the farce that it is. If Washington spent as much time enforcing the law as it does filing lawsuits, we wouldn’t be in this mess.

The feds note that South Carolina’s statutes could lead to “contradictory priorities” with Washington’s idea of immigration policy. Contradictory, indeed. Our priority is to actually address the problem.

Larry Grooms, R-Bonneau, represents District 37, which includes parts of Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton and Dorchester counties, in the S.C. Senate.

Courtesy of The Post and Courier

Making sure you saw this absurdity coming from former Speaker Nancy Pelosi. – Larry

In an interview late last week, House Minority Leaeder Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) told CNBC that Boeing should either unionize its production facilities in South Carolina, or shut them down entirely.

“Do you think it’s right that Boeing has to close down that plant in South Carolina because it’s non union?” asked host Maria Bartiromo. Pelosi’s reply: “Yes.”

The minority leader quickly added that she would rather it simply unionize and stay open. But barring unionization, by Pelosi’s reasoning, it should simply shut down.

Boeing is the target of a suit from the National Labor Relations Board, which accused the company of retaliation against a machinists’ union in its decision to open a new plant in South Carolina, a right-to-work state, instead of Washington State.

Pelosi may or may not know that workers at the South Carolina plant in question voted resoundingly (199-68) to decertify their union two years ago. Government policies that would close the plant for being a non-union shop would simply be punishing those workers for exercising their right to determine union representation for themselves.

“The Administration is trying to foist unions on workers, whether they want them or not, whether union representation would help them or not,” Heritage’s James Sherk noted in response to Pelosi’s statement. As for the more general issue of Boeing’s suit, Sherk called it “a good way of discouraging businesses from building new factories or plants.”

Courtesy of The Heritage Foundation

Wednesday, the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles held a “State Identification Day” to provide citizens with free transportation to go and get a new photo ID to vote.

After Governor Haley received much criticism for a new state law requiring a photo ID to vote, Haley offered the ID day so residents would have no excuse.

Reports have said only 25 out of 200,000 citizens took advantage of the day. Berkeley Senator Larry Grooms was the co-author on the Voter ID Bill and says that is not true.

“I don’t believe that 200,000 number. I think that was a gross exaggeration of people in South Carolina who do not have some form of government identification. That was a number that was thrown out a lot, but I’m not buying it. If we have 200,000 people who do not have some form of government issued ID I owe you an apology,” says Grooms.
Grooms says some people are counted more than once.

“They may exist but they may exist in two or three counties, or they may exist in their home state and try to exist here in South Carolina with a voter ID, or some sort of voter registration card. You can only be registered to vote in one place. If you are a student in South Carolina and your home state is, let’s say in Georgia or New Jersey, you register to vote in your home state,” says Grooms.

Grooms says every vote is supposed to count, but when the system is taken advantage of:

“When someone cheats, when a fraudulent vote is cast, and you’ve legitimately cast your ballot, then you (the legal voter) are the one who is being disenfranchised by those who are cheating the system. The most fundamental right in America, our most precious right is the right to choose our leaders at the ballot box,” says Grooms.

So, to fix the “problem” of this fraudulent voting, Grooms says every voter simply has to show a photo identification at the polls.

Courtesy of South Carolina Radio Network

By Brendan Kearney of The Post and Courier and Gene Johnson of The Associated Press

EVERETT, Wash. — Boeing Co. handed over the key for its first 787 wide-body jet to All Nippon Airways on Monday after years of delays, marking a long-awaited milestone in the history of commercial flight.

Thousands of workers gathered for the ceremony at Paine Field, outside the building where the planes are assembled, with many finding shelter from the rain under the wings of two yet-to-be-delivered 787s. The actual first ANA 787 was nearby at the Future of Flight aviation center, where it was being prepared for a reception Monday night and its flight to Japan today. The plane goes into service in November.

“You have no idea what you’ve achieved,” Boeing Commercial Airplanes chief executive Jim Albaugh told the crowd, which included a contingent from the company’s South Carolina operation. “It’s not often in a career or a lifetime we have a chance to do something like this.”

Albaugh’s words, heard worldwide via webcast, had special meaning at Boeing’s 787 plant in North Charleston, where workers gathered around large projection screens on the production floors of the three main buildings to watch the delivery ceremony. A centrally parked satellite truck helped pipe in a clearer picture.

“The aft- and mid-body fuselage sections on that airplane came out of Charleston,” Boeing South Carolina spokeswoman Candy Eslinger said Monday. “They took a keen interest in it. It was their airplane.”

The new jet is the first commercial airliner built using carbon fiber — a strong, lightweight, high-tech plastic — rather than the typical aluminum skin. It was supposed to be flying passengers three years ago but has been beset by production and design problems.

Airlines have ordered more than 800 of the plane that will compete with the Airbus A350.

The use of carbon fiber allowed for several other breakthroughs, including larger windows with electronic dimming rather than shades, and pressurization that’s more akin to what passengers feel at ground level. Without corrosion-prone aluminum, cabin humidity levels can be set higher, easing dry noses and throats. The lighter jet will be quieter and use about 20 percent less fuel than a comparably sized aluminum aircraft.

Albaugh handed a ceremonial key to the plane to Shinichiro Ito, president and CEO of ANA.

“Please take good care of it,” Albaugh said. “We’re very proud.”

The crowd cheered.

“I know the road that led to today was full of great difficulties,” Ito said through an interpreter. “Yet all of those challenges were overcome. … I say to each and every one of you, you have my utmost respect and deepest gratitude.”

Ito promised the plane would be carefully and lovingly taken to Japan, where people were eager to see it. He was to be on the flight.

Monday’s ceremony was emotional for many of the workers.

“When you hear about delays, they’re frustrating,” said employee Jim Conery. “But you have to turn it around and turn it into a challenge. Building airplanes is not for the weak.”

Evading the rain under one of the wings he worked on, Boeing mechanic and technician Tracy Thompson also acknowledged a mixture of frustration and pride.

“We had a lot of issues, a lot of problems, but they’re being resolved and we can see the light at the end of the tunnel, with the first one being delivered,” he said. “The investment in this airplane is taking aviation leaps into the future.”

Peter Clark, an aviation industry analyst, traveled from Auckland, New Zealand, to attend the ceremony. He called the 787′s delivery one of the four major events in the history of commercial aviation, after the development of the Boeing 707, the 747 and Concorde.

“When it rolled out in 2007, it was just a piece of plastic on wheels. This is an amazing day. I’m proud to be here,” Clark said.

Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire called it a proud day for both Chicago-based Boeing and the state of Washington.

“Today’s delivery of the first 787 Dreamliner marks the beginning of a new chapter in the company’s history, and continues to tell the world — Washington state is the home for the most innovative, fuel-efficient airplanes around the globe,” she said.

Courtesy of the Post & Courier