Do the shortsighted have it in South Carolina?
Legislators in South Carolina have introduced legislation that would end the exemption for large agricultural water withdrawals through state permitting. Below are the comments made by a partner of American Rivers, Doug Busbee, at the South Carolina State House rotunda during a press conference introducing the legislation:
“[dropcap]G[/dropcap]ood Morning. My name is Doug Busbee. I stand before you today representing a wide range of people from across South Carolina — from farmers, to business people, to everyday working class citizens. We have come together as a coalition called SCRiversForever.org. We believe water is a Public Trust resource. Our goal is to encourage and support sustainable economic development while respecting the tremendous value of our natural resources, South Carolina farmers, and all citizens.
Doug Busbee at Statehouse | Tom Sliker
Today we have some very loose surface water regulations in South Carolina that promise more water than we actually have, and would allow any agricultural entity to draw any river or stream in the state to a zero flow, regardless of downstream users. This same law is drawing large farms into South Carolina that will compete directly with our farmers for land, fertilizer, market share, and water. I understand that these giant farms will immediately enhance the bottom line of our state, but I am deeply concerned that it will ultimately undermine our South Carolina farmers who are the backbone and pillars of every community in this state.
Representative James Smith’s bill, [H.3564], is the first step in the right direction. But we must look down the road to improve the management of all of our water resources for the sake of South Carolina’s future!
The Edisto and the Salkehatchie regions are the canaries in the coal mine. We are seeing unrestrained development of giant out of state farms using both surface and groundwater. We have seen fish kills and historic lows despite not being in a declared drought situation. And even now, with recent rains, the South Edisto River at Denmark flows at half of normal.
Look around, many of the people you see here today represent generations of real farmers. They have had to adapt in order to survive and I would put their abilities against any in the nation. I beg you as leaders of agriculture to give the guidance, financing, and encouragement to our farmers for a chance to prosper first, before looking outside of our borders. And farmers, we have to be willing to change and embrace new ideas as well.
We have two very precious resources here in South Carolina, our water and the South Carolina farmer. Both have sustained us for centuries and the loss of either one is unacceptable.
One more thing, lawmakers, policymakers, lobbyists— look around you. There are a lot of farmers, business people, and concerned citizens here today. Five years ago, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (DNR) started speaking out about the flaws in the current surface water law. If their warning had been heeded, we would not be standing here today. I beg of you to listen to the scientists you’ve hired from SC DNR and the U.S. Geological Survey who understand our water best.
Map of Edisto River Access Sites. Image by www.edistofriends.org.
There is one good thing that has come out of this struggle — it has made us realize how precious water really is and how the Lord has blessed us with it.
I would like to introduce you to Representative James Smith, whose bill starts us in the right direction. I’d also like to recognize the co-sponsors of this bill. It takes some grit to address this issue and I applaud the sponsors and would encourage other legislators to join them.
Thank you for your time.”
