A South Carolina House subcommittee will hear testimony Wednesday for the first time on a piece of legislation concerning surface-water withdrawal.
The 2:30 p.m. meeting before the House Agriculture subcommittee is scheduled to meet in the Blatt Building on the Statehouse grounds at the corner of Pendleton and Assembly streets.
The bill, also known as H-3564, would amend the Surface Water Act of 2010, affecting several South Carolina rivers, but more locally the Edisto River. The Edisto River was recently named the fifth out of 10 most endangered rivers in the United States for 2015, a ranking by national nonprofit American Rivers.
The high ranking stems from increased water withdrawals. The bill would require large agricultural withdrawal of more than 3 million gallons per month to go through a permitting process, rather than just being registered. Consulting with the S.C. Department of Natural Resources to assess the proposed changes would also be required, as would a longer public-notice period to allow more time for the public to study the request.
A minimum in-stream flow would be required, eliminating the possibility of absolute drainage, and a large-scale operation also would be required to have a backup water source to eliminate complete dependence on the river.
Several Aiken County residents have helped to introduce and spread the word of the bipartisan bill, co-sponsored by Republican Rep. Bill Taylor, whose district covers most of Aiken County.
Critics call the current surface water legislation a legal loophole that allows large-scale farming operations to draw large amounts of water for irrigation purposes.
But organizations such as the S.C. Farm Bureau are fighting to keep the Surface Water Act of 2010 as is.
The S.C. Farm Bureau is asking South Carolina residents to oppose the bill in an online petition published on their website.
In the message, the Farm Bureau says the Surface Water Act "was developed and supported with the best possible science from the experts, farmers, and agencies involved. Since its implementation, there has been less than a year of data to prove the law is working."
Maayan Schechter is the local government reporter with Aiken Standard. Follow her on Twitter @MaayanSchechter.