Haley staffers may have to testify

A panel of state senators is not satisfied that Gov. Nikki Haley’s office did not influence a decision by the state’s environmental agency and may subpoena four of Haley’s staff members to explain their involvement in that decision.

Haley’s office said Tuesday night that staffers will not appear voluntarily.

“The governor will not have her staff testify,” said Rob Godfrey, Haley’s spokesman. “To do so is entirely unnecessary given the testimony that already exists and because it would create a bad precedent for this or any other governor to have his or her staff hauled up to testify any time the legislature disagrees with a decision.”

At issue is a vote earlier this month by the Department of Health and Environmental Control to grant a permit to Georgia, clearing the way for the expansion of the Port of Savannah, a competitor with South Carolina’s Port of Charleston and the yet-to-be-developed Port of Jasper.

The vote has raised the ire of some S.C. lawmakers and environmentalists who question whether Haley, who appointed the DHEC board, inappropriately influenced the vote for unspecified political favors. Haley repeatedly has denied the allegations.

Haley has said she asked DHEC chairman Allen Amsler to consider an appeal of a DHEC staff decision to reject the dredging permit sought by Georgia. Amsler said he asked DHEC staffers to see if they could work out a compromise with Georgia officials but did not order the permit be approved.

Questions led a Senate panel Tuesday to look into the controversial DHEC vote. During Tuesday’s meeting, all six DHEC board members swore under oath that Haley’s office did not influence their unanimous vote to grant the permit. A parade of DHEC staff members also swore they had no inappropriate contact with Haley’s office either.

Haley and four staff members, who were asked to testify at the meeting, did not attend.

Ultimately, the senators agreed to – once again – ask Haley’s staff members to testify before them. If the staffers decline, subpoenas could be issued.

“There’s vast public interest in this,” said state Sen. Brad Hutto, D-Orangeburg. “I think [their testimony] is an opportunity to set the record straight, and I think they owe it to us.”

During more than seven hours of questioning Tuesday, senators focused much of their attention on why the agency had acted so quickly on Nov. 10 to ratify the port settlement. The board’s approval occurred the same morning that agency staff worked out a compromise with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Georgia ports officials to allow the permit. Until the morning of the meeting, DHEC staff members had for months opposed issuing the permit.

Board members were unable to provide some details about what changed their minds or the minds of department staff to allow the dredging.

“I don’t really feel comfortable commenting on specifics,’’ said board member Ann Kirol, when asked what steps were taken to protect rare fish populations in the area to be dredged. “We reached an agreement that I feel we were satisfied with.”

State Sen. Joel Lourie, D-Richland, who had a heated exchange with board chairman Amsler, said the board needed to ask more questions to make sure the compromise reached by staff members was sound.

“I clearly don’t think they did enough homework,’’ Lourie said of the board. “Every time we asked a question, we kept hearing, ‘Well, we relied on the staff.”

Questions also focused on why DHEC did not push harder for an alternative to deepening the Georgia port and why its board didn’t ask more questions about an unusual plan to inject oxygen into Savannah’s harbor. The harbor already suffers from low oxygen levels, but plans are to pump oxygen into the harbor on a scale rarely tried before.

State Sen. Tom Davis, R-Beaufort, blasted DHEC for approving the dredging to what he said was the detriment of the Jasper port. Mud dredged from Savannah could be dumped on the Jasper site, making it harder to develop the property, which is closer to the ocean.