A mine near one of Horry County’s largest nature preserve? How you can have a say
A sand and dirt mining company has proposed digging a large mine near one of Horry County’s largest nature preserves, a move that has environmentalists worried.
Material from the mine will be used for construction, an essential element of building in fast-growing, low-lying areas like Horry County.
But the public will have a chance to weigh in on the mine before it wins state permits, and environmentalists hope they can pressure state officials to reject the permit and protect the nature preserve.
The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control will hold a public hearing on the permits for Soilutions’ mine on Edge Road on June 30.
Here’s what you need to know:
DHEC’s public hearing
DHEC has set the public hearing for the Edge Road Mine permits for Thursday, June 30 at 6:30 p.m. at the J. Bryan Floyd Community Center in North Myrtle Beach. The address is 1030 Possum Trot Road, North Myrtle Beach, SC 29582.
At the hearing, DHEC officials will collect written and oral comments on the mine’s permit application. If you can’t attend in person, DHEC will allow the public to call in or attend virtually online.
The agency will not answer questions about the mine at the hearing, according to a DHEC notice. Rather, the hearing will consist of comments from the public, which DHEC will take into consideration as it evaluates the permit application.
If you plan to participate, DHEC asks that you submit a registration form by June 29.
If you can’t participate in the public hearing but wish to submit comments to DHEC about the mine, you can do so in writing through July 15 via the following methods:
Online: https://epermweb.dhec.sc.gov/ncore/external/publicnotice/search
U.S. Mail and Email: Kaylin Joye, Project Manager
DHEC, Bureau of Land and Waste Management
2600 Bull Street, Columbia, SC 29201
Email: joyeke@dhec.sc.gov
Phone: (803) 898-1367
DHEC will post a video of the public hearing online prior to July 15.
The Edge Road Mine
According to its permit application, the mining company Soilutions is seeking a state permit to dig down 50 feet over 33 acres to mine sand and clay.
The company plans to use the material for construction. Homes and other buildings built in Horry County frequently use fill dirt to boost the base of the structure above flood levels.
In fast-growing places like Horry County, such material is a necessity for the rapid construction of new homes. Many homes could not be built in the low-lying county without such fill material.
The company currently has a limited permit to dig 20 feet deep over five acres.
The mine is located on Edge Road — a branch of S.C. 90, outside of Conway — and shares a border with the Lewis Ocean Bay Heritage Preserve.
Why the Edge Road Mine matters
Environmentalists worry that the mine’s proximity to the Lewis Ocean Bay Heritage Preserve could harm the Carolina bays, making the untouched forest more susceptible to wildfires than it already is. According to Trapper Fowler of the Coastal Conservation League, the mine could disturb the water table in the preserve, potentially harming the rare plants and wildlife that live there, like Venus flytraps and red cockaded woodpeckers.
And Becky Ryon, the North Coast Office Director for the Coastal Conservation League, said the preserve is used by “hunters, birders, bicyclists, and so many more.”
She said she hopes the public hearing results in DHEC denying permits to the mine.
CCL said it worries that the mine will affect the groundwater that the Lewis Ocean Bay Heritage Preserve sits on top of. If the water table is affected, he said, it could cause certain plants to dry out meaning the preserve is more susceptible to wildfires.
The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources already attempts to control wildfires at the preserve via prescribed burns that help get rid of dry “fuel” for natural fires.
“We encourage anyone who is able to attend the meeting in North Myrtle Beach and speak up for this unique habitat, which is home to rare and endangered species and enjoyed by hunters, birders, bicyclists, and so many more,” Ryon said in an email.
“We hope DHEC will recognize the impacts this sand mine could have on the fragile ecosystems at Lewis Ocean Bay, as well as the neighboring residents, and deny this mining permit,” she added.
Even if DHEC doesn’t approve a permit for Soilutions, the company plans to find some use for the land it owns, a spokesperson for the company previously told The Sun News.
Craig Kennedy, the spokesperson, declined to comment on the public hearing in an email Wednesday.
“We look forward to DHEC completing this necessary part of the permitting process and making a decision,” he said.
But Kennedy previously told The Sun News that Soilutions had taken all necessary precautions to avoid harming the nature preserve. He said the wildlife living in the preserve would not be harmed, based on observations by a biologist the company hired.
“There are (woodpecker) cavity trees within the (Lewis Ocean Bay) preserve, and based upon the wildlife biologist’s assessment, (the woodpeckers) will continue to have sufficient forging area within the preserve,” Kennedy said in February. “(The woodpeckers) will not suffer from any loss of critical habitat related to the Edge Road Mine.”
