Horry County, conservationists have ‘good’ meeting on International Drive

Horry County and environmental officials are calling Thursday's meeting about International Drive a good one and vow to meet later this month in enough time to avoid a potentially long court battle.

“It was a positive meeting and I think we were able to give them a better understanding of the necessity of International Drive and the demands from our constituents,” said Mark Lazarus, chairman of the Horry County Council, who met with the South Carolina Environmental Law Project and the Coastal Conservation League. Lazarus was joined by state Rep. Mike Ryhal, and councilmen Jody Prince and Johnny Vaught.

“We left each other with some things to think about and to research for the next couple of weeks,” Lazarus said.

At issue is the bear population and safety around International Drive, a proposed road between Carolina Forest and S.C. 90 that cuts through the Lewis Ocean Bay Preserve.

For nine years, the state, Horry County officials and the majority of voters in a 2006 sales tax referendum have been waiting for the construction of International Drive.

Authorities have said a major fire in 2009 thinned the bear population, and by 2013, county and SC Department of Natural Resources officials agreed that crossings would not be needed. In that agreement, the county said it would expand the road from two lanes to four lanes and reduce traffic speed from 60 mph to 35 mph.

As the county was securing the final permits for the project earlier this summer, the Environmental Law Project filed a request with DHEC to conduct a final review conference, which basically asks its board to review the work of its staff. In this case, the law project wanted the board to make sure the tunnels should not be a requirement.

DHEC ruled in late July that its board will not review its staff’s recommendations, and now the law project has until Aug. 29 to request a contested case hearing before the Administrative Law Court.

Amy Armstrong, executive director and chief counsel of the law project, said she thinks that the meeting went well.

“I think, overall, it was positive,” Armstrong said. “It was good for both of us to hear each other’s positions and where we were coming from. I think that there are things that each side needs to sit down and talk about and grapple with a little bit and see where we are. We’re going to continue to be optimistic.”

Lazarus said he hopes the permitting process can get back on track after Aug. 17.

“Hopefully we’ll walk out of that meeting with an agreement,” Lazarus said.

Armstrong said it’s too early to tell how the talks will turn out.

“I don’t know if we’ll have a resolution,” Armstrong said. “It’s really hard to tell.”

This story was originally published August 7, 2015 at 4:27 PM with the headline "Horry County, conservationists have ‘good’ meeting on International Drive."