From the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean, our state and federal parks and public natural areas provide habitat for wildlife and a place to recreate and commune with nature. These parks and green spaces are worth protecting and, with your help, H. 3892 will do just that by ensuring no landfill, mine or quarry can be constructed within two miles of them.
The pandemic has presented both a warning and a call to action. Over the last few years, people have relied on our open, natural spaces for recreation, fresh air, meditation, exercise and a reprieve from the stresses of a rapidly-changing world. However, South Carolina also has 137 landfills and over 500 mines—with more being added each year—and currently no law prohibits the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control from permitting a mine or landfill next to our public natural areas.
We are proud of Representative Richie Yow (R-Chesterfield), Representative Lee Hewitt (R-Georgetown), Representative Sandy McGarry (R-Lancaster), Representative Mark Smith (R-Berkeley), and Representative Joe Jefferson (D-Berkeley) for responding to this call by co-sponsoring H. 3892—a common sense, bipartisan bill which will help protect our parks and communities. But they can’t do it alone.
