The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control confirmed Tuesday it won’t punish the operators of a dirt mine on Edge Road near the Lewis Ocean Bay Heritage Preserve.

The agency, however, will delay awarding a permit to the operators for weeks so it can host a public hearing and accept additional public comments.

The mining operation was caught in a permitting snafu in recent months, which caused DHEC to order the company, Soilutions, to cease operations.