Tidelands--Coastal Zone--The Governor's Veto, The Fritz Hollings Report: bringing South Carolina government to Washington

              THE
FRITZ HOLLINGS
REPORT
bringing South Carolina government to Washington
WASHINGTON, D.C.
AUGUST 1976
TIDELANDS — COASTAL ZONE --- THE GOVERNOR'S VETO
TIDELANDS. The Governor's veto of the Coastal. Zone Management Act of South Carolina was a mistake. But the first mistake was calling it the "Tidelands Bill." Immediately, owners of marshland who could trace their title to grants from the Lords Proprietors felt threatened and claimed that the proposed act was an assault on the ownership of private property. The fear and attention given this concern totally distorted the thrust of the act. No one ever intended to disturb legal title, and the General Assembly could not have constitutionally done so. The adjudication of claims respecting title is a judicial function. The Legislature can confirm title but it cannot take it away. In 1731, the Colonial Assembly passed acts which are now part of Chapter 2 of Title 57 of the South Carolina Code, whereby all of the grants of the Lords Proprietors were fully confirmed in spite of any minor irregularities. Most of the worry and debate was centered around an issue over which the General Assembly has no authority.
COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT. For some years now, the coastal regions of the United States have been embroiled in regulatory and bureaucratic turmoil. States, counties, and municipalities reacting to the urbanization of coastal America soon learned that their plans for orderly development were being thwarted by the check-off required by agencies of the Federal Government. No one could develop around the beaches, the inlets, the tributaries outside of a municipality along the coast without having to check with the Coast Guard, the Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife of the Interior Department, the Federal Highway Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency or, since 1972, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The people of Charleston trying to build the James Island Bridge are the best witnesses on this score. We have been checking and double- checking with Washington for nine years in order to build a bridge. Today, coastal America is being zoned by Washington bureaus.
Moreover, all interested parties realize that the problem will only become worse. The Census Bureau projects that by the year 2000, 85% of America's population will live within 50 miles of the coasts or the Great Lakes. Over 230,000,000 people will jam the area. Tough questions need to be answered. How to control the urban sprawl? Where to put the Ports Authority? What about the water-consuming industries? Where should recreational areas be placed? What natural areas should be preserved? What about the deep-water industries? Where would some of the nuclear power plants go to serve coastal America? Where should we locate the fishing industry?
It would be nice if we could approach the problem as it was when I was a child. Then, you could drive up and down Folly Beach ~ now the population boom makes it unsafe. And today those interested in property values and orderly development realize that a policy of disregard or a policy of "leaving it to Washington" is unwise.
Accordingly, I introduced the Coastal Zone Management bill in the Congress in 1970. With the support of the Council of State Governments, the Municipal Association, the State Ports Authority and the Association of County Governments, this bill became law in October, 1972. It contained amongst others one key provision: the state would do the planning and, once its plan was approved, then even Federal activities had to conform to the State Plan. This is the first time a state consistency provision was ever included in a Federal act. With a victory for states rights, I felt sure we could move successfully in South Carolina. We obtained the grant so that the state could institute a coastal zone
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Senator Hollings was on hand with Secretary of Commerce Elliot Richardson and other officials on July 26 when President Ford signed the $1.6 billion "Coastal Energy Impact Program" into law during a ceremony in the East Garden of the White House. The President described the Hollings bill as "excellent legislation" and said it "represents the kind of progress that can be made when the Congress and the Administration work together."
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