Not every business, state agency or public body can “get it right” each time it makes a decision.

But when the Department of Health and Environmental Control missteps, South Carolinians’ lives and property can be at risk.

Many people say the agency generally does a good job of handling public health issues. Where it has fallen short is on environmental issues, which can affect public health. Here are 10 high-profile examples of agency missteps over the past 20 years.

In some cases, federal officials, courts or state lawmakers decided DHEC was too lenient with polluters – favoring companies or lawmakers advocating for those companies, sometimes at the expense of public safety and health.

In other cases, DHEC withheld, or is withholding, information that would help residents make their own informed decisions.

BURIED HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS: SUMTER COUNTY

In 1995, DHEC’s governing board sided with the operator of a 279-acre hazardous waste landfill near the shores of Lake Marion about how to pay for a cleanup should the site leak. The agency agreed Laidlaw Environmental Services, later known as Safety-Kleen, would be good for the money – and canceled cash payments the company had been making into a cleanup fund. Critics warned landfills always leak. And they said Laidlaw could avoid the liability by declaring bankruptcy when the landfill was no longer a money maker. Safety-Kleen filed for bankruptcy in June 2000, just months after the state Court of Appeals forced it to close, leaving S.C. taxpayers liable for an estimated $84 million. DHEC sided with Safety Kleen against two other state agencies, Santee Cooper and the Department of Natural Resources.

MERCURY WARNINGS

For years, DHEC tested fish in S.C. rivers and lakes for signs of mercury contamination and developed booklets describing the dangers of eating those fish. But the agency warned residents of the dangers only by notifying newspapers and radio and television outlets. Only this year, after media scrutiny, did DHEC post signs where the public could see them – at boat landings and fishing spots. Mercury poisoning can cause brain and nerve damage.

MERCURY RELEASES: SPARTANBURG COUNTY

In the early 1990s, Laidlaw/TOC repeatedly polluted the North Tyger River in Roebuck with mercury from its hazardous waste incinerator. Furious nearby residents appealed in federal court and then criticized DHEC for levying what they said was a token fine of $100,000 in hopes of scuttling their lawsuit, which sought larger damages. U.S. District Judge Joe Anderson agreed with the residents and fined the company $405,800. Anderson’s decision was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Full Story: http://www.thestate.com/news-extras/story/591479.html