SC Attorney General Alan Wilson files lawsuit over Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam plan

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) – Nov. 5, 2019 - Today, Attorney General Alan Wilson, on behalf of the State of South Carolina, its Department of Health and Environmental Control, and its Savannah River Maritime Commission, took decisive action against the United States Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) to ensure compliance with State and Federal law and protect the rule of law. The State filed a lawsuit against the Corps to prevent it from tearing down the historic New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam (NSBLD) and replacing it with another structure that would result in the lowering of the water level by over five feet. 

In advocating for its proposed plan, the Corps ignored Federal and State law and input from U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott, Congressman Joe Wilson, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, Attorney General Alan Wilson, State Senator Tom Young, State Representative Bill Hixon, and numerous local elected officials who had expressed doubts and concerns about the Corps’ proposed project.

Approximately 98% of the public comments received by the Corps opposed this proposed project. 

Attorney General Wilson said, “The Savannah River is a lifeline to many families and businesses. The action filed in Federal District Court today seeks to protect the rule of law and the integrity of South Carolina’s environment and permitting process from the capricious decision of an overzealous federal agency that ignores the State and harms its citizens.”  

You can read the lawsuit here.