COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) – South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster has blocked a last-minute plan to let wealthy oceanfront property owners rebuild a seawall on an eroding public beach in Georgetown County.
The State reports McMaster on Wednesday vetoed a bill that would have exempted several dozen homes at Debordieu Beach from the state’s ban on seawalls.
Lawmakers had amended a bill to accommodate the Debordieu property owners who for years have fought to reconstruct a battered seawall. Rep. Davy Hiott, a Pickens Republican who chairs the House agriculture committee, pushed for the amendment.
In his veto message, McMaster said it was wrong for the Legislature to “hastily enact” a special exception to South Carolina’s beachfront management law adopted more than 30 years ago and includes a ban on construction of new seawalls.
