The South Carolina Environmental Law Project challenges SC DHEC’s choice to allow a developer to move forward with bulldozing Ingram Dunes.
DHEC granted a storm water permit for the site on Monday, and there’s not much time before clearing could begin.
“In 90 days, the developer can start construction,” said Amy Armstrong, the Executive Director for SCELP.
“Ninety days is very short,” said Damien Triouleyre, President of Preserve Ingram Dunes. “Extremely short.”
The state’s Environmental Law Project and Preserve Ingram Dunes filed an appeal to reverse DHEC’s decision to permit the developer to start clearing.
“This isn’t some, you know, environmentalist issue, this is a community issue,” said Armstrong.
They say it could take away how the dunes help out during storms and flooding.
“It takes a year for a drop of water to go from the Ingram Dunes, down, all the way down through the sand,” said Triouleyre.
“If there’s a storm and you’ve got these big, high sand dunes, they’re going to protect the properties behind it and surrounding it because they can act as a buffer to those big waves and the wind and the water that come when we see major hurricane events,” said Armstrong.
They say DHEC did not apply coastal protection laws when it granted the storm water permit.
“The laws are designed to make sure you don’t put development in areas that are going to exacerbate and increase flooding,” said Armstrong.
Armstrong told News13 she believes the money raised by the city shows its willingness to want to protect the dunes.
SCELP and Preserve Ingram Dunes say their ideal outcome is to see the city turn the dunes into a park or nature preserve.