By SAMMY FRETWELL - The State

Santee Cooper won an important victory Thursday in its quest to build a $2.2 billion coal-fired power plant near Florence, persuading the state’s environmental protection agency that the utility is entitled to an air pollution permit.

The state Department of Health and Environmental Control board voted 4-2 to issue the permit, even though most board members expressed reservations about the impact a new coal plant would have on South Carolina.

Santee Cooper met all the legal requirements and DHEC staff members followed the law in granting approval, board members said near the end of a hearing lasting about five hours.

  The utility, which serves about 2 million of the state’s 4 million residents, applied for the air permit about three years ago. Santee Cooper says it needs the plant to supply power until nuclear plants are built in the next decade.

“Our role was not whether I liked the coal-powered plant,” said board member Coleman Buckhouse of Florence. “Our job today and what we’ve been charged with is, ‘Did the staff properly issue the permit?’”

Board members voting in favor of the coal plant were: Buckhouse, Glenn McCall of Rock Hill, Hank Scott of Barnwell and Steven Kisner of Aiken.

“We don’t agree about the technology that’s being used,” McCall said. “But I think (with) what’s before us, we have to act.”

Board members Edwin Cooper of Charleston and David Mitchell of Spartanburg voted against the permit, saying they had too many questions about mercury discharges. By law, chairman Bo Aughtry of Greenville doesn’t vote unless there is a tie. Aughtry said after the meeting he would have voted against the plant.

Thursday’s decision is a major step forward for the plant, but it doesn’t guarantee construction.

Environmental lawyer Blan Holman said conservation groups, including the S.C. Coastal Conservation League, the state Sierra Club and the state Wildlife Federation, likely will appeal the DHEC decision. Also, Santee Cooper still needs a federal wetlands permit, state water quality certification and several other state environmental permits before it can begin work, DHEC spokesman Thom Berry said. The process could take months.

The DHEC board vote is the latest twist in a highly charged debate over building the coal-fired power plant along the Great Pee Dee River in eastern South Carolina. Not since the agency eased rules for the cleanup of a toxic waste landfill at Lake Marion in 1995 has DHEC seen this much interest in a board decision.

After months of silence, Gov. Mark Sanford on Wednesday came out against the plant. With tightening federal rules for coal plants and a slumping economy, the plant isn’t necessary to bridge the gap until new nuclear plants can be built in the next decade, he said. If built, the coal plant is expected to be in use for 50 years.

“We are disappointed,” Sanford spokesman Joel Sawyer said after Thursday’s vote. “We had hoped that DHEC would take a step back and at least consider delaying the decision.”

John Frampton, director of South Carolina’s other major environmental agency, the Department of Natural Resources, also said last week that his agency opposes the coal plant because of concerns about the facility’s environmental impact.

Coal-fired power plants make electricity by burning coal. They contribute to global warming by releasing greenhouse gases, while pumping out mercury that threatens to taint many of the fish people eat. The toxic metal already has polluted fish across South Carolina, including some in the Great Pee Dee. Several states have backed away from new coal plants.

The Santee Cooper plant is expected to release 93 pounds of mercury annually and some 10 million tons of carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas.

About 50 protesters, ranging from students to longtime environmental activists, picketed against the plant at DHEC headquarters on Bull Street before the meeting. Many carried signs and chanted slogans. The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy even positioned an inflatable “dirty coal plant” on DHEC’s lawn.

Santee Cooper officials told the DHEC board their coal facility will have state-of-the-art pollution controls that will efficiently remove more than 90 percent of the mercury and soot generated. The plant also will release carbon dioxide, expected to be regulated soon as a pollutant.

Lonnie Carter, Santee Cooper’s president and CEO, said he understands concerns about the plant but said DHEC understood the company’s commitment to minimize pollution.

“If I could finish my career and never build any kind of power plant, I would,” Carter said. “No matter what we do, we’ll have some impact on the environment. (But) Santee Cooper has a good record of doing its best to protect the environment.”

Much of the hearing was spent arguing the legalities of air pollution control requirements. Santee Cooper was represented by Ben Hagood, a former state lawmaker and federal prosecutor who is often allied with environmental groups. He said the company had met all requirements for a permit.

Attorneys for the Southern Environmental Law Center and other groups said DHEC staff members had issued the air permit in violation of state and federal laws. Among other things, lawyers said DHEC staffers should have required more stringent pollution controls and waited for a federal environmental impact statement, expected this spring.

They also presented a chart showing the Santee Cooper facility will release more mercury than those in some states. The chart referred to 11 plants in other states. DHEC staff members disputed the comparison, but board members Cooper and Mitchell said they were concerned about the plant’s mercury controls.

They urged the board to delay a vote.

“On this particular issue, Gov. Sanford had it right,” Cooper said. “We’ve got an opportunity to take a breather and figure out what is best for the state.”