COLUMBIA --- The South Carolina Senate will return to work this week to take up the state spending plan, but it will also address water restrictions and highway beautification.
House members will return to Columbia next week:
- A Senate panel will revisit the issue of creating a permitting system for industries and any others that want to use the state's surface water. During the last meeting on the bill, S. 452, the committee room was packed with representatives from various industries, environmentalists and hydrology experts.
After years of trying to create a system to monitor water usage, the sponsors of the bill have drawn the support of former opponents, such as the S.C. Farm Bureau. Residential consumers stand to gain if the bill passes because it's intended to prevent an industrial consumer from moving to an area and using up a community's drinking water supply.
- Under S. 166, the S.C. Department of Transportation would create a project aimed at removing nonconforming billboards to "reveal miles of picturesque rural scenery to those traveling within South Carolina."
- The recycling industry will be honored with a resolution to make April 21 "South Carolina Recyclers Day." The recycling industry is directly responsible for more than 15,000 jobs, $1.5 billion in personal income, and $69 million in tax revenue annually, according to resolution S. 682.
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