Horry County鈥檚 flow control ordinance may be up in the air again as the S.C. House and Senate members filed a bill challenging the law.
House Bill 3290 and Senate Bill 203 were filed last week at the State House to stop what some legislators say is a monopoly on solid waste.
Forty-six House members signed on to sponsor the bill, including local representatives Nelson Hardwick, Alan Clemmons and Liston Barfield.
Three Senators sponsored the Senate version of the bill.
Mike Bessant, spokesman for the Horry County Solid Waste Authority (SWA), said the SWA is upset to see the bill filed again.
鈥淲e are sad to see the House of Representatives and the Senate members filed this bill again this year,鈥 he said. 鈥淲e hope we can convince them of the impact the bill will have on Horry County鈥檚 solid waste management systems along with the recycling programs.鈥
Hardwick said the bill is meant to get rid of Horry County鈥檚 monopoly on solid waste and to keep prices down.
鈥淚t is my opinion that the county, through its ordinances, has established a monopoly by saying you must do business with this landfill and pay what they want you to pay,鈥 he said. 鈥淣ow, the only thing that keeps prices down is business competition and that isn鈥檛 happening in Horry County.鈥
Barfield and Clemmons were not immediately available for comment.
Similar bills were filed this past year in the S.C. House and the Senate, but didn鈥檛 make it to the governor鈥檚 desk. 鈥淲e hope this year we can get the bill passed,鈥 Hardwick said.
In 2012, the Carolina Forest Civic Association strongly opposed the bills that were introduced last year.
Bo Ives, the association鈥檚 president, said that opposition was borne out of a perceived threat of a landowner considering putting a transfer station in Carolina Forest.
Ives said the association received assurances from the landowner and a truck company that they wouldn鈥檛 pursue the transfer station. The association hasn鈥檛 discussed this year鈥檚 bill.
鈥淎fter our experience with flow control, the board wanted to retract from getting extra-political and decided we wanted to promote cleanups, bikeways and community building,鈥 Ives said.
Speaking as an individual and president of the Winyah chapter of the Sierra Club, however, Ives said the flow control bill is the antithesis of free enterprise.
The 鈥淔reedom of Business Act,鈥 as it鈥檚 known, doesn鈥檛 address recycling and is an attempt by government to impact business, Ives said.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e supporting the worst model of free enterprise that I can think of,鈥 Ives said. 鈥淚 tell the opponents to come up with something on recycling and we鈥檒l stand down.鈥
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