Editorial roundup: Friday, Sept. 20, 2019

Recent editorials from South Carolina newspapers:

The Post and Courier

Sept. 13

Santee Delta could be affected by proposed project

After years of study, the federal Rural Utilities Service is once again moving ahead with plans for Central Electric Power Cooperative to run a 115-kilovolt transmission line to McClellanville to increase reliability and carrying capacity for rural eastern Charleston County.

The plan favored by Central Electric, the Belle Isle route, presents an unacceptable threat to the environmentally fragile Santee Delta. All Belle Isle options should be dropped from consideration because of the environmental, ecological and broader cultural resource considerations associated with the delta.

Two new alternative routes would avoid the delta.

One of them, the Jamestown route, would run east from Jamestown parallel to S.C. 45 through the Francis Marion National Forest, then hook northeast along an existing right-of-way for a 230-KV line and a natural gas pipeline before turning southeast to McClellanville, where a new substation would be built.

The other path, called the Charity route, would start at a substation close to the Nucor steel plant near Huger and run northeast along the same power line/pipeline right-of-way through the national forest, then turn southeast and follow the same path as the Jamestown route to McClellanville.

Two South Carolina utilities want to build a major power line to McClellanville, with one proposed route cutting through the Santee Delta and another through the Francis Marion National Forest.

If it's determined that the power line must be built after full exploration of alternative energy proposals such as solar, national forest routes following existing rights-of-way should be given top consideration.

Generally, alternatives should be limited to previously disturbed lands along those already established rights-of-way. Specifically, the Charity alternative along the existing gas line right-of-way through the national forest should be recommended in order to minimize further impact to the natural landscape.

The Coastal Conservation League and other environmental groups rightly have voiced plans to oppose any solution that would include stringing new power lines across the Santee Delta.

Jason Crowley of the CCL said the league remains staunchly against the Belle Isle route but was still analyzing the environmental and habitat impacts of the two new proposals and hadn't taken a position on them.

"We still believe (the Rural Utilities Service) hasn't adequately explored other options such as solar and battery storage" to improve reliability, he said.

Additionally, McClellanville is beyond the regional urban growth boundary, and Mr. Crowley worried that increased capacity for electrification would only fuel "misdirected growth." He is correct in warning against actions that would encourage development on the fringes of the metro area and worsen the Charleston area's sprawl problems.

During previous discussions, SCE&G offered to improve its existing power distribution service coming from the south as an alternative to the Santee Delta line. An SCE&G spokesman also had expressed a willingness to work with the two co-ops on a power line alternative. But a spokesman for SCE&G successor Dominion Energy, Paul Fischer, said that while Dominion was aware of the siting process, "we have not been formally asked to participate in the project."

The Coastal Conservation League earlier recommended that Central Electric and Berkeley Co-op avoid the transmission line altogether by providing solar power, while improving the existing system so there would be a dependable level of redundancy in case of a serious outage.

Smaller-scale improvements or alternative power sources would serve the needs of that area without the environmental destruction of towering transmission lines.

Public comments will be accepted through Oct. 22 by email, comments-mcclellanville@louisberger.com, or by writing to Lauren Rayburn, USDA Rural Utilities Service, 160 Zillicoa St., Ste. 2, Asheville, N.C., 28801.

Anyone concerned about the environment should attend the meetings to voice their concerns. We must protect the extremely vulnerable Santee Delta.

The Times and Democrat

Sept. 12

Threat of rabies after recent coyote attack in Columbia

It was inevitable in South Carolina: A rabid coyote has attacked animals and people in Columbia.

Officers from the Richland County Sheriff's Department and the S.C. Department of Natural Resources responded to a call of a coyote attack at The Grove apartments on Zimalcrest Drive on Sept. 1.

At approximately 6:30 a.m., according to police reports, four people and two dogs were attacked and injured by a coyote.

A female victim described the incident to WLTX-TV: She had leashed her dogs to take them on a morning walk when she and her pets were attacked by a coyote in the complex. The woman was able to separate the dogs and the wild animal and run back inside her apartment. The coyote attacked again, pushing through the door.

The human victims were able to drive themselves to a local hospital, and the two dogs were taken to an emergency veterinarian, WLTX reported.

The coyote was located and put down by Richland County sheriff's deputies.

The Department of Health and Environmental Control informed victims that the coyote tested positive for rabies. They are being advised to seek medical treatment.

The increased presence of coyotes over the past four decades makes them a growing rabies threat among wild animals in the state. Already in 2019, DHEC has confirmed 99 cases of rabies. There were 100 in all of 2018.

Thankfully, no cases have been reported in Orangeburg, Calhoun and Bamberg counties. The coyote is the fourth animal in Richland County to test positive for rabies this year.

Yet it's not as if the threat here cannot be real. In the late 1970s, Orangeburg County had the highest rabies rate in the Southeast but has seen a decline in the number of people treated and the number of suspected rabid animals reported. It had no reported cases in 2017 and none in 2018.

Rabies is a dangerous disease, and potential exposure to it demands immediate medical attention.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported as many as 40,000 people in the United States receive rabies post-exposure treatment each year with annual public health costs being upward of $300 million.

In 2011, South Carolina experienced its first human death from rabies in 53 years because of an unreported exposure to a rabid bat.

Rabies is most often carried by wild animals - most notably raccoons, foxes, skunks, bats and, yes, coyotes - and in a rural county such as Orangeburg, the risk of encountering a rabid animal is higher than in many places in the state.

Vaccination of pets against the disease and avoiding exposure to wild animals are the best ways for humans to protect themselves.

"Rabies is usually transmitted through a bite, which allows saliva from an infected animal to be introduced into the body of a person or another animal. However, saliva or neural tissue contact with open wounds or areas such as the eyes, nose or mouth could also potentially transmit rabies," according to David Vaughan, director of DHEC's Onsite Wastewater, Rabies Prevention and Enforcement Division.

"To reduce the risk of getting rabies, always give wild and stray animals their space," Vaughan said.

If a stray dog or wild animal poses an immediate danger, call your county or city animal control officer, DHEC advises. If your county or city does not have an animal control officer, call local police or the sheriff's office to see if they can respond. Typically, animal-control officers will set a trap for the animal.

Most importantly, if you think you have been exposed to a rabid animal and are potentially at risk, take action.

If you are bitten or scratched by an animal, clean the wound thoroughly with soap and water. Then be sure to get medical attention and report the incident to your local DHEC office.

Rabies in humans is preventable if treatment is received promptly. The treatments ensure the individuals will not contract rabies.

For more information about rabies, see DHEC's webpage at scdhec.gov/rabies. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's rabies webpages can be found at cdc.gov/rabies and cdc.gov/rabies/bats/contact/capture.html.