Rhodes’ role in Haley’s Port of Savannah controversy to be further discussed
The chairwoman of the S.C. Natural Resources Board, Caroline Rhodes of Charleston, will have to wait a while longer to find out if she will retain her position. A subcommittee of the Senate Fish, Game and Forestry Committee Thursday carried over debate on a resolution introduced by Sen. Brad Hutto (D-Orangeburg), which calls for Rhodes’ ouster as DNR Board chair and asks the state attorney general to determine if prosecution is warranted. Hutto’s resolution charged that Rhodes gave false testimony about instructions she gave former John Frampton the former director of the S.C. Department of Natural Resources, on how to deal with the controversial Savannah River port project.
Several senators have called for Rhodes to be fired because, they say, she lied to them at a committee hearing earlier this year on the controversy surrounding Frampton’s retirement, which is effective this week.
Speculation is rampant that Gov. Nikki Haley, who elevated Rhodes to the chair last year, directed Rhodes to block SCDNR efforts to assist the S.C Maritime Commission in dealing with the Savannah River port project. Haley reached an agreement with the governor of Georgia on proceeding with the project, and then replaced the entire board of the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control which subsequently approved a permit for the project.
At issue is an email from Frampton to SCDNR staff in December, advising them that Rhodes had directed the agency not to participate in a meeting of the S.C. Maritime Commission, which was created by the legislature to deal with plans to expand port facilities at Savannah. In November, the Commission declared the DHEC water-quality permit for the port “improperly issued” and “illegal” and later filed suit to stop Georgia from dredging the Savannah River.
When pressed by Sen. Hutto about Frampton’s email, Rhodes said, “Senator, I dispute anything that was written in that email. I did not say that. If I had been copied on that, I would have corrected John Frampton.”
Rhodes told the senators she did not know that SCDNR was obligated by law to support the Maritime Commission at the time of the Commission’s December.
Hutto pressed further.
“My concern is your apparent lack of knowledge. Are you now aware that DNR has a significant and important role to place in the Maritime Commission’s deliberations?” he asked
Rhodes replied, “Yes.”
Hutto then asked, “Are you committed to allow your staff to participate and give their time and honest comments to the commission in the future?”
Rhodes replied, “Absolutely. I am absolutely committed to fulfilling the role of the DNR.”
Sen. Greg Gregory of Lancaster called the DNR Board “dysfunctional” after viewing videotaps of the DNR Board’s December meeting that dealt with Frampton’s retirement. At that meeting, two members – holdovers appointed by former Gov. Mark Sanford – learned that Frampton had been urged to retire earlier than planned, and that Rhodes and other Haley appointees on the DNR Board had discussed the issue without including the two in the conversations.
Gregory told Rhodes he hoped the subcommittee meeting would be considered a new starting point for Rhodes and the board.
“I have rectified the dysfunction among board members, and we have put it behind us,” Rhodes said.
Asked if she would remain on the board if Haley were to replace her as chair, Rhodes said that she served at the discretion of the governor. Asked if she would voluntarily step down as chairwoman, she said, “No.”
Several senators asked that Hutto’s resolution be carried over. They plan to call Frampton back to testify about his conversations with Rhodes on the issue of SCDNR’s involvement with the Maritime Commission and Port of Savannah dredging.
