COLUMBIA, S.C. — Historic preservation groups across South Carolina are pushing back on a federal permitting overhaul that cleared a key Senate vote this week, warning it could leave old cemeteries, battlefields and historic districts with fewer protections.
The Senate voted 73-25 on Monday to move ahead with the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, a sprawling bill led by Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, the West Virginia Republican at the head of the Environment and Public Works Committee. Supporters say it would cut delays for energy and infrastructure projects, from gas plants and drilling to wind and solar farms. The vote was procedural and did not pass the bill.
The worry is over how the bill would rewrite parts of the National Historic Preservation Act, passed in 1966. Today, any project that uses federal money must be reviewed to see whether it would harm nearby historic or cultural resources, and federal agencies have to consult with local communities as part of that process.
Under the bill, preservationists say, neighbors would only get a say when a project falls under substantial federal control, a term the bill does not define. They argue decisions about what counts as significant would shift largely to the federal agency itself, and that working out the new rules could take years.
A letter opposing the changes drew signatures from upward of a dozen preservation organizations in South Carolina, along with more than 600 groups nationwide.
Advocates point to past reviews that turned up history no one knew was there. Ahead of a 10-acre expansion of Florence National Cemetery in 2005, a required survey of the grounds uncovered hundreds of unmarked features of a Civil War prison camp for Union soldiers, including buttons, fence lines and a soldier’s remains. The recovery of the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley was also handled under the same law.
Because unmarked graves and battlefield sites are often found only once digging starts, opponents say weaker review could mean historic sites around the state are paved over before anyone looks.
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