More than 100 come for Pawleys groin hearing
By Clayton Stairs
cstairs@gtowntimes.com
If a new groin is built at the south end of Pawleys Island, it might save the county's largest free beach access, but there may be risks to the environment.
Arguments on both sides were heard by state officials Wednesday night at the Waccamaw Library during a public hearing about the groin.
The public can comment on the proposed groin for the next two weeks.
Georgetown County applied for state and federal permits in April for the groin, which would be 205 feet long with a $95,000 bond to remove the groin if there are any future problems.
It would be located at the south end of the large parking lot for the purpose of protecting the lot and walkways from erosion.
There are already 23 groins along the beach on Pawleys Island.
'Groins don't work'
Opponents of the groin, including environmental groups like the Coastal Conservation League (CCL) and the South Carolina Environmental Law Project (SCELP), said groins do not stop erosion and they can even damage nearby beaches -- Prince George, DeBordieu and Hobcaw.
CCL Executive Director Nancy Cave said building another groin after 23 have failed to stabilize the beach is unwise.
"When will we recognize that manmade structures are a detriment to the beach and to all of us," Cave said.
I hope the state will plan for the future, not just think about what is happening here today."
Orrin Pilkey, an emeritus professor of earth science at Duke University who has written two books on the South Carolina Coast, warned that although the permits require monitoring, that usually doesn't work.
"You have to do something with the monitoring and normally nothing is done," Pilkey said.
"You can't depend on monitoring."
He urged the state officials to reject the permit application for the groin.
"I don't think there is an erosion problem here and you have been able to keep the beach intact very cheaply," Pilkey said.
He was referring to a recent renourishing project that only cost the county $21,000.
Public beach access
Those for the groin, including several Georgetown County Council members and County Administrator Sel Hemingway, said groins do work and this one would stop erosion and save a popular beach access used by people all over the county, state and region.
Glenn O'Connell, who represents the Pawleys Island community on County Council, stated that he and the other members voted unanimously three times to approve the groin permit application.
"Public access to the beach is scarce and this access must be protected for all citizens," O'Connell said.
"Studies clearly show the need for a groin."
Pawleys Police Chief Guy Osborne said the parking area for the beach access on the south end is always packed and on weekends it is overflowing.
He added that about 85 percent of the cars are from Georgetown County and surrounding areas.
Osborne also stated that the parking lot is one of the most pressing safety issues on the island.
Undecided
Some people are still undecided about whether a groin is needed in that location, or if groins are damaging to the environment.
Local resident Phillip Lammonds posed this question: "Are we giving Mother Nature a hysterectomy?"
He explained that it seems like every time there is work done to improve the beach on Pawleys Island the beaches south suffer the consequences.
"We don't really know what is going to happen with this thing," Lammonds said.
"I just wonder what we are doing every time we add another brick to the pile."
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To add comments to the public record, send them to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control's Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management at 927 Shine Avenue, Myrtle Beach, S.C. 29577.