The Anatomy Of A (SUPERB) Scam

Every pol is an amoral asshole. Hopefully one day a significant number people will understand what government is to spare them the “surprise” of stories like these, which as you point out are too numerous to report on fully for one small outlet that gives a damn. Even if the local media were on board, there still wouldn’t be enough resource at hand to find a properly report them all.

Any chance Trikki Nikki will veto it (assuming it gets to her), or is she in on it? You would think she’d back up her girl Templeton, no?

I’m confused. Why is South Carolina, the Republican Nirvana where all loyal party cadres must prostrate themselves before the idol of the “Free Market,” is there a public insurance pool? Sounds like socialism to me. Why don’t gas stations pay for their own insurance? Oh, yeah…how foolish of me. Republicans only oppose regulation, special interest deals, and the squandering of public money when it doesn’t benefit their interests or when they can use it as a cudgel to beat their political opponents. I guess this is just another story exposing GOP hypocrisy.

A Republican screwing over average people to make money for rich people should be of no surprise to anyone. Its what Republicans are all about. They Represent the interests of the rich and corporate America. The could not care less about anyone else.
The fact that people with money try to buy politicians should be no news to anyone. The reason the Republican nominees to the Supreme Court ruled as it did in its most recent decision on campaign contributions was to make that process easier and less filled with risk of prosecution for the wealthy.
What is sort of surprising is that you would point this out without mentioning that you are complicit in this practice. Howard Rich pays off politicians every year to vote for his voucher scheme and other elements of his agenda. This web site assists him in doing that, and has never once called him out on his payoffs and those who take them.
So yes the populace should be outraged. But expect it to get worse and worse until they vote in people who will do something to stop it. In the past two decades of Republican rule in this state it has become business as usual.

Fitsnews, please use multiple sources of information to gather your materials for articles. Research 101. This article is full of inaccurate and false information. You have clearly written this article directly from the perspective of the regulators without regard for the facts. Instead of sensationalizing and politicizing an issue to drive comments, actually do your homework and write a genuine article on the topic. You, and several of the commentors are seriously misinformed on the SUPERB rates issue. Politics are generally dirty business, as can be reporting, but this is not a Republican/Democrat issue. The truth has been lost in this article. Disappointing.

Philip, the SUPERB fund is used to assess and cleanup sites on practically every road and intersection in our state. Google Earth would just look like one giant push pin collage. The homework assignment should be to show the pitfalls associated with different types of energy, both on the production side and on the consumer side. Have them drive by just about any gas station and look both onsite and on adjacent properties and see how many monitoring wells they can find in one hour in their neck of the woods.

Thank you Kunsuslu. You pretty much summed it up. A glorious bureaucracy is exactly what DHEC wants with this program. They wish to grow the size and influence of big government and remove choice from the marketplace, regardless of how it is done and the consequences. They wish to control the free market. Typical big government.

It should be noted that the actual cleanup portion of the work being discussed is typically 75% or more of the total cost and has always been bid out and awarded by DHEC to the lowest bidder, often an out-of-state individual, regardless of merit. The legislation slammed in this article pertains only to the assessment work, comprising typically less than 25% of the cost. The SUPERB rates for assessment have increased only about 3% (that’s right three) for a real-world job between 1996 and 2011. In 2011, the rates were already the lowest of all southeastern states. In 2013 the rates were dropped by 20-30%. That is what this bill is about – not extortion or politicians on the take or huge profit. There is much more to this issue than the author or his sources have detailed. Again, research the facts before going on a rant. Be informed with real data. Use your brain. Find the truth.

This is far worse. In the beginning their was a primary Corrosion Engineer in SC. The only one with a PE and experience to make the tanks safe using Corrosion Cathodic Protection techniques. He was the central person making sure all the corrosion prevention work was being done correctly. He even held training class for DHEC Inspectors. Then SC was besieged by out of state contractors, nearly all of which were not corrosion engineers, or trained, or certified by anyone. They were practicing slip shod and dangerous engineering that directly effected the lives & properties of SC Citizens. When the the State’s only fully licensed and certified Corrosion Engineer filed a complaint with the SC Board of Engineering Examiners, it got nowhere. They didn’t even launch an investigation. The engineer quit the business in disgust. Now, we have all these tanks that are still polluting and destroying the State’s ground water systems everywhere.

A complete boondoggle allowed by the State’s Petroleum industry to get around Federal regulations with the help of the State Board of Engineering Examiners and DHEC.

NOW WE ARE ALL PAYING THE PRICE!!!