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NENA SHAW: The Environmental Protection Agency
has a mission of protecting human health and the environment, and one of the ways that we do
that is through permitting.
The challenge for a lot of folks is: our permitting processes are very complicated.
In some cases, we own them from beginning to end, and in many cases, we don't.
Streamlining permitting is really crucial.
It's where the rubber meets the road in terms of economic development and environmental protection.
LEAH KRIDER: Back in 2013, we realized that we needed to look at long-term growth at the site.
In order to do that, we needed to buy additional land.
We were looking to acquire about 468 acres.
The challenge though, of course, was that about 150 acres of that were wetlands.
So, we sat down, had some extensive conversations both internally and externally to figure out
how we could get through the permitting process.
SHELLY WILSON: South Carolina has reduced the average time it takes to issue permits
by about 40% since 2007, while being protective of our beautiful state.
KELLY LAYCOCK: In collaborating with the Army Corps of Engineers in this process, you know, EPA has
a supporting role.
Boeing coming in early and letting us know exactly what they needed and what they wanted
really helped with that process, meet the timelines -- it helped us and the Corps.
NAT BALL: Boeing really had done their homework, and so when they came and submitted a permit
application, we were able to sit down with the agencies; we had a complete understanding
of what they were proposing to do.
In this case, Boeing was expanding an existing aircraft manufacturing assembly facility.
The facility itself is surrounded by development.
There are interstates; there's an airport; and so the resources that would get impacted in
some ways had been impacted before in the past.
DAVID MAYBANK, III: We have learned that you cannot protect little, isolated, postage-stamp
pieces of property effectively because those small-scale properties don't support the natural
communities in the way that large-scale protection projects do.
NAT BALL: One of the wonderful things about their mitigation plan is that they then looked
beyond the boundaries of their site into the larger watershed, and were able to find sites
that are related to the greenbelt for the City of Charleston.
LEAH KRIDER: It's made up of three different parcels.
Two of those will go to U.S. Forest Service once we've gotten through some of the enhancement
activities that we agreed to perform, and then the rest of it will go to the South Carolina
Department of Natural Resources.
LEAH KRIDER: It was taking it a step further, still meeting our regulatory obligations,
of course, but something that we could really give back to this community that had been so welcoming to us.
One of the great things about Charleston is not only the people and the hospitality, and
how welcoming they've been to Boeing from the beginning, but also frankly, the landscape.
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MARK ROBERTSON: At the Nature Conservancy, we like to lead with science, and we saw an
opportunity here to set up a mitigation plan for wetlands that actually involved restoring
native long-leaf pine forests, which is a priority for conservation, because so much
of it has been eliminated and destroyed.
So any opportunity to bring it back is really important.
PEGGY NADLER: The Boeing project changed the way we prioritize lands.
We've added mitigation potential into the equation.
NATE BERRY: Since working with Boeing four years ago and working with three other permittees,
we've actually been able to protect an additional 3,500 acres around the Boeing properties using
a very similar approach.
So, I think we've proven that this is a successful and replicable mitigation strategy.
MARK ROBERTSON: This was a project that was really good for the environment, good for
the economy, and good for the State of South Carolina.
NAT BALL: When Boeing came to the table, they were prepared.
When we held public meetings with the community and we met with their neighbors, Boeing had
already been there.
LEAH KRIDER: My advice to others going through a complicated permitting process is to be open.
Because of a lot of the work that we did ahead of time talking to the agencies, we were able
to get all of the major permits that we needed, which included the wetlands permit, in six
months and one week.
Planning. Communication. Flexibility. Collaboration.
NENA SHAW: Everybody came together to ensure
that Boeing could expand their plant and create the jobs that are so important for economic development,
but at the same time protect and enhance thousands of acres of wetlands that everybody can enjoy
for generations to come.
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