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South Carolina
I think Hodges has taken a lesson from former Idaho governor Andrus who
threatened the same sort of thing (physically blocking waste shipments into
Idaho) until DOE agreed to cleanup some of the waste already here. It
worked in the sense that that led to the so-called legal Governor's
Agreement that commits DOE to all sorts of things over many decades - and -
it seemed to increase Andrus's popularity. In fact, Andrus (democrat) was
succeeded by Batt (republican), who continued the approach and negotiations
until the Governor's Agreement was completed. It failed in the sense that
it has soured the state and relations among DOE, the Idaho National
Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL), and Idaho. I can't say
whether (in hindsight) we'd be better off with or without Andrus' tactics.
As a former resident of South Carolina, I do have to point out that South
Carolinians have a long, proud history of telling the federal government to
go to hell. I seem to recall a little fort off the Charleston coast and a
disagreement that some call the war of yankee aggression. Hodges might be
the first SC governor since those days to threaten to use state troops to
oppose a federal action. The last such disagreement was pretty ugly.
Idaho does not have that long a history, but it does tend to view the
federal government as a LONG way away, populated by people who don't have a
clue about where Idaho is or what Idahoans value. Such feelings tend to
invite state politicians to feel safe in doing what Andrus did or Hodges is
doing.
_________________
Dr. Steven J. Piet
Consulting Engineer
Human Systems Engineering Dept
Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL)
P.O. Box 1625, Mail Stop 3605
Idaho Falls, ID 83415-3605
Phone: 208-526-5252
Email: pietsj@inel.gov
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