State regulators: Issue cruise permit

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — State regulators who issued a permit for a new $35 million cruise terminal in Charleston say it should be issued without further review.

Steve Brooks with the Office of Ocean and Coastal Resources has written the board of the Department of Health and Environmental Control in response to requests by terminal opponents for further review.

The permit issued last month allows new pilings beneath an old warehouse being renovated for the terminal. Brooks told the board the permit is permissible by law and complies with air pollution standards.

The DHEC board is to take up the request to review it at a meeting in Columbia on Thursday.

Terminal opponents say noise and pollution from the city’s cruise industry threaten Charleston’s character.