HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — As Horry County prepares for RIDE IV infrastructure improvement projects, it’s also working to offset the impact of those projects by setting up a wetlands bank.
Officials say the idea, which has been in the works for years, is close to the finish line.
Land records show in 2018 the county purchased nearly 3,700 acres off International Drive for roughly $12 million — a move designed to make up for wetlands that would otherwise be lost through development.
But some say it’s a double-edged sword.
“The conservation of the property is wonderful, we really appreciate that,” Becky Ryon, the north coast office director for the Coastal Conservation League said. “But it does mean that there will be impacts to wetlands somewhere in the county.”
From International Drive, the empty space looks like just a highway, but just beyond that are hundreds of acres of pristine Carolina bays, organic soil and an ecosystem that some consider rare.
The land sits across from Lewis Ocean Bay Heritage Preserve but is not associated with it.