McMaster names former Boeing lobbyist as DHEC board chair

A former lawyer for Gov. Carroll Campbell and onetime lobbyist for Boeing has been chosen as the new board chairman for the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control, one of the state's largest agencies.

Mark Elam, who was chief of staff and legal counsel to Campbell, will succeed Allen Amsler as DHEC's board chairman, according to Gov. Henry McMaster's office. Amsler, a construction company executive, resigned in February after seven years on the DHEC board.

McMaster nominated Elam, a 54-year-old Charleston County resident, to head the agency's eight-member governing board. The nomination requires confirmation by the state Senate.

As board chairman, Elam could play a key role in setting environmental and health policy in South Carolina, as well as choosing a new director to run the state agency.

With more than 3,500 workers, DHEC touches virtually every S.C. resident in some way. The department oversees hospital expansions, issues birth certificates, considers pollution permits for industries, and tests water and air for contamination. Its board establishes policy for the agency, and hears appeals of environmental and health permits approved or rejected by staff members.

Elam's appointment comes as President Donald Trump, a McMaster ally, is moving to loosen environmental regulations, saying they unduly burden businesses. McMaster, a former state attorney general once praised by environmentalists, has signed bills this year to reduce regulation of businesses, ranging from chicken farms to industrial plants.

""I am confident that Mr. Elam will provide the leadership at the Department of Health and Environmental Control that South Carolinians deserve — striking the necessary balance between protecting our state’s invaluable natural resources and allowing South Carolina businesses to grow and thrive without being subjected to burdensome over-regulation, all while promoting and protecting public health in our great state," McMaster said in a news release Wednesday.

Elam, who is retired, was not made available for comment Wednesday.

State records show Elam was one of Boeing's chief lobbyists at the S.C. Legislature from 2012 through last year. During that time, Elam earned more than $130,000 lobbying for the aircraft manufacturer, according to state Ethics Commission records.

In 2009, Boeing announced it would establish an aircraft manufacturing plant in North Charleston. The company has received substantial state tax breaks for bringing more than 7,000 jobs to the Lowcountry.

While Boeing is regulated by DHEC, Elam's former employment by the aircraft maker should not create a conflict of interest as the agency's board chairman, McMaster spokesman Brian Symmes said Wednesday. "DHEC, in some way or another, regulates virtually every sector of our state’s business community, and the governor is excited for the business-minded leadership Mr. Elam will bring to the agency.''

Bob McAlister, a former Campbell chief of staff, said Elam has expertise on a wide range of policy issues, most notably environment and regulatory matters, in both Columbia and Washington. Elam worked for Campbell while the Republican was a congressman and, later, when he was S.C. governor from 1987-1995.

"All of Mark's adult life has been involved in public policy issues at the highest level, so this is a seamless transition,'' McAlister said.

McMaster's choice of Elam is the latest in a series of changes on the DHEC board.

After succeeding Nikki Haley as governor in January 2017, McMaster did not immediately make new appointments to the agency's board. This year, however, McMaster has appointed health care executive Rick Toomey of Beaufort County and businesswoman Seema Shrivastava-Patel of Lexington County to the DHEC board. Both were confirmed by the Senate. The Senate also is considering McMaster's appointment of Myrtle Beach businessman Jim Creel Jr.

Haley's board was more conservative than the previous one, appointed by Republican Gov. Mark Sanford.

Bob Guild, a Sierra Club lawyer who has dealt with DHEC for three decades, said he is interested to see whether Elam's leadership of the agency's board will continue the conservative shift established when Haley became governor in 2011.

"I'm not holding my breath about these appointments,'' Guild said. "I would just say, from the perspective of the Sierra Club, we hope Henry McMaster did his job in making these appointments.''

This story was originally published April 11, 2018 at 10:40 AM with the headline "McMaster names former Boeing lobbyist as DHEC board chair."