Title 48, Environmental Protection and Conservation

Text of (D)(10) is repealed effective July 1, 2026. See, Editor's Note following this section. (A) Ninety days after July 1, 1977, no person shall utilize a critical area for a use other than the use the critical area was devoted to on such date unless he has first obtained a per…

Golf courses seaward of the baseline that existed prior to the effective date of the regulations promulgated in 1991 pursuant to the Beachfront Management Act may be protected under emergency orders issued or approved by the department using the same methodology that is used to p…

(A) Any person who wishes may submit development plans to the department for preliminary review. If a permit is necessary, the department will make every effort to assist the applicant in expediting the permit application. (B) Each application for a permit shall be filed with the…

(A) The department may charge an administrative fee upon application for a permit for alteration of a critical area as defined in Section 48-39-10. Applications for permits which are noncommercial/nonindustrial in nature and provide personal benefits that have no connection with …

Notwithstanding any statutory or regulatory provision of law to the contrary, including any provision of or authorized by this chapter, a business that contains a grandfathered or permitted commercial deck or marina that is located in a critical area may utilize such structure fo…

(A) In determining whether a permit application is approved or denied the department shall base its determination on the individual merits of each application, the policies specified in Sections 48-39-20 and 48-39-30 and be guided by the following general considerations: (1) The …

The circuit court of the county in which the affected critical area or any part thereof lies shall have jurisdiction to restrain a violation of this chapter at the suit of the department, the Attorney General or any person adversely affected. In the event the affected critical ar…

(A) Any person violating any provision of this chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be imprisoned not more than six months or fined not more than five thousand dollars, or both, for the first offense, and imprisoned not more than one year, or fined not mo…

Any applicant whose permit application has been finally denied, revoked, suspended or approved subject to conditions of the department, or any person adversely affected by the permit, may obtain judicial review as provided in Chapter 23 of Title 1, or may file a petition in the c…

Nothing in this chapter shall affect the status of the title of the State or any person to any land below the mean highwater mark. The State shall in no way be liable for any damages as a result of the erection of permitted works.

The General Assembly finds that: (A) The coastal zone is rich in a variety of natural, commercial, recreational and industrial resources of immediate and potential value to the present and future well-being of the State. (B) The increasing and competing demands upon the lands and…

(A) The department is the only state agency with authority to permit or deny any alteration or utilization within the critical area except for the exemptions granted under Section 48-39-130(D) and the application for a permit must be acted upon within the time prescribed by this …

(A) Any person claiming an interest in tidelands which, for the purpose of this section, means all lands except beaches in the Coastal zone between the mean high-water mark and the mean low-water mark of navigable waters without regard to the degree of salinity of such waters, ma…

The General Assembly finds that: (1) The beach/dune system along the coast of South Carolina is extremely important to the people of this State and serves the following functions: (a) protects life and property by serving as a storm barrier which dissipates wave energy and contri…

In recognition of its stewardship responsibilities, the policy of South Carolina is to: (1) protect, preserve, restore, and enhance the beach/dune system, the highest and best uses of which are declared to provide: (a) protection of life and property by acting as a buffer from hi…

As used in this chapter: (1) Erosion control structures or devices include: (a) seawall: a special type of retaining wall that is designed specifically to withstand normal wave forces; (b) bulkhead: a retaining wall designed to retain fill material but not to withstand wave force…

(A) A policy of beach preservation is established. The department must implement this policy and utilize the best available scientific and historical data in the implementation. The department must establish a baseline that parallels the shoreline for each standard erosion zone a…

(A) No new construction or reconstruction is allowed seaward of the baseline except: (1) walkways no larger in width than six feet and constructed of wood or other department-approved wood-like material; (2) small wooden decks no larger than one hundred forty-four square feet and…

(A) The General Assembly declares the basic state policy in the implementation of this chapter is to protect the quality of the coastal environment and to promote the economic and social improvement of the coastal zone and of all the people of the State. (B) Specific state polici…

A local governing body, if it notifies the department before July 1, 1990, may exempt from the provisions of Section 48-39-290, relating to reconstruction and removal of erosion control devices, the shorelines fronting the Atlantic Ocean under its jurisdiction where coastal erosi…

(A) A person having a recorded interest or interest by operation of law in or having registered claim to land seaward of the baseline or setback line which is affected by the prohibition of construction or reconstruction may petition the circuit court to determine whether the pet…

The destruction of beach or dune vegetation seaward of the setback line is prohibited unless there is no feasible alternative. When there is destruction of vegetation permitted seaward of the setback line, mitigation, in the form of planting of new vegetation where possible, for …

(A) The department's responsibilities include the creation of a long-range and comprehensive beach management plan for the Atlantic Ocean shoreline in South Carolina. The plan must include all of the following: (1) development of the data base for the state's coastal areas to pro…

Thirty days after the initial adoption by the department of setback lines, a contract of sale or transfer of real property located in whole or in part seaward of the setback line or the jurisdictional line must contain a disclosure statement that the property is or may be affecte…

Funding for local governments to provide for beachfront management must be distributed in a fair and equitable manner. Consideration must be given to the size of the locality, the need for beach management in the area, the cost/benefits of expenditures in that area, and the best …

Any funds reimbursed to nonfederal project sponsors under the terms of a Local Cooperative Agreement (LCA) with the Army Corps of Engineers for a federally cost-shared beach renourishment project, where the reimbursement is for credit to the nonfederal sponsor for federally appro…

The Coastal Division of the Department of Health and Environmental Control is created July 1, 1994.

(A) The local governments must prepare by July 1, 1991, in coordination with the department, a local comprehensive beach management plan which must be submitted for approval to the department. The local comprehensive beach management plan, at a minimum, must contain all of the fo…

A permit is not required for an activity specifically authorized in this chapter. However, the department may require documentation before the activity begins from a person wishing to undertake an authorized construction or reconstruction activity. The documentation must provide …

The provisions of Sections 48-39-250 through 48-39-355 do not apply to an area which is at least one-half mile inland from the mouth of an inlet.

(A)(1) On July 1, 2010, there is created the Coastal Zone Management Advisory Council that consists of fifteen members, which shall act as an advisory council to the department's Office of Ocean and Coastal Resources Management. (2) The members of the council must be constituted …

The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control shall have the following powers and duties: (A) To employ the CDPS consisting of, but not limited to, the following professional members: An administrator and other staff members to include those having expertise i…

When requested by the department, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources shall provide additional staff for the department, including any additional enforcement officers, necessary to administer the provisions of this chapter and for which funds are available.

(A) All other state and local agencies and commissions shall cooperate with the department in the administration of enforcement of this chapter. All agencies currently exercising regulatory authority in the coastal zone shall administer such authority in accordance with the provi…

The department shall develop a comprehensive coastal management program, and thereafter have the responsibility for enforcing and administering the program in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and any rules and regulations promulgated under this chapter. In developin…

(A) In order to promote safe and clean litter-free beaches, the department shall develop a program to be known as "Adopt-A-Beach", whereby an industry or a private civic organization may adopt one mile, or other feasible distance, of South Carolina beach for the sole purpose of c…

(A) The department, on thirty days' notice, shall hold statewide public hearings on the proposed coastal zone management plan to obtain the views of all interested parties, particularly all interested citizens, agencies, local governments, regional organizations and port authorit…