Title 49, Waters, Water Resources and Drainage

Any person who shall be found guilty of cutting any trees or tree tops, brush or logs, or throwing any refuse material whatever into any navigable river or harbor or who shall float logs singly or in rafts in any manner whatsoever without being properly or plainly lighted at nigh…

All landowners shall clean out all streams upon and adjacent to their lands at least twice in each year, at such particular times as the respective governing bodies of the several counties of the State may appoint and according to the directions of such governing bodies, and shal…

Any person who shall fell, cut or throw or cause to be felled, cut or thrown across or into any of such streams any tree, log or other timber or any trash, brush, debris or obstruction of any kind whatsoever shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be punished…

(A) No person may sell any drifted lumber or timber, not the property of the person, without first advertising the sale of it at public auction at least three times and at least three days before the date of the sale in the newspaper having the greatest circulation in the county …

The owner of the shores or any wharf erected on the shores or in or over the waters of any navigable stream may charge reasonable tolls for the use thereof.

The State hereby grants permission to the International Paper Company to divert from the Great Pee Dee River, for use in the course of operation of its plant located at Georgetown in Georgetown County, one hundred cubic feet of water per second each day. The point of diversion sh…

Any person, firm, corporation, municipality or county which may acquire rights of way for canals, pipelines or ditches, shall have to the same extent the same rights of diversion granted in SECTION 49-1-80 to International Paper Company, to be exercised in the same manner.

The former Water Resources Division of the Department of Natural Resources is transferred to the Division of Water in the Department of Environmental Services. The regulatory functions of the former Water Resources Commission that were transferred to the Department of Health and …

As used in this chapter: "Department" means the Department of Environmental Services.

(A) The department shall advise and assist the Governor and the General Assembly in: (1) formulating and establishing a comprehensive water resources policy for the State, such as a State Water Plan, including coordination of policies and activities among the state departments an…

In exercising its responsibilities under this chapter, the department shall take into consideration the need for: (1) adequate supplies of surface and groundwaters of suitable quality for all uses, including domestic, municipal, agricultural, and industrial; (2) water of suitable…

(A) All decisions of the Department of Environmental Services involving the issuance, denial, renewal, suspension, or revocation of permits, licenses, certificates, or other actions of the department which may give rise to a contested case, except a decision to establish a baseli…

This chapter may be cited as the "South Carolina Surface Water Withdrawal, Permitting, Use, and Reporting Act".

(A) Surface water withdrawal permits issued by the department must: (1) identify the location of the permittee's intake facility used or constructed to make withdrawals pursuant to the permit; (2) specify the amount of water that may be withdrawn; (3) specify the amount of water …

(A) A surface water withdrawal permit confers upon the permittee a right to withdraw and use surface water pursuant to the terms and conditions of the permit. The permit does not convey a property right in the water to the permittee. Nothing in this chapter shall affect any requi…

(A) The department may modify, suspend, or revoke a permit under the following conditions: (1) the permit holder withdraws water not authorized by his permit or fails to comply with the terms and conditions of his permit; (2) the permit holder obtains a permit by misrepresentatio…

A surface water withdrawer must provide the department with prior written notice of the construction of a new surface water intake that changes the method of measuring the water the permittee is withdrawing, cessation of its surface water withdrawals, a proposed change in ownersh…

The department may issue a temporary surface water withdrawal permit to a new applicant while his application is pending, if the temporary permit is necessary to address an imminent hazard to public health or the applicant demonstrates that without a temporary permit he will suff…

(A)(1)(a) For new surface water withdrawers located on a stream segment not influenced by a licensed or otherwise flow controlled impoundment, the surface water withdrawal permit authorizes withdrawals up to the permitted amount pursuant to this chapter's definition of minimum in…

(A) Each permittee must prepare and maintain on site, available for inspection, an operational and contingency plan to promote an adequate water supply from the surface water during times when the actual flow of the surface water is less than the minimum instream flow for that pa…

(A) In addition to any other powers and duties, the department may: (1) promulgate regulations necessary to implement the policies and purposes of this chapter; (2) enter upon any land or water for the purpose of conducting investigations, examinations, or surveys necessary to ca…

(A) The department is authorized to collect the following surface water withdrawal program fees: (1) existing surface water withdrawal permit application processing fee $1,000; (2) new surface water withdrawal permit application processing fee $7,500; (3) modification of surface …

(A) A surface water withdrawer who commits a violation of this chapter: (1) is subject to a civil penalty of not more than ten thousand dollars for each day that the violation occurred; or (2) is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than ten thousa…

As used in this chapter: (1) "Affected area" means that portion of a county or counties within a river basin that, under the circumstances, are determined by the department to likely be affected by a proposed surface water withdrawal. (2) "Agriculture facility" means any land, bu…

Except as provided in Sections 49-4-30, 49-4-35, 49-4-40, and 49-4-45, all surface water withdrawals by a surface water withdrawer are unlawful unless made pursuant to a surface water withdrawal permit issued pursuant to this chapter. The department may not issue a permit to a ne…

(A) Surface water withdrawals for the following purposes are exempt from the permitting, registering, and reporting requirements provided for in this chapter: (1) withdrawals associated with active instream dredging or sand-mining operations or other nonconsumptive instream minin…

(A) Registered surface water withdrawers must register their surface water use with the department on forms provided by the department and are subject only to the reporting requirements of Section 49-4-50. Registered surface water withdrawers are authorized to withdraw surface wa…

(A) Upon proper application, the department shall issue a permit for surface water withdrawals to nonconsumptive users. The application only must require that information necessary for the department to determine that the proposed withdrawals will result in no or minimal changes …

(A)(1) A new surface water withdrawer that owns and operates a licensed impoundment that utilizes water withdrawn from its licensed impoundment and the withdrawals are subject to review and approval of applicable state and federal laws and regulations, including its impoundment l…

(A) Each permitted or registered surface water withdrawer must file a report with the department of the quantity of water withdrawn by that surface water withdrawer annually before February first, on forms furnished by the department. (B) The quantity of surface water withdrawn m…

(A) A registered surface water withdrawer is not prohibited from applying for a surface water withdrawal permit. The permit application must be considered using the criteria established in the section establishing the permit for which the registered surface water withdrawer is ap…

The use of surface water on nonriparian land authorized pursuant to this chapter is lawful and is entitled to equal consideration with uses on riparian land in any administrative or judicial proceeding relating to the allocation, withdrawal, or use of water or to the modification…

(A) After the effective date of regulations promulgated by the department pursuant to this chapter, a new surface water withdrawer must obtain a surface water withdrawal permit from the department before making surface water withdrawal. A permitted surface water withdrawer that w…

(A) An application for a surface water withdrawal permit must contain the following information: (1) the name and address of the applicant; (2) the location of the applicant's intake facilities; (3) the place and nature of the proposed use of the surface water withdrawn; (4) the …

(A) The department must hold a public hearing concerning new surface water withdrawal permit applications for interbasin transfers. The hearing must be held at an appropriate time and in an appropriate location near the withdrawal point of the interbasin transfer. The hearing may…

This chapter may be cited as the Groundwater Use and Reporting Act.

(A) Before a groundwater withdrawer or proposed groundwater withdrawer in a designated capacity use area can construct a new well or increase the rated capacity of an existing well, an application for a permit to construct must be made to, and a permit to construct obtained from,…

The department may: (1) adopt and modify regulations to implement the provisions of this chapter; (2) issue, modify, revoke, or deny construction and groundwater withdrawal permits; (3) perform acts and issue orders as necessary to carry out the purposes and requirements of this …

(A) A person wilfully violating a provision of this chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than one thousand dollars a day for each violation. (B) A violation of a provision of this chapter or a regulation promulgated under the authority o…

Wells that are flowing by releasing groundwater under such pressure that pumping is not necessary to bring it above the ground surface at a rate of greater than five thousand gallons a day at any time are an unreasonable use of groundwater constituting waste and are prohibited, e…

Nothing contained in this chapter changes or modifies existing common or statutory law with respect to the rights of the use of surface water in this State.

Existing capacity use areas and requirements as specified in Regulations 121-1 and 121-2, S. C. Code of Regulations, remain in effect until the department promulgates regulations under the authority of this chapter.

The General Assembly declares that the general welfare and public interest require that the groundwater resources of the State be put to beneficial use to the fullest extent to which they are capable, subject to reasonable regulation, in order to conserve and protect these resour…

Unless the context otherwise requires, as used in this chapter: (1) "Aquifer" means a geologic formation, group of these formations, or part of a formation that is water bearing. (2) "Aquifer storage and recovery" or "ASR" means a process by which water is injected into an aquife…

In order to carry out the policy as stated in Section 49-5-20, the General Assembly finds that the department must establish and implement an effective statewide groundwater management program. To implement this program, all groundwater withdrawers shall register their groundwate…

(A) The department shall assess, notice, and monitor groundwater withdrawals in this State pursuant to this chapter. (B) A groundwater withdrawer or proposed groundwater withdrawer outside of a designated capacity use area in the Coastal Plain shall notify the department of its i…