Dune walkovers and maintenance performed in association with these structures are considered an exception to a SCDES BCM permit as long as the regulatory requirements found in S.C. Code Ann. Regs. 30-13(O)(1) are adhered to. The Beachfront Management Section is always willing to review site plans/ drawings to confirm whether the proposed plans would meet BCM’s Sand Dune Management Regulations. To get in contact with the SCDES BCM Beachfront Management Section please call (843) 953-0200, or visit the Project Manager Finder Application to find contact information for SCDES BCM project managers by geographic area.
South Carolina’s beaches are dynamic places; some beachfront shorelines accrete or gain sand while other shorelines erode. The coastline changes over time due to tides, waves, currents, and tropical weather systems, as well as beach use and maintenance activities. SCDES BCM is responsible for implementing a comprehensive statewide Beachfront Management Program established under the 1988 South Carolina Beachfront Management Act (Coastal Tidelands and Wetlands Act, as amended, §48-39-250 et seq.).
SCDES BCM’s Beachfront Management Section, part of the Critical Area Permitting Division, reviews proposed alterations to the Beaches, Beach/Dune System, and adjacent Coastal Waters critical areas to ensure they are consistent with the SC Coastal Tidelands and Wetlands Act, SC Coastal Division Regulations, and the policies of the South Carolina Coastal Management Program. Any proposed activities or alterations within the critical areas must be coordinated and authorized through SCDES BCM.
Activities within the beachfront critical areas that are reviewed by the Beachfront Management Section include, but are not limited to, beach renourishment and inlet realignment projects, new oceanfront fishing piers; new construction, additions, and renovation of habitable structures as well as construction and replacement of pools; installation of utilities or service lines, drainage improvements, fences, driveways, small wooden decks, landscaping, and dune management activities.
Authorization for activities impacting the beachfront critical areas may be issued in the form of a Beachfront Notification Acknowledgement, a Maintenance and Repair Notification Acknowledgement, a Beachfront General Permit, a Major Beachfront Critical Area Permit, a Special Permit, or an Emergency Order Authorization. If your activity or property is located on active beach, additional restrictions apply. Active beach, as defined in S.C. Code Ann. §48-39-10, is that area seaward of the escarpment or the first line of stable natural vegetation, whichever occurs first, measured from the ocean.