S.C. Code Regs. § § 19-450.3

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 10, October 25, 2024

Section 19-450.3 - Exemptions

A. No permit is required by the Department for any activity or construction on private highlands above the mean high water line or ordinary high water mark which does not affect directly and significantly any navigable water or water or land subject to a public navigational servitude.

B. No permit is required by the Department for any activity subject to the exclusive permitting authority of the Department under Section 48-39-140 et. seq. and the applicable regulations thereunder.

C. No permit is required by the Department for any normal and otherwise lawful use of the navigable waters of the state which does not involve construction, filling, dredging or alteration activity in navigable waters, or any activity significantly affecting the flow of navigable waters.

D. No permit is required for any state or federal navigational markers.

E. No permit is required for the normal maintenance and repair of any existing permitted structure, or any structure completed prior to the adoption of the Construction in Navigable Waters permitting regulation on December 31, 1976 that is currently serviceable, intact and has been maintained in good working order since that date, provided that the normal maintenance and repairs on these structures does not alter significantly the dimensions nor change the purpose, scope or use of the structure nor do the repairs and maintenance activities create a hazard to navigation nor otherwise adversely affect the navigable waters of the state, water quality or wildlife. Any activity that is intended to restore a water control structure involving impoundment that has not been continually maintained and is not currently serviceable and intact and is now in disrepair and disuse shall require a permit.

F. Any activity undertaken prior to the commencement of the Construction in Navigable Waters permitting program under regulation 19-450 promulgated on December 31, 1976, which involves a structure which has been continually maintained in good working order since than and is intact and functional on the effective date of this regulation, and which subsequently does not adversely affect water quality, navigability, or other natural resource conditions existing on the effective date shall be exempt from the permitting process, provided, however, that the Department may require the owner or other person responsible for the structure to report the existence and condition of the structure.

G. No permit is required for any activity which requires another Department permit or certification, including but not limited to 401 Water Quality Certifications, water supply permits, National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits, wastewater construction permits, and mining permits. These permitting/certification areas will be required to coordinate with the Construction in Navigable Waters Permitting staff to insure the provisions of this regulation are adhered to.

H. No permit may be required for the following activities provided that the applicant or permittee, in all except emergency situations, obtains from the Department a written exemption from the permitting procedure prior to commencing work:

1. Any activity on a permitted structure that does not significantly alter the dimensions, changes the purpose, scope or use of the structure, or may create a hazard to navigation or otherwise adversely affect the navigable waters of the state, the flow of navigable waters, water quality, or wildlife. Any request to perform an activity which significantly affects the navigable waters of the state, the flow of navigable waters, water quality, or wildlife shall be processed as an amendment to the permit under section 450.14. Any activity on an unpermitted structure, or that is intended to restore a water control structure involving impoundment that has not been continually maintained and is not currently serviceable and intact and is now in disrepair and disuse, shall require a permit.

2. Any emergency construction when the construction is ordered by a duly constituted official of county, municipality or the state acting to protect the public safety from a sudden and unanticipated threat to the health or public safety. The Department must be notified promptly by telephone and not later than seventy-two hours after construction has commenced, and within thirty days of the commencement of construction, written application must be made to the Department for permission or a permit for the activity undertaken under emergency conditions.

3. Any emergency repair or replacement of a recently damaged permitted structure, or any structure completed prior to the adoption of the Construction in Navigable Waters permitting regulation on December 31, 1976 provided that it has been continually maintained in an intact and currently serviceable condition and that the repairs are essential to prevent property damage from sudden and unanticipated events which make it impossible to notify the Department prior to undertaking the activity, providing that the Department must be notified not later than seventy-two hours after construction has commenced, and written application made within thirty (30) days for permission or a permit for the activity undertaken under emergency conditions.

4. Any installation of utility lines to be attached to an existing permitted structure provided that the utility lines do not alter or reduce significantly the vertical or horizontal clearance provided by the structure.

5. Any drilling for soil borings for construction foundation testing.

S.C. Code Regs. § 19-450.3

Added by State Register Volume 10, Issue No. 6, eff June 27, 1986. Amended by State Register Volume 19, Issue No. 6, eff June 23, 1995.