In addition to our ongoing cases, SCELP has a special project aimed at reviewing all wetlands permitting activities throughout the State to determine whether these projects comply with environmental laws designed to protect wetlands. SCELP advises environmental groups and citizens of projects that violate wetlands protection laws, and ensures that these groups and citizens provide meaningful input to the permitting process.
Our goal is to prevent permits that violate environmental protection laws from being issued. Although many permits are issued, and often appealed by SCELP’s clients, we have been successful in pushing the agency to deny bad permits.
One example is the Wedgefield Plantation case. SCELP submitted comments, participated in interagency meetings, and leaned on DHEC to deny this permit to dredge and place the fill in 15 acres of wetlands along the Black River. Our work paid off and the permit was denied. Wedgefield has appealed this denial and SCELP has joined to help defend the denial. Other examples include the denial of a permit to dredge Vaux Creek, adjacent to Sandy Island; the denial of a permit to excavate wetlands to create a new canal to access the Pee Dee River; the denial of a permit to fill in 3.5 acres of isolated freshwater wetlands in Horry County; and the denial of a permit to fill in 0.75 acres of wetlands that are part of Big Swamp in Horry County.
We believe our efforts have proven successful, and we will continue this project as part of SCELP’s ongoing work to ensure that our environmental protection laws are properly implemented.