Courtesy of Cliffs Mountain Park
Cliffs Communities proposes to build a golf course community on a 5,000 acre tract in Greenville County, along the North Saluda River. The golf course was planned by Gary Player and the design calls for the piping, bridging (24 crossings by bridges and “play overs”), impounding, and other alterations of the river and its tributaries. We have appealed a storm water permit and a permit for a sewage system that will have a high ground discharge.
The development is within the Blue Ridge Escarpment, an area that has been recognized as an ecosystem of global significance. The North Saluda River, one of South Carolina’s very few trout waters, is considered a jewel of the Blue Ridge Escarpment. The key issues are whether there are feasible alternatives that have less impacts upon the river and whether the crossings and other alterations improperly interfere with public navigability of the river. The DHEC Board heard the appeal and upheld the permits. We have appealed to the Administrative Law Court and the case is pending before Judge Carolyn Matthews. No hearing date has been set.
Clients: Upstate Forever, Sierra Club, Save Our Saluda, South Carolina Native Plant Society, South Carolina Wildlife Federation, and Trout Unlimited
Other parties: DHEC and Cliffs Communities, Inc.
Attorneys: Stephen Hightower for DHEC, Tommy Lavender and Joan Hartley of Nexsen Pruet for Cliffs Communities, Inc.