While the permit was pending, Jasper Station filed an action in circuit court claiming that it has a “permit by operation of law” because DHEC did not issue the stormwater permit within 20 days. The 20-day rule says that if DHEC does not issue a permit decision within 20 days, the applicant’s stormwater plan is deemed approved. But there is a caveat: the rule does not give automatic coastal zone consistency certification, which is a separate requirement under the Coastal Zone Management Act.

We filed a motion to intervene in September, 2010, and Judge Mullen granted our motion in December, 2010, but in the end we negotiated a settlement of this case that resulted in the elimination of a significant amount of wetlands impacts.