CHALRESTON, SC - On June 27, 2025, the Charleston Waterkeeper and Coastal Conservation League filed a notice of appeal in the South Carolina Court of Appeals in a case considering septic tank permits and the unique realities of the coast, where development pressures and climate impacts compound management challenges.

The appeal challenges a lower court’s ruling that the state Department of Environmental Services (DES) is not required to apply  Coastal Management Program policies in reviewing permits for septic tanks with capacities less than 1,500 gallons per day, despite the fact that clusters of tanks in septic-dependent neighborhoods pose extensive risks to water quality and the ecosystem of our marshes and waterways.

The ruling arose from a case filed in 2022 by the South Carolina Environmental Law Project, on behalf of the two organizations, seeking an order requiring DES to apply South Carolina’s coastal management policies to small individual septic tank applications. Waterkeeper and the Conservation League were successful in persuading the court that DES’s failure to publicly notice these applications violates the public’s constitutional Due Process rights. However, without the application of specialized coastal management policies, septic-dependent developments will continue to proliferate.

The Coastal Zone Management Act requires that DES develop a system where it “shall have the authority to review all state and federal permit applications in the coastal zone, and to certify that these do not contravene the management plan.” The only exception to this review requirement applies only to dock permits outside the critical area, which the Legislature specifically exempted. Despite this statutory provision, Circuit Court Judge Frank R. Addy, Jr. concluded that he could not require DES to review septic tank permits because the agency has discretion in its policy decision not to do so. Along the South Carolina coast, there are increasing instances of septic-dependent subdivision developments, where densely clustered individual septic tanks are used as a workaround to build suburban neighborhoods. In rural and ecologically sensitive areas, this strategy poses threats to those communities and environments.

As the population of South Carolina continues to grow and development encroaches on sensitive areas, taking all necessary measures to protect waterways and communities is even more critical. When failing septic tanks impact waterways due to lax regulations and oversight, our communities, environment, and economies suffer.

The groups contend that South Carolina law requires DES to review all permits.

“If the agency's policy conflicts with the statute, then it is entirely within the court's purview - and indeed its responsibility - to correct that failure to apply the law,” said Leslie Lenhardt, Senior Managing Attorney at SCELP, “The agency has no discretion to decline to follow the law as written, and when it does, that it is arbitrary and capricious agency action.”

“DES can’t arbitrarily pick and choose when to follow South Carolina’s coastal zone management rules. Our waterways and communities deserve more than loopholes and weak oversight. They deserve clean, healthy waterways free of septic tank pollution,” said Andrew Wunderley, Charleston Waterkeeper.

“Small individual septic tanks are a very reasonable option for property owners living in rural areas, provided they are appropriately located and well-maintained. However, dense septic-dependent developments pose serious dangers to water quality, aquatic life, and human health,” said Faith Rivers James, Executive Director of the Coastal Conservation League. “Deliberate regulatory inaction costs our coastal communities money, threatens our health, and leaves our waterways polluted. Dense, clustered subdivision septic tanks will continue to threaten the Lowcountry landscape and harm our way of life without proper review.”

“Review of septic tanks in South Carolina must consider the unique realities of the coast, where development pressures are compounded by climate impacts,” said Riley Egger, Land, Water, and Wildlife Program Director at the Coastal Conservation League.
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MEDIA CONTACTS:

Riley Egger, Land, Water & Wildlife Program Director, Coastal Conservation League, rileye@scccl.org

Leslie Lenhardt, South Carolina Environmental Law Project, leslie@scelp.org

Andrew Wunderley, Charleston Waterkeeper, andrew@charlestonwaterkeeper.org