South Carolina treats erosion and sediment as regulated pollution. Any land-disturbing activity in Dorchester County that changes natural cover and can cause erosion needs an approved sediment control plan once one acre or more is disturbed.
Erosion control flows from the same statute as stormwater, the Stormwater Management and Sediment Reduction Act. The Act defines a land disturbing activity broadly, so clearing, grubbing, and grading fall within it. Sites disturbing one acre or more, or smaller lots in a common plan of development, must obtain the state construction general permit and follow a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan with silt fences, sediment basins, stabilized entrances, and inlet protection kept in place until the ground is permanently stabilized. In the flat, sandy Lowcountry, tidal creeks and wetlands sit close to construction, so sediment that escapes reaches the Ashley River and its marshes fast. Controls must be installed before disturbance and maintained after every rain.
Letting sediment leave a site or grading without approved controls draws SCDES and county enforcement, daily civil penalties, and stop-work orders. Structural controls must be designed by a South Carolina licensed professional.
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Dorchester County, SC
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See how Dorchester County's erosion control rules stack up against other locations.
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