SCDES’s Bureau of Coastal Management (BCM) implements the South Carolina Coastal Zone Management Program with the goal of achieving balance between the appropriate use, development, and conservation of coastal resources in the best interest of all citizens of the state. The South Carolina Coastal Zone Management Program was established under the guidelines of the national Coastal Zone Management Act (1972) as a state-federal partnership and was authorized in 1977 under SC’s Coastal Tidelands and Wetlands Act. Implementation of the program includes the direct regulation of impacts to coastal resources within the critical areas of the state including coastal waters, tidelands, beaches, and beach/dune systems; and indirect certification authority over federal actions and state permit decisions within the eight-county Coastal Zone. SCDES BCM’s statutory and regulatory authorities are defined within the South Carolina Coastal Tidelands and Wetlands Act and the state’s Coastal Division Regulations.