Beachfront Management | South Carolina Department of Environmental Services

South Carolina’s beaches are dynamic places; some beachfront shorelines accrete or gain sand while other shorelines erode. The coastline changes over time due to tides, waves, currents, and tropical weather systems, as well as beach use and maintenance activities. SCDES BCM is responsible for implementing a comprehensive statewide Beachfront Management Program established under the 1988 South Carolina Beachfront Management Act (Coastal Tidelands and Wetlands Act, as amended, §48-39-250 et seq.).

SCDES BCM’s Beachfront Management Section, part of the Critical Area Permitting Division, reviews proposed alterations to the Beaches, Beach/Dune System, and adjacent Coastal Waters critical areas to ensure they are consistent with the SC Coastal Tidelands and Wetlands Act, SC Coastal Division Regulations, and the policies of the South Carolina Coastal Management Program. Any proposed activities or alterations within the critical areas must be coordinated and authorized through SCDES BCM. Learn more about SCDES BCM's beachfront jurisdiction below.

Click here to learn more about SCDES BCM's beachfront jurisdiction

Activities within the beachfront critical areas that are reviewed by the Beachfront Management Section include, but are not limited to, beach renourishment and inlet realignment projects, new oceanfront fishing piers; new construction, additions, and renovation of habitable structures as well as construction and replacement of pools; installation of utilities or service lines, drainage improvements, fences, driveways, small wooden decks, landscaping, and dune management activities.

Permit Requests

Authorization for activities impacting the beachfront critical areas may be issued in the form of a permit including a Beachfront General Permit, a Major Beachfront Critical Area Permit, or a Special Permit.

A photo of a partially buried sand fence on a white sand beach.

Beachfront General Permits

A photo of beach renourishment construction

Major Beachfront Critical Area Permits

Beachfront Special Permits

Dune walkovers and maintenance performed in association with these structures are considered an exception to a SCDES BCM permit as long as the regulatory requirements found in S.C. Code Ann. Regs. 30-13(O)(1) are adhered to. The Beachfront Management Section is always willing to review site plans/ drawings to confirm whether the proposed plans would meet BCM’s Sand Dune Management Regulations. To get in contact with the SCDES BCM Beachfront Management Section please call (843) 953-0200, or visit the Project Manager Finder Application to find contact information for SCDES BCM project managers by geographic area.

Service Requests

Authorization for activities impacting the beachfront critical areas may also be issued in the form of a Beachfront Notification Acknowledgement or an Emergency Order Authorization.

Beachfront Notification Acknowledgements

A photo of an eroded beach shoreline at high tide.

Beachfront Emergency Order Authorization

Permit Change Requests

The Critical Area Permitting Section also reviews permit change requests, including Permit Amendments and Permit Extensions & Transfers.

Permit Amendments

Extensions & Transfers

Public Engagement and Permit Appeals

Contact

To get in contact with the SCDES BCM Beachfront Management Section please call (843) 953-0200, or visit the Project Manager Finder Application to find contact information for SCDES BCM project managers by geographic area.