Regulatory Pathfinder for Coastal Development in South Carolina

Federal Permits- Individual Permits for activities in Critical Areas of the Coastal Zone

If you have been directed to this page it means your activity will probably not qualify for a Nationwide Permit pursuant to Clean Water Act Section 404(e), and you will likely need an Individual Permit (also known as a "Standard Permit") from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Individual Permits are for projects that do not qualify for a Nationwide or Regional permit. This permitting process can be lengthy. For relatively straightforward projects you should allocate 6-8 months, for more complex undertakings more time will be required.

Any state permit process requires proof you own or control the land on which you propose to undertake certain activities. The requirements for this proof have recently changed if you own land on an island. In the event your land is on an island, you can access a document explaining this new process here.

The State of South Carolina and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers use a Joint Application Form. You can find this application here. You will need Adobe to access this document. You can download a free copy of Adobe Reader here.

In addition to the Joint Application there are specific required Application Drawings and Supplemental Information. A pdf document listing these requirements can be found here.

Once you've finished filling out the application, you may wonder what to do next. Check here for next steps: Now what?

Last Updated October 29, 2010

ABOUT THIS PATHFINDER This project was supported through a generous grant from the South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium. The principal investigator is Professor Kim Diana Connolly at the University of South Carolina School of Law. Two law students, Keith Bartlett and Valerie Cochran, provided invaluable work toward project completion. Technical assistance with web design was provided by USC School of Law webmaster Tobias Brasier. Broken links should be reported to lawweb@law.sc.edu. This website is NOT intended as legal advice, and particularized analysis by professionals should be sought wherever appropriate. MENU » Coastal Development Regulatory Pathfinder » USC Environmental Law Program » SC Sea Grant Consortium » Links to Starting Points » Additional Contact Information