COASTAL OBSERVER

A long-awaited wetlands ordinance will establish a minimum 35-foot “undisturbed” buffer between wetlands, water bodies and development. That increases to 50 feet when the wetlands are adjacent to a river or tributary and 100 feet when the wetlands adjoin a conservation area, such as a state park or wildlife refuge.

The Georgetown County Planning Commission is reviewing a draft of the ordinance and is due to hold a workshop on the ordinance later this month. If approved by County Council, the ordinance would require a county permit for disturbing any wetland larger than a 10th of an acre. 

“It’s a big deal,” said Holly Richardson, the county planning director.

The wetlands ordinance is one of the goals included in the county’s comprehensive plan. The natural resources element of the plan initially called for a 50-foot buffer. The county currently requires a 15-foot buffer between saltwater wetlands and development.

The 50-foot buffer was removed from the natural resources element in 2022, but planning staff said they would let the wetlands ordinance define the width of the buffer.

The S.C. Environmental Law Project gave the county a model ordinance. 

“We’ve gone back and forth with SCELP,” said County Council Chairman Clint Elliott. “I think we’ve sort of got middle ground.”

Along with the buffers in the proposed ordinance, a 15-foot setback would be required for structures.

While that would provide the minimum 50-foot separation originally envisioned in the natural resources element, Richardson noted that there are exemptions.

“You have to look at the exemptions,” she said.

Wetlands that cover less than a quarter of an acre, 10,890 square feet, are exempt from the buffer requirements. Those under 4,356 square feet are exempt from restrictions on fill.

Exemptions also apply to all developed lots and to undeveloped lots of record. They also apply to forestry, recreational activities, scientific research, public infrastructure and industrial sites that are covered by economic development agreements.

Existing structures that don’t conform to the wetlands ordinance can remain, but cannot be enlarged in a way that encroaches into the buffers or setback.

Development that goes 150 percent beyond the minimum buffer can get a density bonus of two units an acre. It can also get a 20 percent reduction in the minimum lot size and setbacks.

In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Clean Water Act does not apply to wetlands that lack “a continuous surface connection” to navigable waters, known as “waters of the U.S.”

The proposed county ordinance notes the shifts in federal and state wetlands protections and says “greater environmental protection at the county level is needed to protect and preserve these vital ecosystems.”

A county permit will be required in addition to any state and federal permits.

The ordinance will apply to those wetlands that are covered by federal law and those that aren’t, known as “non-jurisdictional” wetlands. Any work done in wetlands will require county approval.

Applications for wetlands disturbance permits will be subject to public review and comment.

To receive a permit, an applicant needs a wetlands management plan from a “third-party professional” that shows there is no feasible alternative, that there is a “legitimate public need” and the work does not eliminate or impair the wetland’s function.