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TO RECOGNIZE THE VALUE OF SOUTH CAROLINA'S BEACHES AND COASTAL AREAS AND TO PROVIDE FOR THEIR PROTECTION AS A PUBLIC TRUST RESOURCE THROUGH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF POLICIES DESIGNED TO DEFEND AGAINST EROSION.
Whereas, the General Assembly recognizes that South Carolina's beaches and coastal area are vital to the state's economy and are enjoyed by residents and tourists alike; and
Whereas, it is the objective of the State to assure that these beaches are protected, well-managed, and maintained as a public trust resource entrusted to the State for the benefit of all; and
Whereas, the health of South Carolina's public beaches and dunes depends upon a sustained natural flow of sand in the dynamic near-shore area as these beaches change daily in response to tides, erosion, and accretion; and
Whereas, the beach-quality sand making up our beaches is a valuable resource owned by the State of South Carolina and any diminishment of the public trust resource carries with it an economic cost detrimental to the State; and
Whereas, it is the policy of the State to provide wise and balanced stewardship for this resource for the maximum benefit of our beaches and dunes and for our citizens and their economic improvement; and
Whereas, it is also the policy of the State to protect and manage all beach-quality sand resources and require whenever feasible that any action to remove this sand from the near-shore beach and dune system be prohibited; and
Whereas, clean beach-quality sand dredged from inlets and navigation channels within the active near-shore, beach, or inlet shoal systems must not be removed permanently from the active near-shore, beach, or inlet shoal system; and
Whereas, the active near-shore area is defined as a distance not to exceed one-half mile inland from the mouth of the inlet, which is defined as the narrowest point of measurement from the high ground bordering each side of the inlet; and
Whereas, this dredged material must be disposed of whenever possible and feasible on the ocean beach or active near-shore area where it is environmentally acceptable and compatible with other uses of the beach; and
Whereas, in the interest of furthering the growth of South Carolina and in support of this objective, exceptions to this policy can be made for the use of this resource for other equally important public purposes if it can be demonstrated that this use is the most cost effective alternative and the removal of this amount of beach-quality sand will not significantly impact adjacent beaches; and
Whereas, it is the policy of the State of South Carolina that future construction of stabilizing jetty structures in inlets to facilitate navigation must be prohibited unless design features are considered into inlet stabilization projects to provide for the by-passing of beach-quality sand to the adjacent downdrift beach areas to prevent erosion of the downdrift adjacent beach; and
Whereas, it is further recognized and supported that the Charleston and Georgetown navigational channel projects and their existing jetties be evaluated by the state and federal government to determine the feasibility and benefit of retrofitting these structures with sand by-passing capacity to alleviate the erosion that these structures cause to adjacent downdrift beaches, and that federal funds be requested to fund this study as a federal responsibility. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring:
That the members of the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina, by this resolution, recognize the value of South Carolina's beaches and coastal areas and provide for their protection as a public trust resource through the implementation of policies designed to defend against erosion.
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