New court filing could put pause on coastal waterway development

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCSC) – The South Carolina Environmental Regulation Challenge has filed a preliminary injunction towards the South Carolina Division of Well being and Environmental Management to place a pause on developments with septic tanks close to coastal waterways.

The injunction seeks a listening to on a lawsuit filed just a few months in the past by the South Carolina Environmental Regulation Challenge on behalf of the Charleston Waterkeeper and the South Carolina Coastal Conservation League, two Lowcountry environmental organizations. They filed the go well with towards DHEC claiming the group has not been monitoring a whole lot of septic tanks and their influence on water high quality.

If a decide grants this preliminary injunction, all proposed developments inside 200 toes of coastal waterways can be put to a halt. That’s, in the event that they use a septic system for his or her water and sewage.

An instance of that is two giant residential subdivisions of greater than 400 septic tanks coming subsequent to the Cape Romain Nationwide Wildlife Refuge in Awendaw. Andrew Wunderley, government director of Charleston Waterkeeper, says if that improvement strikes ahead, water high quality and wildlife will endure.

He says different waterways like James Island Creek and Shem Creek have had excessive ranges of micro organism from septic tanks up to now and hundreds of thousands of {dollars} in state and federal funds had for use to repair it. He says this injunction is essential.

“We imagine that’s needed due to the irreparable hurt that occurs right here,” Wunderley stated. “If these permits are allowed to go ahead and these developments are allowed to go ahead and the septic tanks go in, it’s going to injure our coastal zone pure sources irreparably.”

If this injunction is granted, the unique lawsuit would have a listening to. Wunderley says it might take years, however they’re hopeful that this may occur as quickly as potential.

DHEC says it doesn’t touch upon pending litigation.

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