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Law

• S.C. Code 49-21-10 through 49-21-80, The State Interbasin Transfer of Water Act

Regulation

• R.121-12
  For copies, contact Christina Lewis at (803) 898-4198.

Forms

• Interbasin Transfer of Water Class 1 Permit Application (PDF-330KB)

Permitting

An Interbasin Transfer of Water permit is required when any entity wishes to withdraw, divert, pump or directly cause the transfer of either five percent of the 7Q10 (seven day, ten year low flow) or one million gallons or more of water a day from one river basin and use or discharge all or any part of the water in a different basin (Map of South Carolina's 15 interbasin transfer river basins). Permits are granted for either 20 or 40 years.

Permits fall into two classes:

• Class One = any proposed transfer equal to or greater than one million gallons of water a day on any day
• Class Two = any proposed transfer less than one million gallons of water a day on any day

The interbasin transfer permitting process generally takes a year.  You can download the interbasin transfer permitting process flowchart (PDF - 7K) to visualize the process.  This time frame will likely increase as current permits begin to expire and numerous applications are being processed at once. The permit process contains seven steps as follow (See R. 121.12 for details):

• Step 1. Notification and preliminary assessment.
• Step 2. Permit application.
• Step 3. Notice and Comment (requires an extended public comment period of 120 days).
• Step 4. Water Qualification Certification (to insure protection of water quality and health of the river basins).
• Step 5. Permit Application Review.
• Step 6. Permit Approval.

Compliance

Any entity having a transfer occurring prior to the adoption of the Act was required to register with the Department. Fourteen interbasin transfers have been registered.  Most of these registrations expire in 2005. Eight interbasin transfers have been permitted.  Each permit and registration carry unique special conditions which must be met to maintain the permit.

Contact

• Christina Lewis at (803) 898-4198

Bureau of Water . Phone: (803) 898-4300 . Fax: (803) 898-4215 . Contact Us