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    SC Attorney General Alan Wilson Opinion

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    Cooper Katz McKim
    The county attorney of Beaufort County asked the Attorney General if the county has a legal responsibility to remove marine debris from tidelands after Hurricane Matthew. Tidelands are defined as areas below the mean high tide line that are part of the estuarine system. The Attorney General responded that the state owns and regulates tidelands through laws and agencies like DNR. As tidelands are outside the county's jurisdiction and have been preempted by the state, the Attorney General opines that Beaufort County does not have a legal responsibility to clear marine debris from tidelands.

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    SC Attorney General Alan Wilson Opinion

    Uploaded by

    Cooper Katz McKim
    280 views12 pages
    The county attorney of Beaufort County asked the Attorney General if the county has a legal responsibility to remove marine debris from tidelands after Hurricane Matthew. Tidelands are defined as areas below the mean high tide line that are part of the estuarine system. The Attorney General responded that the state owns and regulates tidelands through laws and agencies like DNR. As tidelands are outside the county's jurisdiction and have been preempted by the state, the Attorney General opines that Beaufort County does not have a legal responsibility to clear marine debris from tidelands.

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    Opinion regarding Beaufort County Debris Removal Jurisdiction

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    The county attorney of Beaufort County asked the Attorney General if the county has a legal responsibility to remove marine debris from tidelands after Hurricane Matthew. Tidelands are defined as areas below the mean high tide line that are part of the estuarine system. The Attorney General responded that the state owns and regulates tidelands through laws and agencies like DNR. As tidelands are outside the county's jurisdiction and have been preempted by the state, the Attorney General opines that Beaufort County does not have a legal responsibility to clear marine debris from tidelands.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    280 views12 pages

    SC Attorney General Alan Wilson Opinion

    Uploaded by

    Cooper Katz McKim
    The county attorney of Beaufort County asked the Attorney General if the county has a legal responsibility to remove marine debris from tidelands after Hurricane Matthew. Tidelands are defined as areas below the mean high tide line that are part of the estuarine system. The Attorney General responded that the state owns and regulates tidelands through laws and agencies like DNR. As tidelands are outside the county's jurisdiction and have been preempted by the state, the Attorney General opines that Beaufort County does not have a legal responsibility to clear marine debris from tidelands.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 12

    Alan Wilson

    ATTORNEY GENERAL

    January 31,2017

    Thomas J. Keaveny, II, County Attorney


    Beaufort County Government
    Administrative Building
    Post Office Drawer 1228
    Beaufort SC 29901-1228

    Dear Mr. Keaveny:

    Attorney General Alan Wilson has referred your opinion request dated December 22, 2016 to the
    Opinions section for a response. The following is this Office's understanding of your question and our
    opinion based on that understanding.

    Question (as quoted from your letter):


    "On October 8, 2016, Hurricane Matthew's high winds, storm surge and riverline flooding led to large
    amounts of vegetative, construction and demolition debris, and marine debris in Beaufort County. In
    response to the widespread public health and scfety threats that the debris posed, Beaufort County
    activated its Debris Management plan which callsfor countywide land debris removal operations. The
    County is completing the land debris removal; however, marine debris still remains within the tidelands
    and pose significant threat to the navigability of the waterways, public health and safety of Beaufort
    County citizens.

    As background, it is well established that the State owns the tidelands. For the purposes of this issue
    tidelands are defined in S.C. Code Ann. 48-39-10(G) as "all areas which are at or below mean high tide
    and coastal wetlands, mudflats, and similar areas that are contiguous or adjacent to coastal waters and
    are an integral part ofthe estuarine system involved." The State holds this property in trustfor its citizens
    under the common law Public Trust Doctrine. The underlying premise ofthe Public Trust Doctrine is that
    some things are considered too important to society to be owned by one person. Additionally, the State
    has taken significant steps to regulate the tidelands through the enactment of the Coastal Zone
    Management Act("CZMA "), establishment ofthe Emergency Environmental Fund, and the designation of
    South Carolina Department of Natural Resources ("DNR") as the supporting enforcement mechanism.
    The State exercises exclusive control over the tidelands through its agencies. The County considers the
    tidelands to be outside itsJurisdiction and authority as it has been pre-empted by the State. Therefore, the
    question is: does Beaufort County have the legal responsibility to clear marine debris from property
    located with the tidelands?

    We gyeatly appreciate your time and consideration ofthis issue. As I noted earlier, time is ofthe essence
    on this matter as we are in the middle ofthe high traffic season and the marine debris poses a serious
    public safety threat. Further, ifremoval ofmarine debris is Beaufort County's legal responsibility, FEMA

    liEMBERT C.Dennis Building Post Office Box 11549 Columbia,SC 29211-1549 Telephone 803-734-3970 Facsimile 803-253-6283

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