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Show 662 SOUTH CAROLINA 2. State Organizational Structure for Water Administration and Control 2.1 Administration of Water Rights Although riparian States do not have administrative agencies with the same broad supervisory powers that exist in the appropria- tion states, the creation in 1967 of the South Carolina Water Re- sources Planning and Coordinating Commission was a significant step in water resource planning.5 The commission consists of 18 members appointed by the Governor and representing agricultural, industrial, municipal, and saltwater interests. The heads of eight State departments, including the pollution control authority, are ex officio members. The commission is charged primarily with the task of formulating comprehensive policies relating to the use and control of water resources in the State and with the administration of the ground water legislation. A program of continued research on water problems is contemplated. 2.2 Resolution of Water Use Conflicts As in most of the other riparian jurisdictions, conflicts between riparian owners are handled by the courts in private water suits. There is, of course, no administrative machinery-and no practical judicial method-for adjudicating all riparian rights on a stream system. 2.3 Other Agencies Having Water Resource Responsibilities A. WATER QUALITY CONTROL Old statutes dealing generally with water pollution were repealed in 1970, and a new act relating to both air and water pollution was passed.6 The new act was required in order to comply with Federal water quality legislation. The act created the pollution control au- thority within the State department of health, and effective July 1, 1971? the authority became a separate State agency. The authority consists of 13 members appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the legislature and a number of ex officio members rep- resenting various departments of the State government. The agency is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations governing its pro- cedures and the issuance of permits to discharge pollutants. The rules and regulations are published in a separate volume of the code.7 Among the numerous powers of the authority, the primary ones are to establish, after a public hearing, water quality standards, and to issue permits for the discharge of sewage, industrial, and other wastes into State waters. The standards are based upon a classifica- tion of State waters for various purposes, and these standards and classifications may be altered or modified but cannot be lowered. It is 6 Sees. 70-21 to 70-25 (1971 supp.). "Sees. 63-195 to 63-195.36 (1971 supp.). A general discussion of the statute will be found in A. Fisher and C. Gaston, Pollution Control Practice in South Carolina-An Overview, 23 S.C. L. Rev. 723 (1971). 'Vol. 17, pp. 405-16 (1971 supp.). |
