In 2023, the Charleston County Board of Zoning Appeals denied a Special Exception Permit for a proposed sand mine near the intersection of U.S. Highway 17 and Lofton Road in McClellanville. Blessing Investments then sued the Board for denying the project. In November of 2023, on behalf of Coastal Conservation League and Friends of Coastal South Carolina, SCELP filed a Motion to Intervene to protect their member's interests in the action. We are excited to share that our clients were granted intervention on December 14, 2023.

As a small fishing town in rural Charleston County, McClellanville is known for its outstanding water quality and famous Bull's Bay oysters, clams and shrimp and falls in the County’s Agricultural Preservation (AG-10) district.

The project would adversely affect the general welfare and character of the immediate community where members of these organizations reside. In addition to the groups' concerns over the environmental impacts the proposed project would have on the rural, agricultural, and community aesthetic of McClellanville, Coastal Conservation League and Friends of Coastal South Carolina believe that the project is incompatible with the St. James Santee Elementary-Middle School, which is located approximately 900 feet from the proposed site and is used year-round as a school, after-school program and recreation center for the community.

Case Update

Mediation held in February of 2024 was unsuccessful. The company has now withdrawn its original application and has put in a new request for a 2-acre mine. The case will now be dismissed. SCELP and our partners will continue to closely monitor the situation with the new mine.