A Stop-Gap Measure for a Long-Term Problem

In 2023, Seabrook Island Property Owners Association received approval for a permit for a sand scraping project, to mine sand from the intertidal beach between central Seabrook Island and Captain Sams Inlet and transfer the sand further south near Seabrook Island Beach Club. This permit would allow up to 25 acres of beach to be excavated and transferred.

The beach on Seabrook Island has experienced erosion for years, and multiple short-term projects to combat erosion have taken place. But sand scraping projects — disruptively excavating sand and transferring it to a different location using large trucks — disturb beach habitat that is critical for multiple coastal bird species. This project is a short-sighted, short-term solution to address long-term beach erosion challenges, and if the decision is allowed to stand it would set a terrible precedent.
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Project Threatens a Fragile Ecosystem

Seabrook Island is an integral part of a critical habitat complex for migratory shorebirds, including overwintering habitat for piping plovers and nesting habitat for Wilson’s Plovers, American Oystercatchers, and Least Terns, all of which are “species of concern” in South Carolina. This habitat is considered critical to these species as they feed on the intertidal flats that would be disturbed.

Not only would this proposed project disturb crucial habitat and not address long-term challenges but allowing it to move forward also sets a dangerous precedent. Currently, permits such as this violate DHEC regulations, which only allow for sand scraping in emergency situations and under strict requirements. This would also set a terrible example by allowing property owners to use stop-gap measures to temporarily manage problems caused by the poor siting of buildings in high-risk areas along our coast.
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The Legal Intervention

On November 13, 2023, the South Carolina Environmental Law Project, on behalf of the Coastal Conservation League, filed a Request for Contested Case in the Administrative Law Court, asking for the decision by DHEC to be overturned.

When the Property Owners Association sought approval for a nearly identical project in 2008, both the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the S.C. Department of Natural Resources objected because of these harmful impacts, and that proposal was rejected. The current project is a short-sighted, short-term solution to address long-term beach erosion challenges. Sand scraping is an engineering technique that differs from beach renourishment because no new sediment is introduced. Instead, sand is taken from one part of the beach via truck and redistributed within the dune system.

“This project would set a harmful precedent for South Carolina’s coastline,” according to SCELP's Senior Managing Attorney, Leslie Lenhardt. “How many times could this kind of band-aid be employed despite the serious damage to the beachfront ecosystem and the birds that depend on it? The regulations clearly do not authorize mining beachfront sand under these circumstances and the permit should be rescinded.”

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Settlement

The Coastal Conservation League, with representation from SCELP, reached an agreement with the Seabrook Island Property Owners Association in mid-2024. The settlement agreement reduces the number of scraping events from three to two and commits SIPOA to explore beach management practices that may have additional co-benefits for habitat in the Seabrook-Kiawah Complex and Deveaux Bank, such as renourishment from offshore dredging. It also secures critical safeguards for wildlife - limiting scraping between October 15 and December 31 to account for impacts to sea turtle nesting and shorebird foraging habitat.

“This agreement reinforces the need for long-term solutions for beach management,” said Riley Egger, Land, Water & Wildlife Program Director for the Coastal Conservation League. “This sets the stage for Seabrook to pursue future projects that are less environmentally impactful and have potential co-benefits for important bird habitat at Deveaux Bank.”

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