§ 50-25-1330 — Watercraft restrictions on Lake H. Taylor Blalock.

(A) No boat, watercraft, or any other vessel may operate on Lake H. Taylor Blalock with an engine greater than thirty horsepower or greater than twenty-five feet in length, and in the case of a pontoon boat, the engine may not be greater than forty horsepower or greater than twenty-five feet in length, unless: (1) the gas line has been disconnected and the engine or prop is trimmed out of water; and (2) an electric trolling motor or engine of thirty horsepower or less is mounted. Boats, watercraft, and other vessels operated for law enforcement, emergency medical services, or dam maintenance and repair are exempted from the restrictions contained in this subsection. (B) It is unlawful on Lake H. Taylor Blalock to: (1) operate personal watercraft, including jet skis; (2) operate any boat, watercraft, or any other type of vessel between midnight and one hour before sunrise, except that public access to Lake H. Taylor Blalock for the purpose of hunting waterfowl on department-leased premises shall be open on Wednesday mornings during the federal waterfowl hunting season beginning at 5:00 a.m., provided the hunting of waterfowl shall no longer be allowed on Lake H. Taylor Blalock after the 2028-2029 federal waterfowl hunting season, unless reauthorized in statute; (3) operate any boat, watercraft, or any other type of vessel with an outboard motor having horsepower in excess of the United States Coast Guard rating for the watercraft or with the Coast Guard rating plate missing or changed; (4) operate, anchor, moor, or dock any boat, watercraft, or allow such vessel to enter within five hundred feet of any pump station, water intake of a dam, hydroelectric generator outfall, or spillways, and these restricted areas must be clearly marked with signs designed and installed by the Spartanburg Water System. Boats, watercraft, and other vessels operated for law enforcement, emergency medical service, or dam maintenance and repair are exempted from this requirement; (5) operate, anchor, moor, or dock any boat, watercraft, or any other type of vessel within one hundred fifty feet of public fishing piers; (6) operate sailing craft with a mast height in excess of thirty feet; (7) wade, bathe, or swim within two hundred feet of any public landing, bridge, or restricted area, and these restricted areas must be clearly marked with signs designed and installed by the Spartanburg Water System. (C) The lake wardens may limit entrance of boats, watercraft, or any other type of vessel onto the lake via the public landings when conditions including, but not limited to, overcrowding or adverse weather create an unsafe boating environment.

Legislative History

HISTORY: 1990 Act No. 613, SECTION 1; 1993 Act No. 128, SECTION 18; 1993 Act No. 181, SECTION 1271; 2004 Act No. 169, SECTION 1; 2014 Act No. 139 (S.558), SECTION 1, eff March 13, 2014; 2018 Act No. 190 (S.758), SECTION 1, eff May 15, 2018; 2024 Act No. 193 (S.1051), SECTION 5, eff May 21, 2024. Effect of Amendment 2014 Act No. 139, SECTION 1, rewrote the section 2018 Act No. 190, SECTION 1, in (B)(2), substituted "department leased premises shall be open on Wednesday mornings during the federal waterfowl hunting season beginning at 5:00 a.m." for "South Carolina Department of Natural Resources leased premises shall be open weekly on Wednesday mornings beginning at 5:00 a.m. during the federal waterfowl hunting season" and "the 2023-2024 federal waterfowl hunting season" for "December 31, 2018". 2024 Act No. 193, SECTION 5, in (B)(2), substituted "2028-2029" for "2023-2024", and made a nonsubstantive change.