§ 49-4-160 — Operation and contingency plan to promote adequate water supply maintained on site; contents of plan; exceptions.

(A) Each permittee must prepare and maintain on site, available for inspection, an operational and contingency plan to promote an adequate water supply from the surface water during times when the actual flow of the surface water is less than the minimum instream flow for that particular surface water segment. The plan must identify actions to be taken, as applicable, to address low flow conditions, including water conservation, supplemental water supplies, off-stream water storage, seasonal water flow fluctuation withdrawals, and hydroelectric operations in controlled surface waters. For applicable new surface water withdrawers with an operational and contingency plan that identifies one or more supplemental sources of water to be used for continued facility operations during minimum instream flow conditions, the amount of supplemental water should be calculated on a reasonable and responsible basis taking into account a review of historical flow records for the stream at or near the proposed withdrawal point in order to identify the years of historical record where flows at that stream point dropped below minimum instream flow, and the consumptive amount of water that is projected to be needed by the new surface water withdrawer in order to continue to operate during a period of time identified as that stream segment's historical average minimum instream flow conditions. The existence of a plan is deemed to be an enforceable part of the permit under which the permittee is withdrawing surface water and shall be deemed to control a permitted surface water withdrawal in situations where the actual flow of the surface water is less than the minimum instream flow for that particular stream segment. (B) Nothing in this section limits or precludes any action authorized by the South Carolina Drought Response Act. In the event that an action authorized by the South Carolina Drought Response Act conflicts with this subsection or a permitted use, the action taken pursuant to the South Carolina Drought Response Act supersedes any actions taken pursuant to this subsection or the permit.

Legislative History

HISTORY: 2010 Act No. 247, SECTION 1, eff January 1, 2011. Editor's Note 2010 Act No. 247, SECTION 4.B, provides: "Chapter 1, Title 49 of the 1976 Code is not affected by and supersedes Chapter 4, Title 49 of the 1976 Code, as amended by SECTION 1 of this act."