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Georgetown County is seeking permits to dredge nearly 16.5 miles of creeks and channels to restore navigable depths within Murrells Inlet estuary, which has been met with widespread controversy over the health of the inlet.
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The county initially applied for permits in 2023 and has since made revisions to the scope of the project to reduce impacts. Now the South Carolina Environmental Law Project, an environmental law firm, says the revision underestimates the impacts to oyster beds and marsh grass, essential ecological features of the estuary.
An independent land-based study from June found an abundance of oysters at low tide in several of the creeks where the county’s application stated no impacts would be made from dredging. Dennis Allen, estuarine scientist and former director of the Baruch Marine Field Lab, headed the study and shared observational findings with SCELP.
Oysters provide some of the most ecologically important functions of the estuary, and state and local agencies have partnered to build artificial oyster reefs in the inlet to attract more recruits that benefit water quality and provide essential habitat.
SCELP has called on the permitting agencies — U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and South Carolina Department of Environmental Services — to require the county to conduct an additional, thorough study of oyster bed and salt marsh impacts and to adjust the project purpose and alternatives analysis.
What are the findings of the independent study?
SCELP Staff Attorney Monica Whalen submitted supplemental comments to the permitting agencies, stating the county’s consulting firm (GEL Engineering) fails to identify the full impacts to oyster beds and marsh grass as according to the current application submitted by the county.
According to the comment letter, Allen compared the planned boundaries of the dredging project (the full map can be accessed here) with photos he captured from a few publicly accessible vantage points, finding that “oysters were abundant and widely distributed,” in some of the creeks that the county’s map showed having no impacts to oysters. The areas included Flaggpoint Creek and the surrounding creeks near Morse Park Landing (Creek J) and Graham’s Landing (Creek K).
Oysters are natural filtration systems, boosting water quality by trapping bacteria and sediment and pushing out clean water. One adult oyster can filter up to 2.5 gallons of water per hour. Oysters attach to hard surfaces, often oyster beds, and build upon themselves into reefs. The reefs then provide habitat to many marine species, including blue crab, shrimp and many juvenile fish.
South Carolina Department of Natural Resources’ SCORE program uses recycled oyster shells to build manufactured wire reefs, many of which have already been deployed into Murrells Inlet to restore depleted oyster beds and improve water quality.
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The county requires a 404 Permit and a 401 Certification from the Clean Water Act before the dredging would be approved.
Before the permitting agencies “are able (to) determine whether the 404 Permit and 401 Certification can be issued, the agencies and the public must have accurate information about the direct impacts on wetlands, water quality and marine life,” Whalen stated in the comment letter.
Why dredge the inlet?
Murrells Inlet serves as one of the most trafficked estuaries along South Carolina’s coast, offering an economic boost to the area. But over time, many of the once navigable creeks and channels have been silted in with sand, leaving boaters often stranded at low-tide.
The project aims to restore navigable depths during all tidal phases for commercial and recreational boaters. The 16.5 miles exclude the federal navigation channel that is routinely dredged by the Corps. The project, which would be spread across three years, would dredge over 750,000 cubic yards of spoil. The desired nearshore disposal site would be located at least 2,000 feet from the shores of Huntington Beach State Park.
Georgetown County Director of Public Services Carla Harvey previously told The Sun News the project has tremendous community support, especially from landowners who have lost all-time access to the inlet from their homes. During the initial comment period, GEL Engineering recorded that 85% of over 100 comments were in support of the project, according to a presentation shared with The Sun News.
Georgetown County, in response to initial comments from the Corps, has already begun another round of modeling and sampling to make sure the desired disposal location is safe. Dredging depths were reduced to a minimum of 4 feet for some channels in the dredge plan leading to a decrease in disposal, but in larger channels the goal is 8 feet. The county is expecting the disposal studies to take roughly six months before they can move forward with the permitting agencies.
If the permitting agencies honor SCELP’s request for additional oyster bed and salt marsh surveys, the timeline could vary.
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