Unless the context otherwise requires, as used in this article:

(1) "Alterations" and "repairs" mean only the alterations or repairs which may affect the safety of a dam or reservoir.

(2) "Appurtenant works" include, but are not limited to, structures such as spillways, either in the dam or separate from it, low-level outlet works, and water conduits.

(3) "Department" means the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control or its staff or agents.

(4) "Dam" means an artificial barrier with appurtenant works, including, but not limited to, dams, levees, dikes, or floodwalls for the impoundment or diversion of waters or other fluids where failure may cause danger to life or property. However, this does not include a dam:

(a) less than twenty-five feet in height from the natural bed of the stream or watercourse measured at the downstream toe of the dam, or less than twenty-five feet from the lowest elevation of the outside limit of the dam, if it is not across a stream channel or watercourse, to the maximum water storage elevation and has an impounding capacity at maximum water storage elevation of less than fifty-acre feet unless a situation exists where the hazard potential as determined by the department is such that dam failure or improper reservoir operation may cause loss of human life;

(b) owned or operated by a department or an agency of the federal government;

(c) owned or licensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the South Carolina Public Service Authority, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the United States Corps of Engineers, or other responsible federal licensing agencies considered appropriate by the department;

(d) upon which the Department of Transportation or county or municipal governments have accepted maintenance responsibility for a road or highway where that road or highway is the only danger to life or property with respect to failure of the dam.

(5) "Districts" means the soil and water conservation districts of this State. For the purposes of this article the districts may serve as agents and advisors to the department.

(6) "Danger to life or property" means a situation exists where the hazard potential as determined by the department is such that dam failure or improper reservoir operation may cause injury to persons, loss of human life, or damage to property.

(7) "Detailed inspection" means all studies, investigations, and analyses necessary to evaluate conclusively the structural safety and hydraulic capacity of a dam or reservoir and appurtenant works. This inspection includes, but is not limited to, soil analyses, concrete or earth stability analyses, materials testing, foundation explorations, and hydrologic analyses, including basin studies and flood potential. This inspection must be performed by a qualified registered professional engineer.

(8) "Enlargement" means a change in or an addition to an existing dam or reservoir which raises or may raise the water storage elevation of the water impounded by the dam or reservoir.

(9) "Owner" means those who own, control, operate, maintain, manage, or propose to construct a dam or reservoir.

(10) "Removal" means destruction or breaching of an existing dam or drainage of water impoundment or reservoir.

(11) "Reservoir" means a reservoir which contains the impoundment of water by a dam or reservoir.

(12) "Order" means a written document prepared and issued by the department which mandates specific actions to be accomplished by a dam owner within a specified time frame. Failure to comply makes the owner subject to penalties outlined in Section 49-11-260.

(13) "Unsafe" means the condition of the dam is such that repairs or alterations are necessary to reduce the risk of dam failure.

HISTORY: 1980 Act No. 447, Section 1; 1982 Act No. 309, Sections 1, 2; 1992 Act No. 406, Section 1; 1993 Act No. 181, Section 1248.