Last Updated 08/06/2026
Excerpt from Code of Ordinances Chapter 99 Stormwater Management
Chapter 99 - STORMWATER MANAGEMENT
Sec. 99-104. – Limitation of scope of responsibility.
The purpose and responsibility of the stormwater management utility shall be limited by the following legal and practical considerations:
- Beaufort County owns or has legal access for purposes of operation, maintenance and improvement only to those stormwater systems and facilities which:
- Are located within public streets, other rights-of-way, and easements;
- Are subject to easements, rights-of-entry, rights-of-access, rights-of-use, or other permanent provisions for adequate access for operation, maintenance, monitoring, and/or improvement of systems and facilities; or
- Are located on public lands to which the county has adequate access for operation, maintenance, and/or improvement of systems and facilities.
Operation, maintenance, and/or improvement of stormwater systems and facilities which are located on private property or public property not owned by Beaufort County and for which there has been no public dedication of such systems and facilities for operation, maintenance, monitoring, and/or improvement of the systems and facilities shall be and remain the legal responsibility of the property owner, except as that responsibility may be otherwise affected by the laws of the State of South Carolina and the United States of America.
It is the express intent of this article to protect the public health, safety, and welfare of all properties and persons in general, but not to create any special duty or relationship with any individual person or to any specific property within or outside the boundaries of the county. Beaufort County expressly reserves the right to assert all available immunities and defenses in any action seeking to impose monetary damages upon the county, its officers, employees and agents arising out of any alleged failure or breach of duty or relationship as may now exist or hereafter be created.
To the extent any permit, plan approval, inspection or similar act is required by the county as a condition precedent to any activity or change upon property not owned by the county, pursuant to this or any other regulatory ordinance, regulation, or rule of the county or under federal or state law, the issuance of such permit, plan approval, or inspection shall not be deemed to constitute a warranty, express or implied, nor shall it afford the basis for any action, including any action based on failure to permit or negligent issuance of a permit, seeking the imposition of money damages against the county, its officers, employees, or agent.
Sec. 99-109. - Exemptions and credits applicable to stormwater service fees.
Except as provided in this section, no public or private property shall be exempt from stormwater utility service fees. No exemption, credit, offset, or other reduction in stormwater service fees shall be granted based on the age, tax, or economic status, race, or religion of the customer, or other condition unrelated to the stormwater management utility’s cost of providing stormwater programs, services, systems, and facilities. A stormwater management utility service fee credit manual shall be prepared by the public works director specifying the design and performance standards of on-site stormwater services, systems, facilities, and activities that qualify for application of a service fee credit, and how such credits shall be calculated.
(a) Credits. The following types of credits against stormwater service fees shall be available:
(1) Freshwater wetlands. All properties except those classified as detached single-family dwelling units may receive a credit against the stormwater service fee applicable to the property based on granting and dedicating a perpetual conservation easement on those portions of the property that are classified as freshwater wetlands and as detailed in the stormwater management utility service fee credit manual. The conservation easement shall remove that portion of the subject property from any future development.
(2) Salt water marsh. All properties except those classified as detached single-family dwelling units may receive a credit against the stormwater service fee applicable to the property based on those portions of the property that are classified as salt water marsh and as detailed in the stormwater management utility service fee credit manual.
(3) Submerged properties. All properties may receive a credit against the stormwater service fee applicable to the property based on those portions of the property that are classified as submerged and as detailed in the stormwater management utility service fee credit manual.
(4) [Applying for consideration of adjustment satisfies requirements.] Those properties that apply for consideration of an adjustment shall satisfy the requirements established by the Beaufort County Public Works Director or his/her designee and approved reduced stormwater service fee.
(b) Exemptions. The following exemptions from the stormwater service fees shall be allowed:
(1) Improved public road rights-of-way that have been conveyed to and accepted for maintenance by the state department of transportation and are available for use in common for vehicular transportation by the general public.
(2) Improved public road rights-of-way that have been conveyed to and accepted for maintenance by Beaufort County and are available for use in common for vehicular transportation by the general public.
(3) Improved private roadways that are shown as a separate parcel of land on the most current Beaufort County tax maps and are used by more than one property owner to access their property.
(4) Improved private roadways that are not shown as a separate parcel of land on the most current Beaufort County tax maps but are used by more than one property owner to access their property.
(5) Railroad tracks shall be exempt from stormwater service fees. However, railroad stations, maintenance buildings, or other developed land used for railroad purposes shall not be exempt from stormwater service fees.
(6) Condominium boat slips shall be exempt from stormwater service fees.
(7) Properties determined by the assessor having 100 percent of the gross area of the property submerged, salt water marsh, or freshwater wetland will not receive an administrative charge, if applicable in the utility rate structure, after the applicable credit defined in paragraph (a) above has been applied to the account.
(8) Properties of the United States necessary and in use for the public purposes of the United States and in which a federal agency has acquired title and deed and recorded in the office of the register of deeds in Beaufort County, that provide self-sufficient stormwater management services are exempt. These lands shall include: properties of the military installations currently recognized as Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort (including Laurel Bay Housing), Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, and Naval Support Facility Beaufort; and federal lands known as the Pinckney Wildlife Refuge and the Ace Basin.
(9) In cases in which the direction of flow of stormwater exchange between a self-sufficient federal stormwater management system and the Beaufort County system are indeterminant, intermittent, inconclusive, irregular, reversing, or similar situations in which the cost and time of determining flow rate and direction do not justify the effort shall be considered de minimis and exempt from charges in either direction. De minimis exchange shall be considered in relation to total impervious surface area or total stormwater management expenditures by federal county authorities.
(10) Federally owned lands which qualify for an exemption pursuant to paragraph (8) are acknowledged as having a self-sufficient federal stormwater management system or having little or no impervious surfaces and shall therefore receive 100 percent credit for any previous fees, penalties, or costs of collection assessed prior to August 1, 2025.
Sec. 99-113. - Enforcement and penalties.
Any person who violates any provision of this article may be subject to a civil penalty of not more than $500.00, or such additional maximum amount as may become authorized by state law, provided the owner or other person deemed to be in violation has been notified of a violation. Notice shall be deemed achieved when sent by regular United States mail to the last known address reflected on the county tax records, or such other address as has been provided by the person to the county. Each day of a continuing violation may be deemed a separate violation. If payment is not received or equitable settlement reached within 30 days after demand for payment is made, a civil action may be filed on behalf of the county in the magistrate court or the circuit court to recover the full amount of the penalty. This provision on penalties shall be in addition to and not in lieu of other provisions on penalties, civil or criminal, remedies and enforcement that may otherwise apply.
ARTICLE IV. - STORMWATER MANAGEMENT STANDARDS TO BE APPLIED
Sec. 99-305. - Maintenance; general requirements.
- Function of BMPs as intended. The owner of each structural BMP installed pursuant to this article shall maintain and operate it to preserve and continue its function in controlling stormwater quality and quantity at the degree or amount of function for which the structural BMP was designed.
- Right of county to inspection. Every structural BMP installed pursuant to this article shall be made accessible for adequate inspection by the county.
- Annual maintenance inspection and report. The person responsible for maintenance of any structural BMP installed pursuant to this article shall submit to the administrator(s) an inspection report from a registered South Carolina Professional Engineer. The inspection report, at a minimum, shall contain all of the following:
- The name and address of the land owner;
- The recorded book and page number of the lot of each structural BMP or a digital representation of the geographic location of each structural BMP;
- A statement that an inspection was made of all structural BMPs;
- The date the inspection was made;
- A statement that all inspected structural BMPs are performing properly and comply with the terms and conditions of the approved maintenance agreement required by this article;
- The original signature and seal of the engineer inspecting the structural BMPs; and
- Digital photographs of the structural BMPs and pertinent components integral to its operation, including, but not limited to, inlet/outlet control structures, downstream receiving channel/area, embankments and spillways, safety features, and vegetation.
An original inspection report shall be provided to the administrators beginning one year from the date of final inspection of the completed structural BMP and each year thereafter on or before the date of the record drawings certification.
Sec. 99-306. – Operation and maintenance agreement.
- Prior to the conveyance or transfer of any lot or building site requiring a structural BMP pursuant to this article, the applicant or owner of the site must execute an operation and maintenance agreement (see BMP manual for form) that shall be binding on all subsequent owners of the site, portions of the site, and lots or parcels served by the structural BMP. Until the transference of all property, sites, or lots served by the structural BMP, the original owner or applicant shall have primary responsibility for carrying out the provisions of the maintenance agreement.
- The operation and maintenance agreement must be approved by the administrators prior to plan approval, and it shall be referenced on the final plat and shall be recorded with the county register of deeds upon final plat approval. If no subdivision plat is recorded for the site, then the operations and maintenance agreement shall be recorded upon the approval of a certificate of completion with the county register of deeds to appear in the chain of title of all subsequent purchasers under generally accepted searching principles. A copy of the recorded maintenance agreement shall be given to the administrators within 14 days following its recordation.
Sec. 99-308. – Records of installation and maintenance activities.
The owner of each structural BMP shall keep records of inspections, maintenance, and repairs for at least five years from the date of the record and shall submit the same upon reasonable request to the administrator(s).
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who is responsible for maintaining a stormwater facility in Beaufort County?
In most cases, the property owner. Beaufort County only owns or has legal access to stormwater systems located within public streets, rights-of-way, and easements, or those with formal access provisions, or on public land the county already has access to. Everything else on private property remains the legal responsibility of the property owner, subject to South Carolina and federal law. AQUALIS can help property owners in Beaufort County understand exactly where the county’s responsibility ends and theirs begins.
Do I need to keep my stormwater BMP working as designed in Beaufort County, South Carolina?
Yes. As the owner of a structural best management practice (BMP), you must maintain and operate it to preserve the exact degree of stormwater quality and quantity control it was designed to provide.
Can Beaufort County inspect my stormwater BMP?
Yes. Every structural BMP installed under the county’s ordinance must be made accessible for adequate inspection by the county.
Do I need an annual inspection report for my stormwater BMP in Beaufort County?
Yes. The person responsible for maintenance must submit an inspection report from a registered South Carolina Professional Engineer, starting one year after your BMP’s final inspection and every year after that. The report needs to confirm the BMP is performing properly and meeting your maintenance agreement, along with digital photographs of key components like inlet and outlet structures, embankments, spillways, safety features, and vegetation. AQUALIS can help property owners coordinate this annual inspection and report.
Do I need a formal maintenance agreement before selling or transferring my property in Beaufort County?
Yes, if the site has a structural BMP. Before any lot or building site with a required BMP is conveyed or transferred, the applicant or owner must execute an operation and maintenance agreement. This agreement binds all future owners of the site or any lots served by the BMP, and until full transfer occurs, the original owner or applicant holds primary responsibility for carrying it out.
Does my Beaufort County stormwater maintenance agreement need to be recorded?
Yes. It must be approved by the county administrators before plan approval, referenced on the final plat, and recorded with the county register of deeds. If there’s no subdivision plat, it’s recorded when a certificate of completion is approved instead, so it appears in the property’s chain of title for future buyers.
How long do I need to keep stormwater maintenance records in Beaufort County?
At least 5 years from the date of each record. As the BMP owner, you need to keep records of inspections, maintenance, and repairs, and submit them to the county administrators upon reasonable request.
What are the penalties for stormwater violations in Beaufort County, South Carolina?
Violations can carry a civil penalty of up to $1,000, or a higher amount if authorized by state law, once the owner has been properly notified. Each day a violation continues can be treated as a separate violation. If payment isn’t made or a settlement reached within 30 days of the county’s demand, the county can file a civil action in circuit court to recover the full penalty. AQUALIS can help property owners resolve issues before they reach that stage.
The information on this page is provided for general informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Regulations change frequently — AQUALIS makes no warranty as to the accuracy or completeness of this content, and any reliance on it is at your own risk. Consult a qualified professional or your local regulatory authority to confirm requirements applicable to your specific property.
