The investigator will develop a “Regulatory Pathfinder for South Carolina Coastal Communities and Residents.” A complex web of federal, state, and local laws govern many coastal activities. Coastal resource management and economic development in South Carolina must comply with these myriad laws, regulations, and other requirements. Sorting through which laws exist, how they apply, and how they interact is a task that often overwhelms coastal zone planners, resource managers, developers, and those involved in commerce, industry, recreation, and tourism. Efforts by citizens, local governments, and businesses interested in sustainable development and other interested parties could be aided if they had access to the proposed Pathfinder, which is envisioned as a concise, easily understandable reference that compiles sources of information, such as laws, regulations, and policy related to implementing sustainable growth in the coastal region.
Specific objectives of this effort are to: (1) Provide stakeholders with increased access to the relevant laws, regulations, and guidance documents, and to the agencies that implement or enforce them, (2) Summarize these laws and regulations in clear, concise language, (3) Explain clearly the interactions among these various laws, regulations, and guidance documents and (4) Provide examples of coastal areas, particularly in the southeastern US, that have attempted (successfully or unsuccessfully) to foster sustainable economic development that is compliant with the law. Results of this project will be made available to constituencies through an interactive Web-site designed to be easy to navigate, as well as to understand the laws and regulations related to coastal development.