South Carolina Code of Regulations › Chapter 61 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL › Subchapter 61-119 - Surface Water Withdrawal, Permitting, Use, and Reporting › Sec2 61-119.E - PERMITS FOR NEW OR EXPANDING SURFACE WATER WITHDRAWERS AFTER JANUARY 1, 2011 › Section 61-119.E.4 - Operations and Contingency Plan Requirements

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 6, June 28, 2024
Anytime the flow at the point of the permitted withdrawal is
				  less than or equal to the minimum instream flow and taking into consideration
				  natural and artificial replenishment of the surface water and existing or
				  planned consumptive and nonconsumptive uses affected by the withdrawal
				  downstream, the permitted surface water withdrawer must implement applicable
				  portions of its water contingency plan and, excepting public water systems
				  addressed in Section
				  49-4-150(A)(6),
				  will discontinue facility consumptive water uses from the surface water source
				  such that continued withdrawals will result in no net decrease in flow below
				  the facility's discharge.
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, plus any flow necessary to protect downstream
				permitted and registered withdrawals, taking into account natural and
				artificial replenishment of the surface water, for that particular surface
				water segment. 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.
				For applicable new or expanding surface water withdrawers, the plan must
				identify actions to be taken to address low flow conditions, including: water
				conservation, use of supplemental water supplies, use of off-stream water
				storage, operational changes, seasonal water flow fluctuation withdrawals, or
				hydroelectric operations in controlled surface waters. For expansion of permits
				initially issued under section D above, the requirements of this section only
				apply to the permitted amount over and above the permitted quantity of the
				initial permit.
c. Public water
				systems must develop operational and contingency plans consistent with E.4.b.
				above and implement their plan, applicable to their service territory,
				commensurate with the drought level declared by the State Drought Response
				Committee and in accordance with any drought response plan required by the
				owner of a licensed impoundment that they use as a water source.
d. Non-public water withdrawers must develop
				operational and contingency plans consistent with E.4.b. above and implement
				them consistent with the requirements of this section and act in accordance
				with any drought response plan required by the owner of a licensed impoundment
				that they use as a water source.
e.
				For surface water withdrawers with an operational and contingency plan
				requiring one or more supplemental sources of water to be used for continued
				facility operations during minimum instream flow conditions, the supplemental
				water supply needed will be addressed as follows.
i. For a surface water withdrawer proposing
				to use surface water as all or a portion of the supplemental water supply:
(A) Where only surface water will be used as
				a supplemental supply, the volume of water required to be stored is set forth
				in Section
				49-4-150(A)(2)(c),
				and the following used as an aid to such determinations.
(1) Using an appropriate USGS or Department
				approved gaging station, historical flow at the withdrawal point will be
				determined. Factors to be considered in determining an appropriate index
				station include but are not limited to drainage area, flow characteristics,
				physiographic province, period of record, and land use.
(2) Using the flow record at the appropriate
				index station, a daily flow record for the longest period of record feasible
				will be determined at the proposed withdrawal point. All years experiencing
				periods of flow below the minimum instream flow for the months July through
				November will be determined and evaluated, up to and including the drought of
				record. For the purposes of this section, the drought of record will be
				considered the July through November period, within the period of record,
				having the largest number of days with flows equal to or less than the minimum
				instream flow.
(3) Using the flow
				records of July through November periods experiencing flows equal to or less
				than the minimum instream flow, including but not limited to the drought of
				record, the Department will determine a supplemental water volume for inclusion
				in any permit to be issued for the withdrawal. The supplemental water volume is
				not required to be any larger than the quantity that allows for facility
				operations during twenty percent mean annual daily flow conditions, based upon
				a review of historical low flow data and projected facility consumptive water
				uses during low flow periods. Facility consumptive water uses means the amount
				of water that is lost and not returned to the source waterbody during normal
				operations.
(4) If an appropriate
				index station with an appropriate period of record is not available, the
				Department, in consultation with the applicant, will determine an appropriate
				storage volume using the best information available. The USGS and/or SCDNR may
				be consulted as needed.