Proposed change could lead to more development along Intracoastal Waterway

About 2,000 acres along the Intracoastal Waterway could become much more attractive to developers if federal officials agree to relax some decades-old restrictions on the property.

Horry County officials and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are discussing a proposal that, if approved, would set the stage for construction on waterfront land that has traditionally been unsuitable for development.

The idea has been talked about for years, but the prospect only recently began gaining traction, county officials said.

“It’s going to be a long process,” said Arrigo Carotti, the county’s attorney. “[And] it’s going to cost a considerable amount of money.”

The project involves tracts that are privately owned but fall under easements held by the corps.

After the waterway was carved out more than 80 years ago, the corps maintained the right to use waterfront land in case the channel needed to be dredged. The idea was that property must be set aside to hold the silt and other debris pulled from the waterway during any digging.

But in 1983, the county, corps and state health officials agreed that the corps could release easements if the property owners would set aside land for spoil basins, or giant holes that could hold dredged material.

The county is tasked with maintaining those basins and there are about two dozen of them in Horry, Carotti said.

What the county hopes to do now is work with the corps to change that approach.

Carotti said the technological improvements have enabled the corps to pump silt greater distances, removing the need for additional dumping sites on the waterway.

He said the corps has researched the issue and recently indicated its amenable to releasing easements covering about 2,000 acres up and down the waterway.

“It would pave the way for future development of those areas without the necessity of incur the expense and liability of maintaining in perpetuity these spoil basins,” Carotti said.

The agency does plan to retain some easements on the north end for possible dredging there.

Sara Corbett, a public affairs specialist with the corps, said the agency asked the county to provide some environmental assessments that the corps will use in deciding whether to release the easements.

“The county is responsible for doing all the environmental research on it,” she said. “They’ll give us that information and once we get that information we’ll make a decision.”

Corbett cautioned that no decision has been made.

“It’s still pretty early,” she said.

Carotti also said the discussions are in the early phases, though he called the corps’ consideration a “breakthrough.”

“We moved off of Point A, but we’ve got to go to Point Z,” he said. “There is still a lot to do to get to that final end result.”

The county’s budget includes $200,000 for the project. Carotti said some of that money will go toward environmental research and outside legal assistance with the process.

This story was originally published May 2, 2015 at 8:00 AM with the headline "Proposed change could lead to more development along Intracoastal Waterway."