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Town says Seggon Road project on hold pending wetland mitigation and terrapin protections
Summary
Town administrator reported SCDEES flagged wetland impacts (~0.2 of an acre, above the 0.1-acre threshold) and SCDNR requested measures to avoid diamondback terrapin nesting; the town has 180 days to respond or the permit application will be deemed withdrawn.
Town administrator Jeff told the Seabrook Island Town Council on Aug. 26 that the Seggon Road drainage and road-improvement application is temporarily on hold following comments from permitting agencies.
Jeff said the state permitting agency SCDEES identified the wetland impact as approximately two-tenths of an acre — above the one-tenth-of-an-acre threshold that triggers mitigation or the purchase of mitigation credits. "If the wetland impact exceeds one-tenth of an acre...that does require mitigation," Jeff said.
In addition, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) provided a comment about diamondback terrapin turtles known to nest in the project area and asked for measures to avoid or minimize impacts to nesting habitat. Jeff said staff and the project consultant will seek to revise plans to reduce wetland impacts and schedule a follow-up meeting with engineers and consultants to develop mitigation or avoidance measures.
Jeff told council the town has 180 days to respond to the agency comments; failure to do so will result in withdrawal of the application and require the town to restart the permitting process. Council members asked staff to expedite the consultant meeting and return with revised plans and cost estimates.
No formal vote was taken at the meeting; this was an informational update and direction to staff to continue coordination with consultants and state agencies.
