S.C. Code Ann. § 48-2-50

(A) In order to facilitate the proper administration of each act listed in Section 48-2-30(B), the department shall charge fees for the various services and functions it performs under each of those acts including, but not limited to, application fees, processing fees, permit maintenance fees, certification fees, license fees, registration fees, plan review fees, facility inspection fees, and emission fees. (B) All fees in existence before the effective date of this article which implement the acts identified in Section 48-2-30(B) must be continued and must be calculated and maintained with any additional fees authorized by this article; however, the existing fees may be used in any manner consistent with the department's authority, the provisions of this article notwithstanding. (C) No permit, certificate, license, or registration and no renewal or modification of a permit, certificate, license, or registration may be issued to an applicant under the acts enumerated in Section 48-2-30(B) until all fees are paid in full. The department shall develop a schedule by regulation for the collection of delinquent accounts and the amounts to be applied to delinquent accounts. (D) The department shall develop regulations which set annual levels of fees as authorized by this article. The level of these fees must be determined after careful consideration of the direct and indirect costs incurred by the department in performing its various functions and services under each of the acts enumerated in Section 48-2-30(B). Any subsequent increase in the level of these fees must be justified by an assessment report compiled in accordance with Section 1-23-115. All fees and procedures for collecting fees must be adopted pursuant to procedures as are set forth in the Administrative Procedures Act. In promulgating these regulations, the department shall consider detailed information regarding other costs to be funded by the proposed fee schedule or fee increases and the current and proposed average response time to permit applications under that program. (E) In the third, and all subsequent years, the fee schedule promulgated by the department may not, when added to its individual program fund balance from prior years, exceed one hundred fifty percent of the fees collected in the previous year. (F) The total fees assessed under this article and listed in subsection (H) to be paid by a single permitted facility under any one act enumerated in Section 48-2-30(B) may not exceed five percent of the total of all fees assessed under that act, except for those fees collected pursuant to the Clean Air Act and the Atomic Energy Act. (G) On January 1, 1994, and January first of every even-numbered year after 1994, the department shall evaluate the implementation of the permit fee program and provide this evaluation in writing to the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee. This evaluation shall include a report on the total fees collected, the amount of general funds allocated to the department, the department's use of the fees and the general funds, the number of permit applications received, the number of permits issued, the progress in eliminating permit backlogs, and the timeliness of permit processing. (H) For the following categories, the fees shall not exceed the maximum amounts listed below. The department is encouraged to use graduated fees to reflect the volume of waste, population served, or other factors determined necessary to fairly apportion the fees: (8) Surface Water Withdrawals: (a) Existing surface water withdrawal permit application processing fee $1,000; (b) New surface water withdrawal permit application processing fee $7,500; (c) Modification of surface water withdrawal permit application processing fee $2,000; (d) Renewal of surface water withdrawal permit with modifications application processing fee $1,000; (e) Surface water withdrawal annual operating fee per permitted intake $1,000
water withdrawal permit application processing fee $1,000; (b) New surface water withdrawal permit application processing fee $7,500; (c) Modification of surface water withdrawal permit application processing fee $2,000; (d) Renewal of surface water withdrawal permit with modifications application processing fee $1,000; (e) Surface water withdrawal annual operating fee per permitted intake $1,000. Code Commissioner's Note At the direction of the Code Commissioner, the 2010 version of subsection (H)(8), is replaced by the 2012 version of subsection (H)(8), effective January 1, 2013; the two versions are substantially identical. Editor's Note 2010 Act No. 247, SECTION 3.C, provides as follows: "The new item added to Section 48-2-50(H) by this SECTION is repealed January 1, 2013. No new fees may be charged for Surface Water Withdrawal applications following that date without an act of the General Assembly setting the fee schedule." 2012 Act No. 248, SECTION 3, provides as follows: "SECTION 3. Section 3C of Act 247 of 2010, which reads as stated below, is repealed: "C. The new item added to Section 48-2-50 by this SECTION is repealed January 1, 2013. No new fees may be charged for Surface Water Withdrawal applications following that date without an act of the General Assembly setting the fee schedule." Effect of Amendment The 2010 amendment added subsection (H)(8), relating to surface water withdrawals. The 2012 amendment added subsection (H)(8), relating to surface water withdrawals.