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The 1977 Federal Water Pollution Control Act
established a comprehensive federal -state-local
framework to prevent, reduce and eliminate water pollution.
Section 208 of the legislation, now known as the Clean Water Act, gave
states the authority to appoint area wide planning agencies for water
quality. The Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments
and five other COGs were designated to manage the needs of mostly
urban counties. The SC Department of Health and Environmental
Control is in direct charge of the remaining 22 counties. In 2004,
Lowcountry COG was designated as a planning agency, brining the number
of designated planning agencies in the State to six. The six
planning areas are:
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Appalachian Council of Governments
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Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of
Governments
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Central Midlands Council of Governments
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Lowcountry Council of Governments
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Santee-Lynches Council of Governments
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Waccamaw Regional Council of Governments
The BCDCOG's
role is to help carry out the goals of the Clean Water Act and integrate
federal, state, and local interest. This integration is achieved
through the preparation of the 208 Water Quality Management Plan and the
review of all permit applications concerning wastewater treatment.
Industries, developers and local governments must submit facilities
plans and preliminary engineering information to the COG before altering
discharges or installing sewer lines. The COG's approval must be
attained before DHEC will permit a project. To be permitted,
projects must meet state and federal guidelines and be in conformance
with the Regional Water Quality Management Plan.
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