Yes! If work exceeds $5,000, ONLY a licensed South Carolina Marine Contractor can legally build your project. The work must be performed by a contractor with a marine construction stipulation to their contractor’s license. Construction performed by anyone (other than the homeowner) without a South Carolina Marine Contractors License may cause you to be fined and require removal of your new dock. All licensed contractors should be able to present you with a copy of their South Carolina License. Gulfstream Marine is fully licensed and insured in the State of South Carolina and here to help you through the permitting process.

No. All additions require permits or amendments to active permits prior to making additions to a dock or changes to what has been permitted. Some changes will require a new survey.

Not a permit, but a letter of maintenance and repair must be obtained from OCRM. There is no cost for this letter, but an OCRM request form must be completed explaining the proposed repair and pictures must be submitted. Gulfstream Marine can assist you with this State requirement.

Basic maintenance and repair may not require a new permit. DHEC regulations state, “Normal maintenance and repair applies only to work on a structure which has been previously permitted or is grand-fathered or exempted and is still generally intact and functional in its present condition. The work may only extend to the original dimensions of the structure, and any expansion, additions, or major rebuilding will require either a Department permit or documentation to and written approval from the Department. When is comes time to make minor repairs, write to your local DHEC-OCRM office and state exactly what work will be done.

It’s all depending on what is needed for your specific marine project. From beginning to finish the general time frame for a private, residential dock is approximately 90 days. This depends on the schedules of the surveyors, our office, public notices, OCRM & Army Corps of Engineers requirements.

A permit is good for five years from the date of issue. A permit’s time frame can be extended if OCRM is contacted within 30 days of existing permit expiring.

The allowed square footage of the structure is determined by the creek width at your project site as measured from marsh grass to marsh grass on each side. The longest residential dock walkway allowed is 1,000 feet. The walkway width is limited to 4 foot in width with wider widths allowed when certain department criteria is met. Large dock structures of 600 square feet and more may be allowed when certain criteria exists. This will be dependent on extended property lines, offsets, site location and other criteria. Gulfstream Marine can help you in determining how large of a new dock you will be able to build.

All new construction of docks and additions to docks in the critical area of our marshes requires a permit from OCRM (Ocean & Coastal Resource Management – a division of SC DHEC) and a survey showing the proposed structure, produced by a licensed SC surveyor, engineer or landscape architect. Permitting in some areas may also require a joint permit with OCRM and the Army Corps of Engineers. Gulfstream Marine works closely with state and federal agencies and several surveyors to assure your dock meets required rules and regulations for permit applications. Permit regulations also call for an as-built survey to be submitted before expiration of the construction placard.