Town of Bluffton seeks public input on proposed wetland protection updates

Bluffton officials are asking residents and the development community to comment on proposed updates to the town’s wetland protections, a set of rules adopted last year after federal protections for some wetlands were narrowed by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The comment period runs from Feb. 2 through March 2, according to town documents.
Bluffton adopted its current Wetland Protection Ordinance in June 2025, requiring a 50-foot undisturbed buffer around wetlands. The town says it acted after the Supreme Court’s 2023 Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency decision, which limited when wetlands fall under federal Clean Water Act jurisdiction.
The new proposal keeps the 50-foot buffer requirement but would revise the Unified Development Ordinance to clarify how the rules work and align them with new wetland-mapping tools used by the town, according to the town’s press release.
Among the changes, the draft adds new definitions for “wetland buffer” and “heavy machinery,” and updates the definition of “wetland delineation.” The proposal would generally require delineations prepared within the last five years and specifies that delineations must follow the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ 1987 delineation manual.

The draft also lays out exceptions when a delineation would not be required, including for some sites under five acres if multiple conditions are met, including a notarized owner affidavit and the absence of wetlands on prior delineations or specified mapping sources.
Other proposed updates extend beyond buffer language into stormwater and construction standards.
A section of the draft would require off-site discharge points to be identified on site plans and calls for a licensed South Carolina professional engineer to certify that receiving conveyance systems can safely handle certain storm events without harming downstream properties. The proposal also includes updated “Overbank Flood Protection” and “Extreme Flood Protection” standards tied to the town’s stormwater design manual, including requirements related to 100-year overflow paths.
The draft adds language stating that “mass grading and clearing-cutting shall not be permitted,” and would make it unlawful to conduct land disturbance of 5,000 or more square feet — or to reach that threshold through accumulated impervious surface — without an approved grading plan.
Maintenance and enforcement provisions are also addressed. The proposal includes a requirement for inspection reports for structural stormwater best management practices, with an initial report one year after as-built certification and subsequent reports every three years, prepared by a certified post-construction inspector or a registered South Carolina professional engineer or landscape architect. It also details operation-and-maintenance agreements to be recorded with the Beaufort County Register of Deeds.
For wetlands specifically, the draft states that wetland and wetland buffer inspections are authorized to determine compliance, and it lays out what activities are prohibited or allowed in wetland buffers, including limited allowances for certain paths, utilities and water-dependent uses under specified conditions.
The proposal also includes provisions addressing how local rules interact with federal permits. It would exempt certain activities authorized under valid U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permits issued on or before Sept. 8, 2023, while stating that permits issued after that date govern federally jurisdictional wetlands, with local requirements, including the 50-foot buffer, applying after completion of federally permitted activities.
Comments may be emailed to Andrea Moreno, Bluffton’s watershed management division manager, at amoreno@townofbluffton.com. The draft ordinance amendments are available on the town’s website www.townofbluffton.com.