The South Carolina Coastal Council was created by an act in 1977, which created an 18 member governing body to develop and implement a comprehensive coastal management program. The council permits alterations of beaches and sand dunes, tidelands, and coastal waters and reviews state and federal permit applications to determine consistency with the South Carolina coastal zone management program. By 1995, the Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management at the Department of Health and Environmental Control was responsible for the implementation of the coastal management, including permitting.