COLUMBIA - A Jasper County Lexus dealership wants permission to fill in freshwater wetlands to increase the size of its parking lot.

State regulators received a request for the project's coastal zone consistency determination this month from Hilton Head Lexus, which is adjacent to U.S. 278 in Hardeeville. The site sits upstream of the Great Swamp, which flows into the New River.

Kate Schaefer, south coast director of the S.C. Coastal Conservation League, said the organization has not reviewed the Lexus proposal specifically, but that it's always better if developers perform an alternative analysis to see if they can avoid damaging wetlands.

"Specifically, is there another place this parking lot or structure can be expanded before a wetland is filled?" Schaefer said. DHEC received an assessment from Sligh Environmental Consultants on March 18 that says, "various alternatives were considered … in order to minimize impacts to aquatic resources."

To expand the dealership's parking lot, the project is proposed to affect nearly 1 acre of isolated freshwater wetlands. The assessment says Hilton Head Lexus plans to purchase eight wetland mitigation credits to offset the effects the work will have on the existing wetlands in the project's path.

DHEC is accepting public comments on the parking lot expansion proposal until midnight March 27.

Coastal zone protections under state law were raised in recent days during the week's budget debate in the House. It's a topic of key local interest. Beaufort and Jasper counties are part of the eight-county coastal zone, plans must be submitted to DHEC for approval. The others are Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester, Georgetown, and Horry counties. These certifications ensure that land and water uses in the counties follow the state Coastal Zone Management Plan and the S.C. Coastal Zone Management Act.

Two controversial efforts by a Dorchester County Republican were withdrawn before the House approved the spending plan late Tuesday night. Rep. Chris Murphy had sought two changes that the Coastal Conservation League had warned would undermine protections for the Lowcountry's wetlands and marshes. The first proposal would have drastically eroded the amount of coastal land and waters the state can protect, while the other sought to exempt 90 percent of Dorchester County from the Coastal Management Program.

The General Assembly will instead ask the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control to study the coastal zone's boundaries, if the Senate also includes the measure when it takes up the budget.

"We argue that DHEC is already tasked with a great deal, they are under-budgeted and understaffed, and this study is simply not a priority right now," said Katie Zimmerman, program director for air, water, and public health, for the Coastal Conservation League.

The wetlands proposal in Jasper County is one of a handful of development proposals pending before state environmental regulators.

Others include:

• The Kroger store: BC Buckwalter, LLC of Augusta, is moving forward with a 38-acre mixed-use shopping complex at Buckwalter Place in Bluffton. The developer's coastal-zone consistency request was received by state regulators this month. The developer laid out associated parking, utilities and drainage system, along with its application for stormwater land disturbance, waste water and water supply permits.

• Sidewalk extension: The Town of Bluffton wants state approval for the extension of sidewalks along Buck Island Road. Toy Fields Sidewalks, as the project at Buck Island Road and Fernbank Avenue is called, would mean adding 1,167 feet.