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TO PROVIDE THAT THE REMAINS OF THE CSS PEE DEE, A CONFEDERATE NAVAL VESSEL WHICH SANK IN THE GREAT PEE DEE RIVER, AS WELL AS ALL OTHER ARTIFACTS LYING IN THE GREAT PEE DEE RIVER IN THE AREA BELOW THE ORDINARY HIGH WATER MARK BETWEEN FLORENCE AND MARION COUNTIES, IN A ZONE TWO MILES ABOVE AND TWO MILES BELOW THE UNITED STATES HIGHWAY 76 BRIDGE, ARE THE PROPERTY OF THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA AND THAT IT IS UNLAWFUL TO COLLECT ANY ARTIFACTS FROM THE AREA; AND TO PROVIDE THAT THIS ACT IS AUTOMATICALLY REPEALED AFTER FIVE YEARS.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. The General Assembly finds that:
(1) the Great Pee Dee River has been an important site for human habitation and use for millennia; and
(2) the zone two miles above and two miles below the United States Highway 76 bridge defines a special area of South Carolina history from the earliest prehistory through the Revolutionary and Civil Wars; and
(3) the CSS Pee Dee, a Confederate naval vessel, was constructed at the Pee Dee Navy Yard located in Marion County, immediately above the United States Highway 76 bridge, between 1862 and 1864; and
(4) at the time, the CSS Pee Dee was declared to be the finest wooden vessel built by the Confederate Navy; and
(5) the CSS Pee Dee was scuttled by its officers and men in 1865 to avoid capture; and
(6) many of the remains of the CSS Pee Dee, including its cannons and other ordinance, are presently in the Great Pee Dee River in the area below the mean high water mark between Florence and Marion counties; and
(7) many other prehistoric and early historic artifacts can be found within this same area; and
(8) many of these artifacts and remains have been discovered by sports divers, removed, and sold; and
(9) the CSS Pee Dee is an important part of the story of South Carolina in the Civil War, and all remains of the CSS Pee Dee and all the artifacts associated with it belong to the people of South Carolina; and
(10) continued removal of these remains and artifacts is effecting an irreparable loss to the State and the heritage of our people; and
(11) the State of South Carolina desires to exercise its ownership and control over these important remains and artifacts, with the intent that they may one day be recovered, conserved, and made available to aid the people of South Carolina in better understanding our rich history.
SECTION 2. (A) The remains of the CSS Pee Dee, a Confederate naval vessel which sank in the Great Pee Dee River in 1865, as well as her cannons, ordinance, and equipment, as well as other artifacts lying in the Great Pee Dee River in the area below the ordinary high water mark between Florence and Marion counties, in a zone two miles above and two miles below the United State Highway 76 bridge, are the property of the State of South Carolina.
(B) It is unlawful to collect any artifacts lying in the Great Pee Dee River in the area below the ordinary high water mark between Florence and Marion counties, in a zone two miles above and two miles below the United States Highway 76 bridge.
(C) On behalf of the State of South Carolina, the Attorney General shall take appropriate steps to enforce this act.
(D) This act does not apply to agencies of the State of South Carolina engaging in their prescribed duties or authorized salvage operations governed by the South Carolina Underwater Antiquities Act.
(E) The prohibitions contained in this act supercede and preempt any rights of recovery of artifacts contained in Section 54-7-670.
SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor and is repealed effective five years after that date.
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