The following types of dams are exempt from the Dams and Reservoirs Safety Act and the regulations pertaining thereto:

1. Unless the hazard potential as determined by the Department is such that dam failure or improper reservoir operation may cause loss of human life, any dam which is or shall be (a) less than twenty-five feet in height from the natural bed of the stream or water course measured at the downstream toe of the dam, or twenty-five feet from the lowest elevation of the outside limit of the dam, if it is not across a stream channel or water course, to the maximum water storage elevation and (b) has or shall have an impounding capacity at maximum water storage elevation of less than fifty acre-feet.
2. Any dam owned or operated by any department or agency of the federal government.
3. Any dam owned or licensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the South Carolina Public Service Authority, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the United States Army Corps of Engineers, or other responsible federal licensing agencies considered appropriate by the Department.
4. Any dam upon which the South Carolina Department of Transportation or county or municipal governments have accepted maintenance responsibility for a road or highway where that road or highway is the only danger to life or property with respect to failure of the dam.
5. Any dam, which in the judgment of the Department, because of its size and location could pose no significant threat of danger to downstream life or property. Upon request, Certificates of Exemption (DHEC Form 2601(6/94) are available from the Department for dams in this category.