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GA SB213
Bill
Status
Passed
4/16/2014
Primary Sponsor
Ross Tolleson
Click for details
AI Summary
- Amends the Flint River Drought Protection Act to expand protections beyond the Flint River mainstem to include its tributaries (specifically Spring Creek, Ichawaynochaway Creek, Kinchafoonee Creek, and Muckalee Creek), and adds a new definition of "augmentation" as the addition of ground water into surface channels to maintain instream flows
- Establishes phased irrigation efficiency requirements for farm use permits in affected areas: 80% minimum efficiency by 2020 for most systems (with deadlines of January 1, 2016 for post-2005 permits, January 1, 2018 for 1991–2005 permits, and January 1, 2020 for pre-1991 permits), and 60% minimum for mobile irrigation systems and solid-set sprinklers on the same schedule
- Directs the Department of Agriculture and State Soil and Water Conservation Commission to coordinate with the Environmental Protection Division to enhance agricultural water efficiency programs, support pilot projects for innovative irrigation technologies, and encourage voluntary retirement of unused farm water withdrawal permits
- Creates a framework for state-funded stream flow augmentation projects, requiring the director to notify downstream surface-water permittees to let augmented flows pass their withdrawal points during periods when the project operates to protect habitat critical for vulnerable aquatic life, with hearings available within five business days and a prohibition on interbasin water transfers
- Changes the division's drought prediction and irrigation reduction auction authority from mandatory ("will"/"shall") to discretionary ("may"), and clarifies that payments to permittees for not irrigating do not constitute compensation for losses, lease or repurchase of permits, or acknowledgment of property rights in permits
Legislative Description
"Flint River Drought Protection Act"; clarify legislative intent; revise definitions; expand programs
Last Action
Effective Date
7/1/2014
Full Bill Text
No bill text available