Loading chat...
GA HB966
Bill
Status
Introduced
2/9/2016
Primary Sponsor
Johnnie Caldwell
Click for details
AI Summary
- Amends Georgia's soil erosion and sedimentation control law (Chapter 7 of Title 12) to clarify that a 25-foot buffer zone applies along all state waters, measured outward from the "ordinary high water mark" rather than from the point where vegetation has been wrested by normal stream flow or wave action
- Adds a new statutory definition for "ordinary high water mark" as the line of demarcation along state waters indicated by physical characteristics such as natural lines on the bank, shelving, soil changes, destruction of terrestrial vegetation, or presence of litter and debris
- Responds directly to the Georgia Supreme Court decision in Turner v. Georgia River Network, 297 Ga. 306, which identified statutory ambiguity and invited the General Assembly to clarify whether buffers apply uniformly along all state waters
- Maintains the 50-foot buffer for state waters classified as "trout streams," with specific provisions for primary trout waters (no variance below 50 feet), secondary trout waters (variance allowed to 25 feet), and first-order trout waters (minimum 25 feet, no variance allowed)
- Exempts ephemeral streams, drainage structures with adequate erosion controls, director-approved variances, and shoreline stabilization construction (limited to bulkheads/sea walls at Lake Oconee and Lake Sinclair) from the buffer requirements
Legislative Description
Conservation; soil erosion and sedimentation; provide buffer along all state waters
Last Action
House Second Readers
2/11/2016
Full Bill Text
No bill text available