Georgia Buffer Rules
New buffer rules fail to protect Georgia's waters
Natural buffers between waterways and construction activities protect water quality by filtering out the pollutants in stormwater runoff, one of the largest sources of pollution in the South's lakes, rivers and streams. Buffers are equally important for the small creeks and streams, acting as the first line of defense for the water quality of the larger bodies of water they feed.
©Craig Tanner
Failure to buffer pollution upstream will result in poor water quality downstream in larger water bodies.
Under Georgia's newly adopted rules governing buffer zones -- areas in which no land-disturbing activity can be conducted -- many of these waters receive no protection whatsoever under state law. This failure to protect these headwaters will lead to more pollution entering the state's waterways.
In late 2004, the Georgia Board of Natural Resources adopted its buffer rules despite nearly 1,000 comments opposing the rules and the manner in which they came about. In the months and days before final adoption, the Board had been poised to adopt more environmentally friendly rules, until special interests pressured the Board to change course.
Not only do the adopted rules ignore Georgia law that requires buffers on all state waters, regardless of size, but the Board of Natural Resources violated its legal obligation to public notice and exceeded its own authority. Working with the Altamaha Riverkeeper and the Georgia Chapter of the Sierra Club, the Southern Environmental Law Center is seeking to overturn these rules.
