The Latest News
SELC scores stronger safeguards for Georgia’s coast
added 7.29.11
Court victories lead to stronger wetland protections
With a string of strategic legal victories in Georgia, SELC is helping to close loopholes in the Clean Water Act that developers and land speculators have exploited to avoid complying with federal wetland protections. The result will be tougher enforcement of wetland safeguards and cleaner water for Georgians.
Misuse of exemptions for farmers and foresters
Under the Clean Water Act, filling a wetland requires a federal permit and mitigation of the impacts—in other words, the restoration or preservation of another wetland to make up for the lost resource. To reduce the regulatory burden on farmers, tree farmers, and ranchers, Congress amended the law in 1977 to exempt agricultural and silvicultural operations from these requirements.
For years, timber companies, developers, and landowners on the Georgia coast have treated the farming and tree-farming exemptions as an easy escape hatch from government oversight, and for years, the Army Corps of Engineers and other agencies have been too willing to let them get away with it. The result has been the illegal destruction of wetland ecosystems to create new roads, artificial lakes and ponds, and drained land for development projects.
Precedent-setting victories
SELC’s precedent-setting court victories are curbing this abuse of the law and are reshaping in the regulatory landscape. They include:
- A 2008 federal ruling that the silviculture exemption applies only to ongoing forestry operations, with evidence of timber harvesting in the past and clear plans for growing more trees in the future.
- A 2009 court decision finding that a logging company violated the law when it cut a road through wetlands along the Ogeechee River and claimed it was for a tree-farming operation, when in fact it was part of a home site up for sale.
- A 2010 legal settlement that will help prevent developers from flooding streams and wetlands to create “farm ponds” that are actually amenity lakes for high-end residential and commercial projects.
New regulatory guidelines
In response to our legal outcomes, the Army Corps of Engineers in Georgia has issued new guidelines clarifying the limits on farming and tree-farming exemptions in the Clean Water Act and spelling out how the Corps will work with other agencies to ensure that timber companies and landowners adhere to the law. Similar guidelines are needed on a national scale, but in the meantime, these results provide stronger protection for Georgia’s precious waters and wetlands.
Learn more about this case »
Previous Case Activity
Corps Goes Forward With Program that Lowers Environmental Standards
added 1.20.10
In Georgia, the Savannah District of the Army Corps of Engineers is going forward with a permitting program that will significantly weaken stream and wetland protections in an attempt to fast-track economic stimulus projects--even though state regulators have refused to give blanket approval to projects permitted under this program, as the Corps had requested.
The program involves regional general permits that are intended for activities that have no more than a “minimal impact” on the environment. The new permits, however, will substantially relax the standard for what is considered “minimal impact,” increasing by up to 10 times the area of wetlands typically allowed to be destroyed under this standard, and tripling the length of streams allowed to be dredged or filled. While acknowledging the need to get people back to work quickly, SELC has been urging the Corps to drop its plan to ease environmental protections as a way to get stimulus projects underway.
“SELC and our national, state, and local partner groups have been urging the Corps to shelve its plan to issue these permits, and we are extremely pleased that the state has objected to this program as proposed by the Corps,” said SELC senior attorney Bill Sapp. Georgia’s Coastal Resources Division and Environmental Protection Division have both turned down the Corps’s request to give sweeping water quality certification to all projects permitted under this plan.
The Savannah District is the only Corps district in the country using this approach. Seen as a national test case, the permitting program sets a damaging precedent for Corps districts across the country.
SELC Urges Corps Not to Sacrifice Water Quality in Rush to Stimulate Economy
added 6.9.09
The Savannah District of the Army Corps of Engineers has proposed a permitting program that would fast-track approval to dredge and fill streams and wetlands for projects funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act―the economic stimulus legislation passed by Congress earlier this year. SELC is urging the Corps to drop this proposal, which is also opposed by the regional office of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. We are calling for the Corps to open a dialogue on ways to put people to work quickly without undermining environmental safeguards.
The permits would revise the standard for what is considered “minimal impact” on waters and wetlands, allowing up to 1,000 linear feet of streams and up to five acres of wetlands to be dredged or filled under this looser standard for stimulus projects. In some instances, the permit would go even farther and allow the destruction of up to 10 acres of wetlands and 2,000 feet of streams under the “minimal impact” standard. For the most part, the current standard is a half-acre of wetlands and up to 300 feet of streams.
SELC acknowledges the need to spur employment and economic recovery, but not at the cost of protections provided by the Clean Water Act and other environmental laws. While urging the Corps to rethink this proposal, we are also calling for the agency to adhere to green practices outlined by the EPA for federally funded construction projects.
Savannah Magazine Highlights SELC’s Work on the Georgia Coast
added 5.22.09
More and more people are flocking to the Georgia coast to enjoy its natural wonders—from its sandy beaches to its tidal creeks and rivers to its cypress swamps and salt marsh. But will the region’s popularity destroy the very natural features that draw so many new residents? In “Winning on the Waterfront,” an article by Brad Swope, the online edition of Savannah Magazine takes a fresh look at this question and points to SELC’s in-depth assessment of threats to the Georgia coast as a source for answers. The magazine also highlights our strategic goals for saving this remarkable region.
SELC’s report, “At the Tipping Point,” emphasizes that uncontrolled development is the greatest threat to the Georgia coast and its ecological riches. And it’s still a threat, despite the chill in the housing market. The Savannah Magazine article notes that home construction around Savannah “shows the coast remains a target for developers, as retiring baby boomers seek an Atlantic locale.” Before that next wave hits, the magazine points out, SELC “hopes to inspire residents to protect the natural environment that first brought them here.” Read the article online at www.savannahmagazine.com/articles/winning-on-the-waterfront/
SELC Helps to Scale Back Dock Plans On St. Simon’s Island
added 3.30.09
SELC and the Altamaha Riverkeeper helped convince Georgia regulators to scale back a developer’s plan to build two massive, three-tiered docks for new marinas serving a luxury hotel and condominium complex on St. Simons Island. We argued that the proposal by developer Stewart Atlantic posed a hazard to marshlands, marine life, and boaters navigating the river. In the end, Georgia’s Coastal Marshland Protection Committee gave the green light to only half the project: one tier of dock space for the hotel, and two tiers to serve the condos. We continue to be concerned about the impacts of increased boat traffic on the surrounding estuary and on water safety.