2nd Satilla River Landing permit still faulty; groups file another challenge

A permit re-issued by the state for the Satilla River Landing marina project in Camden County still fails to account for the impact of polluted runoff from the project's residential development on water quality in the river, say coastal conservation groups who today filed another legal challenge of the project.

The groups first challenged the project in December, after the Georgia Coastal Marshlands Protection Committee granted Atlanta-based Land Resource Companies a permit to build a 64-slip private marina, which would serve the company's proposed 165-lot subdivision along the banks of the Satilla River near Woodbine. The committee ignored its own staff of technical experts who recommended allowing only half the number of slips to reduce the impact to the river, which is already on the state's list of "impaired waters" due to polluted runoff from development in the watershed.

The challenge got as far as the Attorney General's office, which sent the permit back to the committee for a missing water quality certification, said Chris DeScherer, Senior Attorney with SELC, which filed the challenge on behalf of the Satilla Riverkeeper and Center for a Sustainable Coast. Although the developer made minor improvements for the certification, the permit re-issued by the committee in July is still illegal because it completely ignores the impaired status of the river, unavoidable impacts from the marina and docks, and substantial impacts from the subdivision.

"It's astonishing that the committee and developer continue to ignore previous court rulings that clearly state the need to consider the environmental impacts of an entire project," DeScherer said. The coastal groups set important precedents in two previous cases - Emerald Pointe and Man Head Marina - when Georgia courts ruled that the Coastal Marshlands Protection Act requires the state to evaluate the impacts to water quality and coastal marshlands from all aspects of a development proposal, not just the parts that sit in state waters, such as marinas and bridges.

Water quality in the Satilla River is of particular concern to the conservation groups, which represent homeowners, boaters, commercial and recreational fishermen, and others who use the marsh resources. State officials have identified a 19-mile section of the river that includes Woodbine as violating water quality standards because of extremely low levels of oxygen, essential for aquatic life. Excessive nutrients such as fertilizer cause rapid algae growth in the river which depletes oxygen. The state has identified the source of the problem as runoff from developed areas.

"The state has no business allowing any additional pollution to get into this river," said Satilla Riverkeeper Gordon Rogers. "The cleanest marina in the world, and we can show examples of some very good ones in coastal Georgia, are not completely without nutrient input to surrounding waters. The state must recognize the impaired status of the Satilla in this reach, and address nutrient inputs from the marina and the upland," said Rogers, a former biologist with the Department of Natural Resources who has also operated a charter boat for recreational anglers.

David Kyler, Executive Director for the Center for a Sustainable Coast, said the permit will allow further degradation of an ecosystem that is increasingly threatened. "Georgia issued almost 1,700 permits for new docks along the coast between 1995 and 2002," he said. "Just think about the combined environ-mental impacts from all those docks and many permitted since then. We've got to get smarter and responsibly manage growth by accounting for cumulative impacts. And we need to make sure that the impacts of any new project are carefully monitored, especially when nearby waters are already impaired, which this permit fails to address."

"Georgia's coastal marsh is one of the most productive and valuable natural resources in the world - and it deserves to be protected," said Stephen O'Day, a partner with Smith, Gambrell & Russell in Atlanta and Senior Litigation Counsel with SELC.