07 LC 18
5917
House
Bill 55
By:
Representatives Powell of the
29th,
McCall of the
30th,
and Bearden of the
68th
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Chapter 5 of Title 12 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to water resources, so as to provide for protection of river basins; to define
certain terms; to regulate interbasin transfers of water; to provide for an
in-stream flow policy; to provide an exemption; to provide legislative findings
and declarations; to provide a short title; to provide an effective date; to
repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Chapter
5 of Title 12 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to water
resources, is amended by adding a new article to read as follows:
"ARTICLE
11
12-5-590.
This
article shall be known and may be cited as the 'River Basin Protection
Act.'
12-5-591.
Georgia´s
river systems and aquifers support communities, local and regional economies,
and diverse ecosystems. Maintaining natural flows throughout Georgia to the
maximum extent practicable, while ensuring a safe yield, is essential for the
overall health of its water resources and the economies that depend on them. It
is therefore declared to be the policy of the State of Georgia to approximate
natural flow levels and rates in all waters of the state to the maximum extent
practicable, to protect against over-allocations and under-allocations of water
in all river systems and aquifers or portions thereof in the state to the
maximum extent practicable, and to minimize consumptive uses of water to the
maximum extent practicable.
12-5-592.
As
used in this article, the term:
(1)
'Basin' means the Altamaha, Chattahoochee, Coosa, Flint, Ochlockonee, Ocmulgee,
Oconee, Ogeechee, St. Marys, Satilla, Savannah, Suwannee, Tallapoosa, or
Tennessee River Basin.
(2)
'Biological integrity' means the maintenance of water in a water source in the
volume and at the times necessary to support and maintain wetlands and wildlife,
including fish, flora, and fauna, insofar as protection of either is required by
federal or state laws or regulations.
(3)
'Chemical integrity' means the maintenance of water in a water source in the
volume and at the times necessary to enable such water source to achieve the
water quality standards prescribed for the water source by federal or state laws
or regulations in light of authorized effluent discharges and other expected
impacts on the water source.
(4)
'Consumptive use' means any use of water that is not a nonconsumptive use,
including, but not limited to, evaporation or the incorporation of water into a
product or crop.
(5)
'Department' means the Department of Natural Resources.
(6)
'Director' means the director of the division.
(7)
'Division' means the Environmental Protection Division of the
department.
(8)
'Ground water' shall be defined as in paragraph (6) of Code Section
12-5-92.
(9)
'Interbasin transfer' means the withdrawal, diversion, or pumping of surface
water from one river basin, or the withdrawal or pumping of ground water from a
point located within or beneath one river basin, and discharge of all or any
part of the water in or beneath a river basin different from the basin of
origin.
(10)
'Nonconsumptive use' means a use of withdrawn water in such a manner that it is
returned to its waters of origin at or near its point of withdrawal without
substantial diminution in quality or quantity and without resulting in or
exacerbating a low flow condition.
(11)
'Physical integrity' means the volume of water in a water source necessary
to:
(A)
Support commercial navigation of the water source as required by federal or
state law or regulation;
(B)
Preserve natural, cultural, or historic resources as determined by or as
required by federal or state law or regulation;
(C)
Provide adequate recreational opportunities to the people of Georgia;
and
(D)
Prevent serious depletion or exhaustion of the water source.
(12)
'Safe yield' means the amount of water in a water source available for
withdrawal without impairing the long-term utility of the water source,
including the biological integrity, chemical integrity, and physical integrity
of the source, as determined by comparing the natural and artificial
replenishment of the water source to existing or planned consumptive and
nonconsumptive uses.
(13)
'Waters of the state' shall be defined as in paragraph (13) of Code Section
12-5-22.
12-5-593.
(a)
Any person seeking to make an interbasin transfer of more than 100,000 gallons
of water per day shall apply to the director for a permit for such transfer.
When feasible, the nonconsumptive portion of the interbasin transfer shall be
returned to the basin of origin. Water users receiving water as the result of
the proposed interbasin transfer shall implement water conservation procedures
and must demonstrate that there are no cost-effective alternatives to the
interbasin transfer.
(b)
The director shall use the following criteria in considering an application for
an interbasin transfer permit:
(1)
The quantity of the proposed withdrawal and the stream flow of the basin of
origin, with special concern for low flow conditions;
(2)
Protection of the present uses, and consideration of projected stream uses of
the basin of origin, with special concern for low flow conditions and the
ecology of the stream;
(3)
Protection of the water quality in the basin of origin, with special concern for
low flow conditions;
(4)
The economic feasibility, cost effectiveness, and environmental impacts of the
proposed permit in relation to alternative sources of water supply, including
the cumulative impacts of current and proposed interbasin transfers in the
basin;
(5)
The overall current water demand and the reasonably foreseeable future water
needs of the basin of origin;
(6)
The supply of water presently available to the receiving basin, as well as the
overall current water demand and the reasonably foreseeable future water needs
of the receiving basin, including methods of water use, conservation, and
efficiency of use;
(7)
The beneficial impact of any proposed transfer, and the demonstrated capability
of the applicant to implement effectively its responsibilities under the
requested permit;
(8)
The nature of the applicant´s use of the water, to determine whether the
use is reasonable;
(9)
Whether the applicant has implemented all reasonable efforts to promote
conservation;
(10)
Whether the proposed project requiring the interbasin transfer shall promote
conservation of water;
(11)
The requirements of other state and federal agencies with authority relating to
water resources;
(12)
The availability of water to respond to emergencies, including drought in the
basin of origin and in the receiving basin;
(13)
Whether the project shall have any beneficial or detrimental impact on
navigation, hydropower or other power generation, fish and wildlife habitats,
aesthetics, or recreation;
(14)
The quantity, quality, location, and timing of water returned to the basin of
origin, receiving basin, or a downstream basin;
(15)
Climatic conditions;
(16)
Any offsetting increases in flow in the basin of origin that may be arranged
through permit conditions;
(17)
The number of downstream river miles from which water will be diverted as a
result of the transfer;
(18)
Consultations with local governments affected by the proposed transfer and
use;
(19)
The correlation between surface water and ground water in the basin of origin,
and whether the proposed use will be harmful to the supply of either or
both;
(20)
Impact on interstate water use;
(21)
The cumulative effect on the basin of origin and the receiving basin of any
water transfer or consumptive water use that is authorized or projected;
and
(22)
Such other factors as are reasonably necessary to carry out the purposes of
Georgia law.
(c)
The director shall issue or deny any interbasin transfer permit applied for in
accordance with the provisions of this chapter. Any such interbasin transfer
permit shall be issued for a term of no more than 20 years, and shall be subject
to review every ten years of its duration. The provisions of this article shall
apply to proposed new interbasin transfer permits or modifications of existing
permits. The director shall modify an existing interbasin transfer permit or
issue or deny a new one, indicating in the permit the following provisions,
terms, and conditions:
(1)
The location of the withdrawal;
(2)
The authorized amount of the withdrawal and the level of consumptive use, if
any, and required conservation measures, if any;
(3)
The dates during which water is to be withdrawn, including any seasonal or
shorter variations in the authorized withdrawals or level of consumptive use;
(4)
The uses for which the water is authorized to be withdrawn;
(5)
The transfer of water shall be governed by any applicable in-stream flow
protection requirements of the division;
(6)
The amount of return flow required, if any, and the required place of discharge,
if any;
(7)
Any special provisions necessary to promote an adequate water supply for the
state or to mitigate any future adverse conditions resulting from the
transfer;
(8)
The installation, maintenance, and use of stream flow monitoring
equipment;
(9)
Any requirements for metering, surveillance, and reporting the director
determines to be necessary to ensure compliance with other conditions,
limitations, or restrictions of the permit, including consent to inspections or
investigations;
(10)
The establishment and reporting of transfer activities by the
permittee;
(11)
The time within which all necessary construction authorized by the permit must
be completed or within which the withdrawal or use of water must begin to be
made, with the delay not to exceed five years from the date of issuance of the
permit, subject to extension by order of the director upon showing that all due
efforts and diligence toward the completion of the work have been
made;
(12)
Any extraordinary withdrawals of the waters of the state necessary for the
construction of any facilities necessary to withdraw or use water;
(13)
Any obligation to restore the lands or waters of the state to their condition
prior to the issuance of the permit;
(14)
The date on which the permit expires; and
(15)
Any other conditions, limitations, and restrictions the director determines to
be necessary to protect the public interest, the environment and ecosystems, and
the public health, safety, and welfare, and to ensure the conservation, proper
management, and aesthetic enhancement of the waters of the state.
(d)
After receipt of a completed application and at least 30 days prior to acting on
the application, the director shall notify city and county governments and
public utilities in each county located entirely or partially within the river
basin that is the source of the proposed transfer and the receiving basin and to
all persons who have filed a written request with the director that their names
be placed on a mailing list for receipt of such notice. Any person desiring to
be placed on such mailing list must so request in writing and renew such request
in December of each year. The name of any person who has not renewed such
request shall be removed from the list. The director shall cause a notice of
the proposed interbasin transfer which shall include a nontechnical description
of the applicant´s request and a conspicuous statement in bold type as to
the effects of the water transfer on the basin of origin and receiving basin to
be published in the legal organ or a newspaper of general circulation in each
potentially affected community in the basin of origin and the receiving basin.
Whenever there appears to be sufficient public interest, the director may call a
public hearing. Notice shall be given of the public hearing at least 30 days
prior to the hearing.
(e)
In the event an emergency period of water shortage exists within an area of the
state, the director may modify or revoke and reissue any interbasin transfer
permit subject to the terms of a state drought management plan. The director
shall give public notice of any emergency action taken with respect to an
interbasin transfer permit to the maximum extent practicable.
12-5-594.
The
division shall within no more than three years after the effective date of this
article issue a final in-stream flow policy that incorporates safe yield for all
river basins in the state.
12-5-595.
Those
interbasin transfers identified in the water supply and water conservation
management plan approved by the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning
District pursuant to subsection (a) of Code Section 12-5-584 shall be exempt
from the requirements of this article."
SECTION
2.
This
Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its
becoming law without such approval.
SECTION
3.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.