Comments on proposed rule changes, CRD/DNR January 19, 2024
Georgia’s marshlands are a key component of the dynamic and complex intertidal zone, where freshwater systems merge with marine waters. Georgia's tidal marshlands, the largest on the U.S. east coast, are extremely important as wildlife habitat and marine fish nurseries, as well as providing invaluable water filtration and flood protection. These marshes are regulated by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, which is now proposeing ill-conceived revisions in the marsh rules they administer.
Properly protecting the important functions of marshlands is complicated by the movement of tides, river and pipeline outflow, as well as stormwater runoff in the five coastal river watersheds (that can carry contaminants hundreds of miles downstream), the development of upland areas including water access via docks and elevated walkways, and changes in conditions caused by the alteration of topography, vegetation, and land-cover in adjacent upland areas. Despite the growing risk of coastal flooding and the corresponding expense of flood insurance, demand for the development of marsh-front properties continues to escalate, making the protection of marshes increasingly important and controversial, as well as more difficult. (See references listed below.)
Objectives that should be served by effective marsh buffer rules:
- Prevent activities causing harm to marsh functions. Those functions include wildlife habitat and fishery nurseries, water filtration & flood protection of adjacent uplands.
- Minimize harm to upland areas and marshes caused by rising sea level and storms.
- Prevent damage to other [off-site] upland areas caused by permitted activities.
- Administer and evaluate permitting to prevent risk of cumulative damages within a watershed or impact zone, augmented by analysis of other information about marsh conditions and threats.
- Enhance public awareness of the benefits of marsh protection through state regulation.
DNR’s current and proposed procedures for marsh buffer regulation are flawed by:
- Incremental decision-making that lacks systemic assessment and longer-term perspective
- Fragmented, weakly coordinated use of state and local authority [under rules based on both Georgia’s Marshlands Protection Act and the Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Act]
- Neglect of significant factors that can adversely influence the consequences of permitting decisions – foremost rising sea-level, and
- Inadequate public understanding of the permitting process and its relevance to Georgia’s coast.
Critique & Recommendations
Lack of Systemic Analysis
Due to the risk of accumulative adverse effects of many individual permitted activities and rising sea level, incremental permitting cannot provide adequate protection of the tidal marsh ecosystem. Permitting decisions must be augmented with assessment of the consequences of activities previously permitted and changing conditions affecting the ecosystem functions of Georgia’s tidal marshes.
Uncoordinated & Fragmented Use of State Authority
The current split of authority between two separate divisions of Georgia DNR, as well as the option for local governments to assume certain elements of regulation caused inevitable but avoidable lack of uniformity, understanding, and rigor in the use of rules intended to protect tidal marshes. Buffer rules must be adopted under a structure that empowers a single agency unit for applying state authority.
Neglect of Key Assessment Factors
Current rules provide no assurance of credible evaluation of important factors relevant to anticipated impacts of proposed development activities in the tidal marsh buffer. Foremost, there are numerous studies predicting the accelerated risks of coastal flooding caused by rising sea level, which must be a critical factor in regulation of demand for marshfront projects such as seawalls and evaluating their impacts over the life of the project. Buffer rules must include mandatory assessment of such factors, for which there are now many sources of technical support through NOAA and various national NGOs, as well as federal funding for programs providing climate change adaptation. [See references below]
Inadequate Public Involvement & Understanding About Marsh Protection
Reforming rules for marsh buffer regulation provides an important opportunity to upgrade reporting and analysis of permitting activities for public review, which promises to enhance citizen understanding about the relevance of these efforts, support for them, and compliance with regulatory requirements. As I suggested in oral comments at the January 4th hearing, it is strongly advised that DNR/CRD adopt the practice of producing and widely distributing an annual report that describes and maps all permitted activities [Marshlands Protection, Shore Protection, and Buffer Protection], results of any post-permitting assessment of impacts, regulatory violations and related resolutions, and letters of permission affecting the tidal marshes of Georgia. To initiate enhanced public involvement, we enthusiastically support the formation of a stakeholder/public advisory group to work with DNR/CRD in developing a more thorough, consistent, and effective regulatory program for Georgia’s marsh buffers.
Recommended References
- Climate Resilience Toolkit - https://toolkit.climate.gov/regions/coastal-impacts
- Resilient Communities - https://www.coastalstates.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/BRIC-Fact-Sheet.pdf
- Coastal growth threatens marshes - https://pulitzercenter.org/stories/coastal-development-boom-endangers-salt-marshes-resource-vital-southeast-economy
- Vegetated buffers - https://www.gcrc.uga.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Final-Vegetated-Buffers-in-the-Coastal-Zone.pdf
- Georgia faces chronic inundation – https://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/attach/2017/07/when-rising-seas-hit-home-georgia-fact-sheet.pdf
- NOAA report on accelerating coastal flooding - https://www.savannahnow.com/story/news/2022/02/26/noaa-report-coastal-counties-sea-level-rise-flooding-storm-surges/6941003001/
- Sea Level Rise puts squeeze on coastal Georgia - https://www.climatecentral.org/news/sea-level-rise-to-put-the-squeeze-on-coastal-georgia