Betrayal in Georgia?
New Anchor Rules Appear Worse Than Ever Back in 2018, the State of Georgia was in the process of enacting draconian anchoring restrictions, ostensibly designed to protect recreational and commercial shellfishing and other marine interests. Their argument was that boats dump raw sewage (even though residential blackwater discharges are a well documented problem in the state and the impact from boats entirely speculative). Spurred to act, a coalition of boating groups sat down with Georgia officials and negotiated a better deal for their cruising constituents. Or at least they thought they had. Now Georgia has released final rules that are almost as bad as the originals, maybe even worse. Ted Arisaka is an anchoring activist and founding member of the Facebook Group “Save Georgia’s Anchorages.” Writing on behalf of the coalition, Arisaka sent this letter to Mark Williams, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources: |
DOWNLOAD GEORGIA'S LATEST ANCHORING REGS FOR THE ICW
NO ANCHORING ZONES MAPPED If you are still confused (and who wouldn't be, with Georgia's bewilderingly bad officlal communications), remember this one nugget: "Vessels are also allowed the ability to seek safe harbor in the event of dangerous weather or mechanical failure for a maximum of seven days." All of which raises the question: Is Georgia even worth it? Avoid Getting Screwed by Georgia, Just Go Around It. |
On behalf of the group of boaters who worked with the Department of Natural Resources to create replacement House Bill 833 earlier this year, we seek some clarification on its implementation. You may recall that during our conference call, we stated our concerns about the shellfish harvest areas, and you directed your team to follow up with James Newsome as our representative on this matter. This has not occurred to date and we would like to avoid another confrontational situation such as when House Bill 201 was developed without stakeholder involvement.
The boating group members seek a balance of interest among public access, waterfront property owners, and a resurgent shellfish industry. Your feedback to clarify the above points would be most appreciated. Our coalition comprised of: America’s Great Loop Cruisers Association, CruisersNet, DeFever Cruisers Association, Marine Trawler Owners Association National Marine Manufacturers Association, The Waterway Guide and Save Georgia’s Anchorages |
References:
Arisaka has also written this letter of inquiry to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Its contact information may be found here: https://www.sas.usace.army.mil/.../Regulatory-Program/.
- https://gcmp.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html.
- USACE Nationwide Permit 48 Commercial Shellfish Aquaculture Activities (Sections 10 and 404) Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act of 1899.https://www.epa.gov/.../section-10-rivers-and-harbors.
- HB 501 lines 341-346 http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20192020/185110.pdf.
- US Food and Drug Administration - National Shellfish Sanitation Program https://www.fda.gov/media/98328/download
Arisaka has also written this letter of inquiry to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Its contact information may be found here: https://www.sas.usace.army.mil/.../Regulatory-Program/.
Dear Sirs:
I am a recreational boater who enjoys the coastal waters of our East Coast and in particular, the coastal waters of Georgia. I have followed with interest, the evolution of Georgia's regulations around navigation/anchoring in their estuarine waters, starting with House Bill 201 in 2019 and replacement House Bill 833 in 2020. As a result of HB 833, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources has updated their definitions of no-anchoring zones as published on its website: https://gcmp.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html. Among the various zones, one in particular, "shellfish harvest" areas (shaded in green) have expanded dramatically between 2019 and 2020. These shellfish harvest areas are portrayed as "approved" on the Department of Natural Resources website and among the multiple requirements for approval is to receive a permit from the Corps of Engineers for those areas in navigable waters. If one examines the published maps, there are many areas in navigable waters as well as established channels demarcated by Aids To Navigation by the U.S. Coast Guard and charted by NOAA. This also includes portions of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, which as you know is important not just for recreational boaters but also for commercial navigation. The reason for my email is to inquire as to the status of Corps approval of these shellfish harvest zones. Thank you, Ted Arisaka |