Kim Russo on New Anchoring Restrictions in Georgia
The State of Georgia has passed a bill that restricts anchoring and adds some requirements for boaters regarding their marine sanitation systems.
It appears this will mean some new requirements for Loopers, such as keeping logs of pumps outs in Georgia and securing the black water discharge valves, similar to what is currently required in the Great Lakes and Canada. It will also restrict where you can anchor and require you to obtain a permit in order to anchor overnight. Please read below or view the attached bill for more specifics.
At this point in the process, Georgia DNR has issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to start the process of implementing this new law. Details can be found here. They are suggesting a nominal fee for anchoring permits, with permits obtained in a number of ways including online. No information is included on what areas will be designated as anchoring areas, other than a notice that those area will be posted on the DNR website.
This is the most restrictive anchoring law I’ve seen pass. Thankfully, the AICW through Georgia is less than 150 miles. AGLCA will participate in the process for the notice of proposed rulemaking as DNR works on implementation. We will let members know what assistance is needed as we continue analyzing the new law and it’s proposed implementation. In the meantime, if anyone has followed the evolution of this bill or has any additional information, please contact me.
The highlights of the bill are:
-The Board of Natural Resources is authorized to adopt and promulgate rules and regulations relating to
overnight or long-term anchoring within the estuarine areas of this state to include the establishment of an anchorage permit.
-The Department of Natural Resources is authorized to establish anchorage areas within the estuarine areas of this state as well as areas where anchoring is not allowed.
-It shall be unlawful for any person to dock or anchor at night any vessel within the estuarine areas of this state unless it is in an anchorage area established by the department and in compliance with all rules and regulations adopted by the board pursuant to this Code section or at an eligible facility. Nothing in this Code section shall prohibit short-term anchoring for fishing or similar activities, nor shall it prohibit the owner of a vessel from docking at a private recreational dock or noneligible facility so long as such vessel is not utilized as a live-aboard vessel.
-It shall be unlawful to operate or float any live-aboard vessel within the estuarine areas of this state, whether anchored in an anchorage area or at an eligible facility, which has located within or on such vessel a Type I, Type II, or Type III Marine Sanitation Device, as defined in 33 C.F.R. 159, unless such device has a secured mechanism which is constructed and installed in such a manner that it can be emptied only by pumping out to prevent discharge of treated and untreated sewage or is equipped with a holding tank, as
such term is defined in Code Section 52-7-3. Examples of secured mechanisms considered to be effective at preventing discharges include, but are not limited to, closing the seacock and padlocking, using a non-releasable wire tie, or removing the seacock handle with the seacock in the closed position.
-Persons operating or floating live-aboard vessels with marine toilets and subject to the requirements of this Code section shall create and maintain for at least one year after creation records which indicate the name and location of pump-out facilities used and the dates of such use. Persons who own or operate pump-out facilities shall also create a record and maintain, for at least one year after creation, records which indicate the name and vessel registration number, the date of pump-out, and verification of pump-out for each vessel for which pump-out services are performed.
Kim Russo
Director
America’s Great Loop Cruisers’ Association
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Comments from Cruisers (1)
Wally, others,
So far, the only explanation I have seen for the actions Georgia has taken is pollution from boats pumping overboard, but I think the issue is broader than that, and is really targeted at the "derelict vessel" problem. There is no question that derelicts are a problem in many places, but this approach doesn't get at the problem and swats a mosquito with a sledge hammer. It's poorly thought out, typical of government bureaucrats. Does anyone actually know what the intent is? It would be helpful in any analysis of the actions being undertaken to know what the result is supposed to be. If it's really pollution for pumping overboard, there are much bigger problems for states to tackle than boaters. How about agricultural runoff, storm overflow from municipal sewage treatment facilities, lawn fertilizers, and the plethora of industrial pollutants in places like Savannah harbor and Brunswick harbor.
Legally, this is an amazingly complex area with literally hundreds of years of Roman Law, English Common Law and US Constitutional law and International Maritime Treaty underlying. There are topics of jurisdiction, administration, Public Trust Lands, Supreme Court precedent and the evolution of public policies. I have an article on my website that tries to summarize the very tip of the subject. Here's a link to the article: https://gilwellbear.wordpress.com/category/cruising-practica/general-cruising/anchoring-rights/. I will assume you will read that instead of having me re-post it here.
The State of Georgia is given money from the federal government for dredging, a public trust responsibility. That money comes to the state through its congressional delegation. The state has consistently diverted that money to other non-waterway uses (as has South Carolina), so we have places like Altamaha Sound, the Little Mud River and Hell Gate that are on the edge of impassible – or actually impassable – at low tide, and worsening. Before the state does something as extensive as what is being proposed, denying the free use of public trust lands to the public, should they not live up to their existing public trust responsibilities?
As with motor vehicle and highway law, should not the maritime laws of the various states be consistent with the laws of neighboring states? If so, we already have a mess on our hands, because there is no consistency from state to state on the A-ICW. This nonsense will just add to that. One wonder if they consulted with their neighbor, Florida, on the history of "derelict vessel" legislation there. Probably not; pride would preclude that reasonable course of action.
I do not object to REASONABLE controls, but a one-night permit for a through-cruiser to anchor on Wahoo Creek overnight which is applied for and received online? Nonsense. There are places in the salt marshes of the low country where no signal is available. And a $240 dollar annual permit? What's that money to be used for? Is it destined for the general treasury of the state, or is it restricted for some waterway development use?
Boaters need to band together with BoatUS and the AIW Association to help manage this.
We must develop intelligent, factual, non-emotional suggested responses to be sent to Georgia legislators and the governor. Someone needs to lead that. Soon.
In the end, Georgia residents must lead this fight on behalf of all boaters. Georgia boaters have by far the most to lose here, because they can't go out on weekends and drop the hook, and of course, they can't go to remote, private locations, either. They'd have to go to "approved anchorages." It was cleaver to single out "estuarine waters." That immunizes the thousands of boaters on fresh water ponds like Lake Lanier. Keeps the noise level from the peanut gallery down. I tried once to write an email to then South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley about the condition of the A-ICW between Charleston to Georgetown (McClellanville, Andersonville). Since I am not a South Carolina resident, the state email system would not allow me to contact their governor's office. How's that for Bovine Excrement? Georgia residents have to own and lead this.
One important issue is, what is Georgia's legal definition of "LIVEABOARD?" When Florida went through this, they had to change the definition in a way that DID NOT include cruising boats that are simply exercising their rights of passage. If cruisers don't fit the definition of "live aboard," then none of this is an issue for us. And frankly, a column in the logbook that gets a check mark when I pump out is pretty simple. I started doing that years ago when North Carolina flirted with a law requiring a pumpout log.
A lot needs to be done here, fast, on behalf of the cruising community. If I can help, I'm happy to do so. But, I'm not a Georgia resident and not in a position to lead the fight. Someone resident in Georgia is going to have to step up. Peg and I are cruising now, so my Internet Access and personal availability are constrained.