Ted Arisaka and Brad Pickle of Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Association have been seeking clarification on the anchoring restrictions implied in Liveaboard Anchoring Illustrative Map. See New Georgia Shellfish Harvest Area Permit Status Inquiry and Georgia HB 833 and Expanded Shellfish Areas.

Response from GA DNR to Brad.  The answer he received does not correlate with what is shown on the DNR website maps.

Efforts on behalf of boaters regarding Georgia’s anchoring restrictions continue with this letter by Ted Arisaka to the USACE. See Georgia HB 833 and Expanded Shellfish Areas.

US Army Corps of Engineers

The passage of HB833 makes the GADNR Commissioner’s Anchorage Administration Order unnecessary and the Order has been rescinded effective July 1. More thanks to Save Georgia’s Anchorages.

The Commissioner has rescinded his AO from December.

Due to the importance of public safety, the annual BeachWeek events, typically scheduled for the week leading up to Independence Day, has been canceled. 
 

Brunswick, Ga. Wed, 06/24/2020  The Department of Natural Resources Coastal Resources Division (CRD) is taking precautions to keep the public safe and prevent the spread of Covid-19.  Due to the importance of public safety, the annual BeachWeek events, typically scheduled for the week leading up to Independence Day, has been canceled.  With summer in full swing, Georgia beaches throughout the coast continue to be popular destinations for visitors and residents. Therefore, CRD encourages the public to visit our website at https://coastalgadnr.org/BeachWeek2020 to learn more about the sights and sounds on Georgia’s coast.  You will also find links to our partners sites to allow you to dive a little deeper. Did you know that Georgia is home to 100 miles of shoreline, 380,000 acres of saltmarsh, and 14 barrier islands which buffer the mainland from the Atlantic Ocean? Five major freshwater rivers feed the Georgia coast, forming an extensive estuarine ecosystem. This network delivers vast amounts of freshwater to the coast and creates a range of habitats that support diverse wildlife. Although relatively undeveloped, the coastal Georgia landscape is changing nonetheless. New residents are drawn by the region’s natural beauty and abundance of recreational opportunities. Through a combination of wise management, stewardship, and collaboration, everything we love about coastal Georgia can be conserved for generations to come. For more information about Beach Week 2020 activities contact Jennifer Kline, Beach Week Coordinator at (912) 264-7218.   20 years of Sustaining, Protecting,Enhancing, and Conserving Support Habitat Conservation with your License Plate STAY CONNECTED with Georgia Coastal Management Program

This is good news for Waterway cruisers in Georgia. Our thanks to Kim Russo for this announcement posted on AGLCA’s Forum.

Minutes ago the Georgia State Senate passed legislation that will undo the disastrous anchoring regulations that took effect in that state on January 1st of this year. HB 833, sponsored by Georgia Representative (and Gold Looper!), Ron Stephens, passed the Georgia House on March 12th, but didn’t make it to the Senate floor for a vote before the General Assembly adjourned for COVID-19 quarantine. The lawmakers have returned, and the bill passed the Senate today by a vote of 48-1.

HB 833 takes back some of the widespread power the previous law afforded DNR to regulate anchoring. In short, HB 833 removes the ability to require permits for all overnight anchoring, removes the requirement to keep records of pump outs, and perhaps most importantly, removes the requirement that boats not anchor within 1,000 feet of water front structures and within 300 feet of marinas. Instead, the new law changes those set-back distances to 150-feet from waterfront structures, 300-feet from marinas, and 500-feet from commercial shellfish beds for short-term anchoring, which is defined as anchoring in the same place for up to 14 cumulative nights per calendar year. Long term anchoring (over 14 days in the same place) will require a permit.

The bill now requires a signature from the Governor, which is expected soon. Once signed, the new law takes effect immediately.

This is a big win for the boating community and a great example of what our membership can do with our collective advocacy efforts.

Kim Russo
Director
America’s Great Loop Cruisers’ Association

Our thanks to Ted Arisaka of Save Georgia’s Anchorages for calling our attention to this article on anchoring restrictions in Georgia, a topic that dominated cruisers’ news in the fall. Enter “anchoring” in our Search Window for related discussions.

Anchorage Problems in Georgia
Charles J Doane, April 20, 2020
Sail Magazine

Cruisers Net joins Ted Arisaka of Save Georgia’s Anchorages in thanking you for your support of their efforts to correct the restrictions on anchorages in recent legislation. Keep your fingers crossed!

Your emails imploring Georgia legislators to support Rep Stephens HB833 have been successful. Today March 10, 2020, HB833 was voted on favorably in The Rules Committee and will proceed forward to the full House floor for vote Thursday.

Following an anticipated favorable disposition in The House, it will go to The Senate on legislative day 28, aka “Crossover Day”.

Ted Arisaka, Save Georgia’s Anchorages

Trade Only Today of Soundings joins the fray to highlight the very restrictive legislation recently enacted in Georgia. See Georgia Anchoring Advocacy Fund.

Don’t Drop Anchor in Georgia
Fighting the good fight for boating and boaters never ends.

BoatUS is leading a push against a new Georgia regulation restricting overnight anchoring within 1,000 feet of any structure, such as public and private docks, wharves, bridges, piers and pilings, except in areas near a marina.

How did boaters get hammered this way? There was little notice or engagement with recreational boating groups by the Georgia legislature in approving House Bill 201. It was then quietly signed by Gov. Brian Kemp.

The legislation directed the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to develop rules regarding the anchoring of vessels in estuarine areas of the state. DNR proposed a rule that has rightfully raised serious concerns in the boating community.

“This 1,000-foot offset needlessly eliminates anchorages all over the state,” says Chris Edmonston, vice president of government affairs for BoatUS. “It will affect numerous boaters, many of whom transit Georgia waters as part of the annual migration along the Intracoastal Waterway. There is no reasonable safety or waterway-management reason for taking such a significant swath of state waters away from the boating public.

“Boating and fishing,” Edmonston adds, “are the second largest outdoor recreational activity in Georgia, bringing in more than $500 million a year in economic activity. Eliminating scores of anchorages will put a severe damper on this very important economic driver to many coastal areas that gain from boater spending.”

He went on to acknowledge the so-called “Marina Zones” that will allow boaters to anchor as close as 300 feet to marinas or facilities that provide fuel, dinghy access, provisions, vessel maintenance or other services. But that won’t reduce the negative economic impact of this poorly crafted legislation and resulting rules.

Perhaps the most persuasive argument is the BoatUS position that the final rule runs counter to the Public Trust Doctrine as codified in Georgia law. It states:

“The State of Georgia, as sovereign, is trustee of the rights of the people of the state to use and enjoy all tidewaters which are capable of use for fishing, passage, navigation, commerce and transportation, pursuant to the common law public trust doctrine.”

BoatUS submits that anchoring is an integral part of navigation.

Georgia dealers, employees and boaters should join the efforts of the grassroots group Save Georgia’s Anchorages, which was created in response to the law.

BY NORM SCHULTZ

To contribute to securing lobbying efforts on behalf of boaters, please open the link below. Cruisers Net joins America’s Great Loop Cruisers’ Association in urging you to get involved to repeal Georgia’s restrictive anchoring legislation.

Georgia Anchoring Advocacy Fund

To make a contribution, please visit www.greatloop.org/georgia.

Thanks!

-Kim

Kim Russo
Director
America’s Great Loop Cruisers’ Association