Georgia Code
Chapter 7 - Control of Soil Erosion and Sedimentation
§ 12-7-6. Best Management Practices; Compliance With Federal Law; Minimum Requirements for Rules, Regulations, Ordinances, or Resolutions

Unless exempted under division (v) of this subparagraph, buffers of at least 25 feet established pursuant to Part 6 of Article 5 of Chapter 5 of this title shall remain in force unless a variance is granted by the director as provided in this paragraph.
All projects covered under divisions (i), (ii), and (iii) of this subparagraph shall meet all criteria set forth in rules for specific variance criteria adopted by the board by December 31, 2004.
(b.1) On or before June 30, 2022, the board shall promulgate rules and regulations that contain specific criteria for the approval or denial by the director of requests for variances for road construction and maintenance projects undertaken by the Department of Transportation when:
History. Ga. L. 1975, p. 994, § 4; Ga. L. 1980, p. 942, § 3; Ga. L. 1989, p. 1295, § 3; Ga. L. 1990, p. 8, § 12; Ga. L. 1994, p. 1650, § 2; Ga. L. 1995, p. 10, § 12; Ga. L. 1995, p. 150, § 2; Ga. L. 2000, p. 1430, § 2; Ga. L. 2003, p. 224, § 5; Ga. L. 2004, p. 352, § 1; Ga. L. 2006, p. 72, § 12/SB 465; Ga. L. 2009, p. 619, § 1/SB 155; Ga. L. 2010, p. 523, § 1/HB 1359; Ga. L. 2012, p. 775, § 12/HB 942; Ga. L. 2015, p. 1051, §§ 2, 3/SB 101; Ga. L. 2016, p. 864, § 12/HB 737; Ga. L. 2017, p. 774, § 12/HB 323; Ga. L. 2021, p. 526, § 1/HB 577.
The 2021 amendment, effective July 1, 2021, added subsection (b.1).
Cross references.
Establishment of land-use regulations within districts generally, § 2-6-35 .
Prohibition against cutting, harvesting, and other uses of sea oats, § 12-5-310 et seq.
Stream buffers, §§ 12-2-8 , 12-5-451 , 12-5-453 , 12-5-582 .
Code Commission notes.
Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 1991, a misspelling of “vegetation” was corrected in paragraph (8) (now paragraph (b)(8)).
Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 1996, “State Soil and Water Conservation Commission” was substituted for “Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission” near the end of subsection (b) and a comma was substituted for a semicolon following “are not feasible” in paragraph (b)(13).
Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 2015, “December 31, 2015” was substituted for “the effective date of this Act” in division (b)(17)(F)(i), and “December 31, 2015,” was twice substituted for “the effective date of this Act” in division (b)(17)(F)(ii).
Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 2016, a comma was removed following “natural, undisturbed” in subparagraph (b)(16)(A).
Editor’s notes.
Ga. L. 2015, p. 1051, § 4/SB 101, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: “This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law without such approval for purposes of promulgating rules and regulations and shall become effective on December 31, 2015, for all other purposes.” This Act was signed by the Governor on May 6, 2015.
U.S. Code.
Section 404 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972, as referred to in subsection (b.1), is codified as 33 U.S.C. § 1344 .
Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899, as referred to in subsection (b.1), is codified as 33 U.S.C. § 403 .
Law reviews.
For article on the 2004 amendment of this Code section, see 21 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 8 (2004).
For survey article on real property law, see 67 Mercer L. Rev. 193 (2015).