§ 16-164. Rules and regulations governing land disturbing activities.  


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  • The rules and regulations, ordinances, or resolutions adopted pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 12-7-1 et seq. for the purpose of governing land disturbing activities shall require, as a minimum, protections at least as stringent as the state general permit; and best management practices, including sound conservation and engineering practices to prevent and minimize erosion and resultant sedimentation, which are consistent with, and no less stringent than, those practices contained in the Manual for Erosion and Sediment Control in Georgia, published by the Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission as of January 1 of the year in which the land disturbing activity was permitted, as well as the following:

    (1)

    Stripping of vegetation, regarding and other development activities shall be conducted in a manner so as to minimize erosion;

    (2)

    Cut-fill operations must be kept to a minimum;

    (3)

    Development plans must conform to topography and soil type so as to create the lowest practical erosion potential;

    (4)

    Whenever feasible, natural vegetation shall be retained, protected and supplemented;

    (5)

    The disturbed area and the duration of exposure to erosive elements shall be kept to a practicable minimum;

    (6)

    Mud or any form of sediments shall not be allowed on any roadway whether it is a county accepted roadway or a dedicated roadway. A dedicated roadway is one that has been dedicated by the filing of a final plat, but has not been accepted by the county for maintenance purposes;

    (7)

    Temporary vegetation or mulching shall be employed to protect exposed critical areas during development;

    (8)

    Disturbed soil shall be stabilized as quickly as practicable;

    (9)

    Temporary vegetation or mulching shall be employed to protect exposed critical areas during development;

    (10)

    Permanent vegetation and structural erosion control practices shall be installed as soon as practicable;

    (11)

    To the extent necessary, sediment in runoff water must be trapped by the use of debris basins, sediment basins, silt traps, or similar measures until the disturbed area is stabilized. As used in this subsection, a disturbed area is stabilized when it is brought to a condition of continuous compliance with the requirements of O.C.G.A. § 12-7-1 et seq.

    (12)

    Adequate provisions must be provided to minimize damage from surface water to the cut face of excavations or the sloping of fills;

    (13)

    Cuts and fills may not endanger adjoining property;

    (14)

    Fills may not encroach upon natural watercourses or constructed channels in a manner so as to adversely affect other property owners;

    (15)

    Grading equipment must cross flowing streams by means of bridges or culverts except when such methods are not feasible, provided, in any case, that such crossings are kept to a minimum;

    (16)

    Utility companies which are utilizing roadway shoulders for construction are required to stabilize the earth shoulders every three days as a maximum period time and are required to stabilize the shoulder before leaving the work area on any particular day if rain is forecast with the next 24 hours;

    (17)

    Land disturbing activity plans for erosion, sedimentation and pollution control shall include provisions for treatment or control of any source of sediments and adequate sedimentation control facilities to retain sediments on-site or preclude sedimentation of adjacent waters beyond the levels specified in section 16-163(b);

    (18)

    Except as provided in subsection (19) of this section, there is established a 25-foot buffer along the banks of all state waters, as measured horizontally from the point where vegetation has been wrested by normal stream flow or wave action, except where the director determines to allow a variance that is at least as protective of natural resources and the environment, where otherwise allowed by the director pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 12-2-8; where a drainage structure or a roadway drainage structure must be constructed, provided that adequate erosion control measures are incorporated in the project plans and specifications, and are implemented; or along any ephemeral stream. As used in this subsection, the term "ephemeral stream" means a stream that under normal circumstances has water flowing only during and for a short duration after precipitation events; that has the channel located above the ground water table yearround; for which groundwater is not a source of water; and for which runoff from precipitation is the primary source of water flow. Unless exempted as along an ephemeral stream, the buffers of at least 25 feet established pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 12-5-440 et seq., a part of the Georgia Water Quality Control Act, O.C.G.A. § 12-5-20 et seq., shall remain in force unless a variance is granted by the director as provided in this paragraph. The following requirements shall apply to any such buffer:

    a.

    No land disturbing activities shall be conducted within a buffer and a buffer shall remain in its natural, undisturbed state of vegetation until all land disturbing activities on the construction site are completed. Once the final stabilization of the site is achieved, a buffer may be thinned or trimmed of vegetation as long as a protective vegetative cover remains to protect water quality and aquatic habitat and a natural canopy is left in sufficient quantity to keep shade on the streambed; provided, however, that any person constructing a single-family residence, when such residence is constructed by or under contract with the owner for his own occupancy, may thin or trim vegetation in a buffer at any time as long as protective vegetative cover remains to protect water quality and aquatic habitat and a natural canopy is left in sufficient quantity to keep shade on the streambed; and

    b.

    The buffer shall not apply to the following land disturbing activities, provided that they occur at an angle, as measured from the point of crossing, within 25 degrees of perpendicular to the stream; cause a width of disturbance of not more than 50 feet within the buffer; and adequate erosion control measures are incorporated into the project plans and specifications and are implemented:

    1.

    Stream crossings for water lines; or

    2.

    Stream crossings for sewer lines; and

    (19)

    There is established a 50-foot buffer, as measured horizontally from the point where vegetation has been wrested by normal stream flow or wave action, along the banks of any state waters classified as trout streams pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 12-5-20 et seq., the Georgia Water Quality Control Act, except where a roadway drainage structure must be constructed; provided, however, that small springs and streams classified as trout streams which discharge an average annual flow of 25 gallons per minute or less shall have a 25-foot buffer or they may be piped, at the discretion of the landowner, pursuant to the terms of a rule providing for a general variance promulgated by the board, so long as any such pipe stops short of the downstream landowner's property and the landowner complies with the buffer requirement for any adjacent trout streams. The director may grant a variance from such buffer to allow land disturbing activity, provided that adequate erosion control measures are incorporated in the project plans and specifications and are implemented. The following requirements shall apply to such buffer:

    a.

    No land disturbing activities shall be conducted within a buffer and a buffer shall remain in its natural, undisturbed state of vegetation until all land disturbing activities on the construction site are completed. Once the final stabilization of the site is achieved, a buffer may be thinned or trimmed of vegetation as long as a protective vegetative cover remains to protect water quality and aquatic habitat and a natural canopy is left in sufficient quantity to keep shade on the streambed: provided, however, that any person constructing a single-family residence, when such residence is constructed by or under contract with the owner for his own occupancy, may thin or trim vegetation in a buffer at any time as long as protective vegetative cover remains to protect water quality and aquatic habitat and a natural canopy is left in sufficient quantity to keep shade on the streambed; and

    b.

    The buffer shall not apply to the following land disturbing activities, provided that they occur at an angle, as measured from the point of crossing, within 25 degrees of perpendicular to the stream; cause a width of disturbance of not more than 50 feet within the buffer; and adequate erosion control measures are incorporated into the project plans and specifications and are implemented:

    1.

    Stream crossings for water lines; or

    2.

    Stream crossings for sewer lines.

(Ord. of 4-27-2004, § IV(C); Amend. of 4-26-2011)