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Spring/Summer 2002 Newsletter
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Marshland Protection Cases
Testing the Marshlands Protection Act
Emerald Pointe & Man Head Marina
A bridge too far and a site too small
In 1970, the Georgia legislature enacted the Coastal Marshlands Protection
Act to protect this "vital natural resource system." The Act requires
persons to obtain a state permit prior to making alterations to marshlands
and establishes the Coastal Marshlands Protection Committee to implement the
permit program.
In recent years, increased population and development activities on the
Georgia coast have exerted pressures on the coast's fragile ecosystems. As
the supply of available waterfront properties has dwindled, developers have
begun to target marsh hammocks as potential new sites for waterfront
development.
Access roads built across the marsh and residential development of marsh
hammocks adversely impact the surrounding marshlands and tidal waters by
siltation, polluted runoff, and failing septic systems.
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Emerald Pointe Ruling
Called "Disappointing"
A bridge too far
Administrative Law Judge Jesse Altman recently upheld a permit for the
development of three small upland areas in the coastal marsh near Savannah.
The permit was the subject of a legal challenge brought by the Southern
Environmental Law Center (SELC) on behalf of the Georgia Center for a
Sustainable Coast, Altamaha Riverkeeper and the Sierra Club. "We are
disappointed in the decision," said Wesley Woolf, director of SELC's Atlanta
office. Woolf added that the conservation groups are concerned about the
precedent this permit could set along the coast, where development pressure
is increasingly threatening the marsh hammocks and surrounding ecosystems.
"We don't think developers have the right to destroy marshes owned by the
citizens of Georgia to develop land for personal gain," he said.
The controversial permit has drawn statewide and national attention to the
plight of these ecologically sensitive "marsh hammocks," which were
identified by Scenic America earlier this year as one of America's most
endangered landscapes. In addition, marsh hammocks provide roosting and
refuge sites for marsh wildlife, such as wood storks, bald eagles and
ibises.
The state Department of Natural Resources issued a permit in 2001 to Emerald
Pointe development to build three private bridges over state-owned
marshlands off the mainland in Savannah. The bridges use two marsh hammocks
as stepping stones to a third hammock for a planned community dock or
marina. The two other hammocks would have as many as 40 high-end houses or
condominiums. While the Coastal Marshlands Protection Committee has issued
permits allowing the development of marsh hammocks in the past, this was the
first administrative challenge to the issuance of such a permit.
The groups filed an appeal of the permit last March, saying the state had
failed to consider the full environmental impact of the bridges,
particularly the impact from the development they would engender. Although
the court concluded that development on the marsh hammocks would not occur
without the bridges, the court considered only the direct environmental
impact from the bridges in ruling on the permit.
"I think most Georgians would be surprised to learn that state-owned marshes
are not protected from developers who want to build private roads to develop
hammocks," said Chris DeScherer, SELC attorney.
The court's final order includes a significant pronouncement regarding this
important issue, Woolf noted. The order states: "If access to private land
and development of private land is considered potentially destructive to the
overall area of coastal Georgia and the marshlands, some real legislative
changes would be necessary to address these concerns."
The case is being appealed in Superior Court, challenging the administrative
law judge decision in favor of the DNR, which supports the bridge building.
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