§ 109-452. Exempt land-disturbing activities.

This article shall apply to any land-disturbing activity undertaken by any person on any land except for the following:

(1)

Surface mining, as the same is defined in O.C.G.A. § 12-4-72, "The Georgia Surface Mining Act of 1968;"

(2)

Granite quarrying and land clearing for such quarrying;

(3)

Such minor land-disturbing activities as home gardens and individual home landscaping, repairs, maintenance work, fences, and other related activities which result in minor soil erosion;

(4)

The construction of single-family residences when such construction disturbs less than one acre and is not part of a larger common plan of development or sale with a planned disturbance of equal to or greater than one acre and not otherwise exempted under this section; provided, however, that construction of any such residence shall conform to the minimum requirements set forth in O.C.G.A. § 12-7-6 and this section. For single-family residence construction covered by the provisions of this section, there shall be a buffer zone between the residence and any state waters classified as trout streams pursuant to article 2 of chapter 5 of the Georgia Water Quality Control Act. In any such buffer zone, no land-disturbing activity shall be constructed between the residence and the point where vegetation has been wrested by normal stream flow or wave action from the banks of the trout waters. For primary trout waters, the buffer zone shall be at least 50 horizontal feet, and no variance to a smaller buffer shall be granted. For secondary trout waters, the buffer zone shall be at least 50 horizontal feet, but the director of EPD may grant variances to no less than 25 feet. Regardless of whether a trout stream is primary or secondary, for first order trout waters, which are streams into which no other streams flow except for springs, the buffer shall be at least 25 horizontal feet, and no variance to a smaller buffer shall be granted. The minimum requirements of O.C.G.A. § 12-7-6(b) and the buffer zones provided by this section shall be enforced by the local issuing authority;

(5)

Agricultural operations as defined in O.C.G.A. § 1-3-3, "Definitions", to include raising, harvesting or storing of products of the field or orchard; feeding, breeding or managing livestock or poultry; producing or storing feed for use in the production of livestock, including but not limited to cattle, calves, swine, hogs, goats, sheep, and rabbits or for use in the production of poultry, including but not limited to chicken, hens, and turkeys; producing plants, trees, fowl, or animals; the production of aqua culture, horticultural, dairy, livestock, poultry, eggs and apiarian products; and farm buildings and farm ponds;

(6)

Forestry land management practices, including harvesting; provided, however, that when such exempt forestry practices cause or result in land-disturbing or other activities otherwise prohibited in a buffer, as established in subsections 109-471(15) and (16), no other land-disturbing activities, except for normal forest management practices, shall be allowed on the entire property upon which the forestry practices were conducted for a period of three years after completion of such forestry practices;

(7)

Any project carried out under the active technical supervision of the Natural Resources Conservation Service of the United States Department of Agriculture. This excludes those land-disturbing activities undertaken by a person who has requested technical advice only rather than active participation from the Natural Resources Conservation Service;

(8)

Any project involving 5,000 square feet or less of disturbed area; provided, however, that this exemption shall not apply to any land-disturbing activity within a larger common plan of development or sale with a planned disturbance of equal to or greater than one acre or within 200 feet of the bank of any state waters, and for purposes of this section, the term "state waters" excludes channels and drainage ways which have water in them only during and immediately after rainfall events and intermittent streams which do not have water in them year-round; provided, however, that any person responsible for a project which involves 5,000 square feet or less of disturbed area and which is within 200 feet of any such excluded channel or drainage way, must prevent sediment from moving beyond the boundaries of the property on which such project is located. The provisions of this section shall not apply to those projects specifically exempted by subsections (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (9), or (10) of this section;

(9)

Construction or maintenance projects, or both, undertaken or financed in whole or in part, or both, by the Georgia Department of Transportation, the Georgia Highway Authority, the Georgia Tollway Authority, or any road construction or maintenance project, or both, undertaken by any county or municipality; provided, however, that construction or maintenance projects of the Georgia Department of Transportation or the Georgia Tollway Authority which disturb one or more contiguous acres of land shall be subject to the provisions of O.C.G.A. § 12-7-7.1; except where the Georgia Department of Transportation, the Georgia Highway Authority, or the State Road and Tollway Authority is a secondary permittee for a project located within a larger common plan of development or sale under the state general permit, in which case a copy of a notice of intent under the state general permit shall be submitted to the local issuing authority, the local issuing authority shall enforce compliance with the minimum requirements set forth in O.C.G.A. § 12-7-6 as if a permit had been issued, and violations shall be subject to the same penalties as violations by permit holders;

(10)

Any land disturbing activities conducted by any electric membership corporation or municipal electrical system or any public utility under the regulatory jurisdiction of the Public Service Commission, any utility under the regulatory jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, any cable television system as defined in O.C.G.A. § 36-18-1, or any agency or instrumentality of the United States engaged in the generation, transmission, or distribution of power; except where an electric membership corporation or municipal electrical system or any public utility under the regulatory jurisdiction of the Public Service Commission, any utility under the regulatory jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, any cable television system as defined in O.C.G.A. § 36-18-1, or any agency or instrumentality of the United States engaged in the generation, transmission, or distribution of power is a secondary permittee for a project located within a larger common plan of development or sale under the state general permit, in which case the local issuing authority shall enforce compliance with the minimum requirements set forth in O.C.G.A. § 12-7-6 as if a permit had been issued, and violations shall be subject to the same penalties as violations by permit holders; and

(11)

Any public water system reservoir.

(Ord. No. 11-2010, pt. I, 7-7-2010; Ord. No. 02-2012, pt. I, 1-3-2012; Ord. No. 08-2016 , § I, 9-6-2016)