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Georgia Wetlands Protection — DCA Part V Environmental Planning Criteria (GA)

Tracked preemption from the Georgia overlay bundle.

Overview

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Effective
1992-03-01
Sunset
—
Authority
state
Scope
state:GA
Other Georgia preemptions
Georgia Short-Term Rentals — No State PreemptionGeorgia Density / ADU / Design Review — No State PreemptionGeorgia Tree Canopy / Tree Ordinance — No Statewide PreemptionGeorgia Military Installation & Airport Compatible-Use Zoning ReviewGeorgia Local Hazard Mitigation Plan — FEMA Stafford Act §322 ComplianceGeorgia Service Delivery Strategy Act (HB 489) — Intergovernmental Coordination MandateGeorgia Groundwater Recharge Area Protection — DCA Part V Environmental Planning CriteriaGeorgia Water Supply Watershed Protection — DCA Part V Environmental Planning Criteria

Trigger predicate

When this evaluates true for a parcel, the law's preempted fields take precedence over base zoning.

city.in_wetlands_protection_area == True

Preempted fields

3 fields on the base district schema are rewritten when the trigger fires.

FieldOpValueNote
base_districts[*].requires_wetlands_protection_overlayoverrideTrueLocal governments must adopt a wetlands protection ordinance restricting incompatible uses in mapped wetlands consistent with DCA Part V Environmental Planning Criteria — required as a condition of Qualified Local Government (QLG) status
base_districts[*].prohibited_uses_in_mapped_wetlandsadd['receiving_areas_for_industrial_or_municipal_waste', 'hazardous_waste_or_solid_waste_landfills', 'surface_mining_unless_state_permitted', 'construction_of_septic_tanks_or_drain_fields_unless_state_permitted']Rule 391-3-16-.04(7) lists incompatible uses that local ordinance must restrict; locally compatible uses must be conditioned on appropriate buffers and impervious-surface limits
base_districts[*].wetlands_jurisdictional_data_sourceoverrideus_fws_national_wetlands_inventory_or_betterLocal mapping must use the National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) at minimum, with optional refinement via 1:24,000 USGS topographic maps, county soil surveys, and field delineations

Citation

Authority source
O.C.G.A. §12-2-8 (DNR minimum planning standards); Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 391-3-16-.04 (Wetlands Protection); Clean Water Act §404 (federal wetlands permitting interaction)
§ Rule 391-3-16-.04 (Criteria for the Protection of Wetlands)
https://rules.sos.ga.gov/gac/391-3-16

Research notes

Companion to the Groundwater Recharge (Rule 391-3-16-.02), River Corridor Protection (391-3-16-.05), Mountain Protection (391-3-16-.07), and Water Supply Watershed Protection (391-3-16-.01) under the same DCA Part V framework. Local ordinance must be adopted as a condition of QLG status. State wetlands jurisdiction parallels but does not duplicate federal Clean Water Act §404 jurisdiction (US Army Corps of Engineers) and federal Coastal Marshlands jurisdiction (see GA_COASTAL_MARSHLANDS_12_5_280) — federal conflict check enabled because §404 permits frequently overlay state-required local restrictions, and post-Sackett v. EPA (2023) federal jurisdiction has contracted, increasing the relative scope of state and local controls.