2020 Georgia Code
Title 12 - Conservation and Natural Resources
Chapter 5 - Water Resources
Article 4 - Coastal Waters, Beaches, and Sand Dunes
Part 2 - Shore Protection
§ 12-5-248. Criminal Violations

1. It shall be unlawful for any person to:
   1. Operate any motorized vehicle or other motorized machine on, over, or across sand dunes or beaches except as authorized by the department or committee, except that individual disability vehicles, emergency vehicles, and governmental vehicles utilized for beach maintenance or research may operate within sand dunes and beaches without authorization from the department or committee so long as those vehicles operate across existing cross-overs, paths, or drives; or
   2. Store or park sailboats, catamarans, or other commercial or recreational marine craft on any sand dune.
2. All such lawful activities conducted under this part shall provide protection to nesting sea turtles and their hatchlings and habitats and to nesting shore birds and their hatchlings and habitats.
3. Any person violating the provisions of subsection (a) of this Code section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

(Code 1981, §12-5-248, enacted by Ga. L. 1992, p. 1362, § 1; Ga. L. 1995, p. 1302, § 13; Ga. L. 2002, p. 521, § 1; Ga. L. 2019, p. 493, § 9/HB 445.)

The 2019 amendment, effective May 3, 2019, for purposes of promulgating rules and regulations and for all other purposes effective December 30, 2019, in paragraph (a)(1), substituted "department or committee" for "permit-issuing authority" near the middle, and substituted "department or committee so" for "permit-issuing authority as" near the end.

- Ga. L. 2019, p. 493, § 10/HB 445, 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 the purposes of promulgating rules and regulations necessary to administer the provisions of this Act and shall become effective on December 31, 2019, for all other purposes." The Act was approved by the Governor on May 3, 2019.

PART 3 PRESERVATION AND MANAGEMENT OF COASTAL ZONE

12-5-260 through 12-5-267.

Reserved. Repealed by Ga. L. 1979, p. 1302, § 4, effective July 1, 1984.

- This part was based on Ga. L. 1978, p. 245; Ga. L. 1979, p. 1302; and Ga. L. 1982, p. 3.

Ga. L. 2013, p. 141, § 12/HB 79, reserved the designation of this part, effective April 24, 2013.

PART 4 COASTAL MARSHLANDS

Administrative Rules and Regulations.

- Coastal marshlands protection, Official Compilation of the Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Chapter 391-2-3.

- For article, "Georgia's Environmental Law: A Survey," see 23 Mercer L. Rev. 633 (1972). For article, "Public Rights in Georgia's Tidelands," see 9 Ga. L. Rev. 79 (1974). For article, "Hazardous Waste Issues in Real Estate Transactions," see 38 Mercer L. Rev. 581 (1987). For article, "Georgia Wetlands: Values, Trends, and Legal Status," see 41 Mercer L. Rev. 791 (1990). For note, "Regulation and Ownership of the Marshlands: The Georgia Marshlands Act," see 5 Ga. L. Rev. 563 (1971). For note discussing the historical aspects and current law concerning the state's ownership rights in tidelands, see 17 Ga. L. Rev. 851 (1983). For note on 1992 amendment of this part, see 9 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 205 (1992).

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Georgia Ports Authority exempt from part.

- Because the Georgia Ports Authority, at the time of enactment of O.C.G.A. Pt. 4, Art. 4, Ch. 5, T. 12, was empowered and charged with responsibility of development and improvement of rivers and seaports of this state, as a general matter, the Authority is exempt from the requirements of this part. 1981 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 81-85.

- While the Georgia Ports Authority is generally exempt from provisions of O.C.G.A. Pt. 4, Art. 4, Ch. 5, T. 12, the Authority must obtain prior written approval of the Coastal Marshlands Protection Committee for any proposed alteration of marshlands adjacent to Colonels Island which were conveyed to the Georgia Ports Authority pursuant to Ga. L. 1973, p. 747. 1981 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 81-85.

Brunswick Port Authority falls within the terms of the exception to O.C.G.A. Pt. 4, Art. 4, Ch. 5, T. 12 for state agencies responsible for navigation, and is, thus, exempt from the provisions of that part. 1982 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 82-21.

RESEARCH REFERENCES

ALR.

- Conservation: validity, construction, and application of enactments restricting land development by dredging or tilling, 46 A.L.R.3d 1422.