2020 Georgia Code
Title 12 - Conservation and Natural Resources
Chapter 5 - Water Resources
Article 2 - Control of Water Pollution and Surface-Water Use
- § 12-5-20. Short Title
- § 12-5-21. Declaration of Policy; Legislative Intent
- § 12-5-22. Definitions
- § 12-5-23. Powers and Duties of Board and Director as to Control of Water Pollution and Surface-Water Use Generally
- § 12-5-23.1. Water Quality Standards for Lakes; Monitoring; Studies and Reports; Development, Approval, and Publication of Water Quality Standards
- § 12-5-23.2. Waste-Water Discharge Limitations; Schedule of Construction Milestones; Penalties
- § 12-5-23.3. Privatization of Waste-Water Treatment Facilities
- § 12-5-24. Power of Director to Enter Into Contracts and Compacts Regarding Surface-Water Management
- § 12-5-25. Investigations by Division; Institution of Proceedings by Division
- § 12-5-26. Entry on Premises to Investigate and Inspect Conditions and Operating Records; Protection of Trade Secrets and Confidential Information
- § 12-5-27. Authority to Require Owner or Operator of Facility to Cooperate With Division
- § 12-5-27.1. Sale or Use of Cleaning Agents Containing Phosphorus
- § 12-5-28. Annual Reports by Division
- § 12-5-29. Sewage and Waste Disposal; Withdrawal, Diversion, or Impoundment of Surface Waters; Certificates Required for Vessels With Marine Toilets; Conditions for Transfer of Surface Water From One River Basin to Another
- § 12-5-29.1. Combined Sewer Overflow; Plans for Elimination or Treatment of Sewage Overflow; Penalties
- § 12-5-30. Permits for Construction, Modification, or Operation of Facilities Which Discharge Pollutants Into Waters; Permits for Discharge of Dredged or Fill Material Into Waters and Wetlands; Participation in National Pollution Discharge Elimination System
- § 12-5-30.1. Major Spills by Publicly Owned Treatment Works
- § 12-5-30.2. Combined Sewer Overflow Systems
- § 12-5-30.3. Sludge Land Application Systems
- § 12-5-30.4. Establishment of Water Emergency Response Procedures
- § 12-5-31. Regulated Riparian Rights to Surface Waters for General or Farm Use; Permits for Withdrawal, Diversion, or Impoundment; Coordination With Water Plans; Metering of Farm Use; Interbasin Transfers; Appeal Procedures
- § 12-5-31.1. Applications, Permits, and Variances for Public Water Supply Reservoirs
- § 12-5-32. Aid to Pollution Control and Surface-Water Management - Powers of Division With Respect to Federal Acts; Receipt and Expenditure of Federal and State Appropriations
- § 12-5-33. Aid to Pollution Control and Surface-Water Management - Grants to Counties, Municipalities, or Other Public Authority for Water Pollution Control Projects
- § 12-5-34. Aid to Pollution Control and Surface-Water Management - Amount of State Grant
- § 12-5-35. Aid to Pollution Control and Surface-Water Management - Administration of Grants by Division
- § 12-5-36. Aid to Pollution Control and Surface-Water Management - Consistency With Federal Acts
- § 12-5-37. Aid to Pollution Control and Surface-Water Management - Intent of Article With Regard to State Contributions
- § 12-5-38. Aid to Pollution Control and Surface-Water Management - Management by Division of Federal Construction Grants Program
- § 12-5-38.1. Administration of Funds; Water Pollution Control and Drinking Water Revolving Funds
- § 12-5-39. Aid to Pollution Control and Surface-Water Management - Area-Wide Waste Treatment Management
- § 12-5-40. Aid to Pollution Control and Surface-Water Management - Adoption of Rules and Regulations Regarding Application for State Grants
- § 12-5-41. Aid to Pollution Control and Surface-Water Management - Water and Sewage Treatment Facilities or Systems for Eligible Planned Communities
- § 12-5-42. Cooperative Efforts for Abatement of Pollution; Order by Director; Request for Hearing; Allowance of Reasonable Time for Abatement
- § 12-5-43. Administrative Hearings
- § 12-5-44. Judicial Review
- § 12-5-45. Judgment in Accordance With Division's Order
- § 12-5-46. Effect of Article on Rights of Action
- § 12-5-47. Emergency Orders; Hearing
- § 12-5-48. Injunctive Relief
- § 12-5-49. Representation of Division and Its Agents by Attorney General and His Staff
- § 12-5-50. Intent of Article as to Conflicts With Federal Laws and as to Eligibility of Division or Departments of State Government for Federal Funds; Remedial Action
- § 12-5-51. Civil Liability
- § 12-5-52. Civil Penalty
- § 12-5-53. Criminal Penalty
- Anti-siphon devices for irrigation systems, § 2-1-4.
Regulation of solid waste handling and disposal facilities, § 12-8-20 et seq.
Littering waters, § 16-7-43.
Authority of municipal corporations and counties to enter into contracts relating to provision of industrial wastewater treatment services, § 36-60-2.
Licensing of water and wastewater treatment plant operators and laboratory analysts, T. 43, C. 51.
Administrative Rules and Regulations.- Water quality control, Official Compilation of the Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Chapter 391-3-6.
Law reviews.- For article discussing federal liability for pollution abatement in condemnation actions, see 17 Mercer L. Rev. 364 (1966). For article, "Georgia's Environmental Law: A Survey," see 23 Mercer L. Rev. 633 (1972). For article discussing the permit system under the Georgia Water Quality Control Act, requiring authorization for the construction of pollutant discharge facilities, see 11 Ga. St. B.J. 176 (1975). For article, "Hazardous Waste Issues in Real Estate Transactions," see 38 Mercer L. Rev. 581 (1987). For annual survey on environmental law, see 69 Mercer L. Rev. 1133 (2018). For note comparing 1964 Water Quality Control Act to similar provisions of 1957 Act and suggesting some amendatory legislation, see 16 Mercer L. Rev. 469 (1965). For notes, "Regulation and Ownership of the Marshlands: The Georgia Marshlands Act," see 5 Ga. L. Rev. 563 (1971). For comment, "Trading Water: Using Tradable Permits to Promote Conservation and Efficient Allocation of an Increasingly Scarce Resource," see 59 Emory L.J. 1001 (2010). For comment, "The Right to Rainwater: An Unlikely Fairy Tale," see 69 Mercer L. Rev. 575 (2018). For comment, "Uncontainable Threat: The Nation's Coal Ash Ponds," see 69 Emory L.J. 163 (2019).
JUDICIAL DECISIONS
Article does not alter general rules of law in regard to private nuisances and will neither aid nor hinder a private individual in an action to enjoin a nuisance. Bell Indus., Inc. v. Jones, 220 Ga. 684, 141 S.E.2d 533 (1965) (see O.C.G.A. Art. 2, Ch. 5, T. 12).
Cited in Save America's Vital Env't, Inc. v. Butz, 347 F. Supp. 521 (N.D. Ga. 1972); Brown v. Wright, 231 Ga. 686, 203 S.E.2d 487 (1974); Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper Fund, Inc. v. City of Atlanta, 986 F. Supp. 1406 (N.D. Ga. 1997).
OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
Control of pollution practices authorized.
- Water Quality Control Board (now Department of Natural Resources) has the authority under this article to control the pollution practices of corporations who have been granted dredging permits or leases by the state. 1969 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 69-342 (see O.C.G.A. Art. 2, Ch. 5, T. 12).
Water Quality Control Board (now Department of Natural Resources) can prohibit a governmental unit which regulates sewage and wastewater systems from increasing the volume or strength of its wastewater discharges without having first secured a permit from the board (now department). 1970 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U70-56.
Sewage treatment and disposal subject to article.
- Treatment and disposition of sewage in the ground by means of a sprinkling system is subject to the provisions of Ga. L. 1964, p. 416 (see O.C.G.A. Art. 2, Ch. 5, T. 12); it is particularly subject to Ga. L. 1964, p. 416, §§ 3, 5, 10, and 24 (see O.C.G.A. §§ 12-5-22(11) and (13),12-5-23(c)(12), and12-5-29), although control is not necessarily limited to these sections. 1972 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U72-13.
Purpose of facility determines exemption.- Exemption of certified property, used in any facility, is applicable if the board of tax assessors finds that the facility was installed or constructed for the primary purpose of eliminating or reducing pollution. 1969 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 69-325.
RESEARCH REFERENCESProof of Landowner's Unreasonable Interference with Surface Water Drainage, 87 Am. Jur. Trials 423.
ALR.
- Injunction against pollution of stream by private persons or corporations, 46 A.L.R. 8.
Validity and construction of anti-water pollution statutes or ordinances, 32 A.L.R.3d 215.
Pollution control: validity and construction of statutes, ordinances, or regulations controlling discharge of industrial wastes into sewer system, 47 A.L.R.3d 1224.
State and local government control of pollution from underground storage tanks, 11 A.L.R.5th 388.
Application of statute of limitations in private tort actions based on injury to persons or property caused by underground flow of contaminants, 11 A.L.R.5th 438.
