County Commissioner's Office

County Talk
By
Lamar Paris - Commissioner

Q. What is the latest on Wal-Mart?
A.  The project is still progressing. They are continuing with their design plans and are awaiting permits from GDOT.  We have heard that the store has a number, but we are not sure of how significant that is.  They have not yet purchased the property and as I have always said, until that happens, it is not a done deal.  We have heard that the new closing  date is possibly in September. Time will tell.

Q.  Have you heard any new information about the new stream buffer regulations?
A.  Yes we have.  I have been leading a coalition of 16 counties in an effort to get the buffer reduced from 150’ down to a more reasonable distance in the watershed protection areas.  The state formed a committee made up of environmentalist, engineers and four commissioners.  We have discussed, argued, and met many times over the past few months.  The goal was to come up with a compromise that the environmental community and the county commissioners could agree to.  We got close, but in the end, we could not agree on all issues, especially grandfathering.

Q.  How did you come to a resolution on the stream buffer issue?
A.  While all the commissioners worked hard on this issue, in the end, I had a meeting with the Environmental Protection Division(EPD)  Director to plead our case and how important it was to grandfather those who had paid high prices for stream front property not knowing that the rules would change. The Director then made recommendations to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Board and included the grandfathering clause in the new rule.

Q. What is the final step with the stream buffers and when will this all be completed?
A.  The DNR Board environmental committee met this past Tuesday and passed the rule out of committee just as the counties had requested. The full DNR Board met on Wednesday and adopted the new rule. The counties are very appreciative of the DNR Board’s actions because of how this will help our citizens.  We think we have successfully balanced the need for greater water protection with the right for our citizens to still be able to use their property.

Q. When will the new stream buffer rule take affect?
A.  It will probably be a few months to maybe a year as EPD must come up with the guidelines and then the counties must adopt the new rule through an ordinance.

Q. Can we hurry and develop a parcel under the old guidelines?
A. No. This past Wednesday will be the date utilized as far as we know now to determine any cutoffs. 

Q. Does this new stream buffer rule cover the entire county?
A. No. Only the watershed protection area which is the area 7 miles upstream from the City of Blairsville public water intake on the Nottely River( this would include most of Choestoe and Owltown).  This intake is located near Owltown Feed and Supply on US 19/129 S.  The purpose of this rule is to help protect the water supply watershed, which in turn protects the drinking water supplied by the city of Blairsville.

Q. What are the basics of the new rule?
A. That is really difficult to answer in this short column.  But there are three new buffer options the county will have to choose from for our citizens.  All buffers will require that the county adopt a stormwater ordinance that will be developed with EPD.  We will also have to adopt a public education program and any home built will be required to have a diffuse flow requirement. This means that gutter and driveway drains must be spread out in the buffer and not allow the runoff to flow directly into the stream from  a single channel. These requirements deal with all buffer widths.  However, to be able to reduce the buffer  down to a 75’ or 50’area requires additional protections. A copy of the new rule and the chart showing the different options can be accessed through the county web site.

Q. Will everyone have the same buffer?
A.  Yes they will. It will be up to the county to make the decision as to which buffer option the county uses.  We will hold public forums to educate the public and to seek input as to which option you prefer.  It will be impossible to please everyone on this issue, but we will do the best we can. This is a very complicated issue and if you have any particular questions, please email me at unioncounty@alltel.net.

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