An official website of the State of Georgia.
GCMP Final Environmental Impact Statement (1997)
The 1997 Georgia Coastal Management Program's (GCMP) Final Environmental Impact Statement, also known as the "Program Document" is provided in the chapter links below. Several years, numerous public meetings, input from public task forces, and a governor-appointed Coastal Zone Advisory Committee went in to the creation of the Program Document.
Chapter 1 Overview
Chapter 2 Georgia's Coast
Chapter 3 Goals and Objectives
Chapter 4 Boundary and Organization
Chapter 5 Policies and Management Authority
Chapter 6 Uses Subject to Management
Chapter 7 Special Management Areas
Chapter 8 Federal Consistency
Coastal Management Program Guidance Documents
The Coastal Management Program produces various guidance documents and program reports to strategize and plan for technical assistance, activities, and management needs; as well as to track and communicate Program accomplishments. Below is a clickable list of those documents.
- *NEW* Georgia's 2021-2025 Section 309 Assessment and Strategy
- Georgia's 2016-2020 Section 309 Assessment and Strategy
- 2008-2011 Accomplishments of the Georgia Coastal Management Program
- Environmental management concerns for stakeholders in coastal Georgia: A training and outreach needs assessment and market inventory survey (2012)
- Georgia's 2010-2015 Section 309 Assessment and Strategy
Routine Program Changes
Since the drafting of the Program Document in 1997, there have been numerous changes in the Program specifically related to the enforceable policies that are the basis for Federal Consistency Review. The process for updating enforceable policies of a coastal management program is prescribed by NOAA and involves the notification of new or modified policies to federal agencies and other affected parties. Since 1997, the Requests for Routine Program changes have been proposed to or have been approved by NOAA and are now considered part of the GCMP's Program Document. Routine Program Change requests, either approved or pending, and their associated documentation are provided in the links below.
- RPC 2005: Incorporating HB 727 (Approved)
- RPC 2008: Incorporating statutory and regulatory changes (Approved)
- RPC 2012: Incorporating statutory, regulatory and organizational changes; changes under the Clean Water Act (Approved)
- RPC 2016: Incorporating statutory and regulatory changes under the Erosion and Sedimentation Act (Approved)
- RPC 2017: Incorporating statutory and regulatory changes under the Coastal Marshland Protection Act, Environmental Policy Act, Shore Protection Act, Water Well Standards Act, and the Shellfish Regulation of the Game and Fish Code (Approved)
- RPC 2017: Incorporating statutory and regulatory changes under the Game and Fish Code (Approved)
NOAA 312 Evaluations
NOAA conducts periodic evaluations of Georgia's Coastal Management Program by sending a team of NOAA program evaluators to coastal Georgia for a week-long visit. The evaluation findings provide strong evidence of the GCMP's success. Full reports are available in the associated links below.
Triennial Reports
Georgia law (O.C.G.A § 12-5-327) requires the Department of Natural Resources to prepare a report on the effectiveness of the Georgia Coastal Management Program every three years and submit it to the Governor for review. The report is a summary of the GCMP's activities, the Department's opinion of its effectiveness and public benefit, and other pertinent factors. After the review, the Governor has the authority to transmit the report to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce for approval as outlined in the federal Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972.
The report is also submitted to the Lieutenant Governor, Speaker of the House of Representatives, chairperson of the House Natural Resources and Environment Committee, the chairperson of the Senate Natural Resources and Environment Committee, and the Board of Natural Resources.
