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Georgia Statutes, Title 12

Georgia/Statutes

← All Georgia coverage

Title 12

18 chapters · 1,092 sections in this title.

All chapters in Title 121,092 Ch 5, WATER RESOURCES286 Ch 3, PARKS, HISTORIC AREAS, MEMORIALS, AN…279 Ch 8, WASTE MANAGEMENT150 Ch 6, FOREST RESOURCES AND OTHER PLANT LIFE124 Ch 4, MINERAL RESOURCES AND CAVES50 Ch 9, PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF AIR POLLUTION44 Ch 7, CONTROL OF SOIL EROSION AND SEDIMENT…22 Ch 13, UNDERGROUND STORAGE TANKS22 Ch 12, ASBESTOS SAFETY21 Ch 10, INTERSTATE COMPACTS17 Ch 2, DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES16 Ch 15, SEWAGE HOLDING TANKS AND COMMERCIAL …13 Ch 16, ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND REGULATIONS13 Ch 6A, OUTDOOR STEWARDSHIP12

1,092 sections·Filtered byTitle 12✕

O.C.G.A. § 12-5-4 Programs for voluntary water conservation and enhancing water supply
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(a) As used in this Code section, the term ‘‘agency’’ or ‘‘agencies’’ means the Department of Natural Resources, including its Environmental Protection Division, the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority, the Department of Community Affairs, the State Forestry Commission, the D…
O.C.G.A. § 12-5-4.1 Adoption of minimum standards and best practices for improving efficiency and effectiveness of water use; requirements
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(a) As used in this Code section, the term: (1) ‘‘Division’’ means the Environmental Protection Division of the Department of Natural Resources. (2) ‘‘Public water system’’ means a system for the provision to the public of piped water for human consumption, if such system regular…
O.C.G.A. § 12-5-5 Local water authorities allowed to establish program for voluntary contributions to conservation and environmental projects
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Any local water authority created pursuant to an Act of the General Assembly shall have the authority to solicit and receive from its customers voluntary donations to be used for such programs and projects as the authority may designate designed to protect and improve the quality…
Installation and deﬁnition of ‘‘rain sensor shut-off switch’’; penalty for violations

Showing 351–400 of 1,092

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O.C.G.A. § 12-5-6

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(a) As used in this Code section, the term ‘‘rain sensor shut-off switch’’ means an electric device that detects and measures rainfall amounts and overrides the cycle of an irrigation system so as to turn off such system when a predetermined amount of rain has fallen. (b)(1) On a…

O.C.G.A. § 12-5-7 Local variances from state restrictions on outdoor watering; limitations on outdoor irrigation; exceptions

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(a)(1) Any political subdivision of this state or local government authority may, upon application to and approval by the director of the Environmental Protection Division of the department for good cause shown, impose more stringent restrictions on outdoor water use during nondr…

O.C.G.A. § 12-5-8 Rules and regulations relating to drought management

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Not later than June 30, 2009, the board shall adopt new rules and regulations relating to drought management consistent with this chapter and any state-wide water management plan under Article 8 of this chapter. Such rules and regulations shall include but not be limited to provi…

O.C.G.A. § 12-5-20 Short title

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This article shall be known and may be cited as the ‘‘Georgia Water Quality Control Act.’’ History. — Ga. L. 1964, p. 416, § 1; Ga. L. 1996, p. 6, § 12.

O.C.G.A. § 12-5-21 Declaration of policy; legislative intent

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(a) The people of the State of Georgia are dependent upon the rivers, streams, lakes, and subsurface waters of the state for public and private water supply and for agricultural, industrial, and recreational uses. It is therefore declared to be the policy of the State of Georgia …

O.C.G.A. § 12-5-22 Deﬁnitions

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As used in this article, the term: (1) ‘‘Director’’ means the director of the Environmental Protection Division of the Department of Natural Resources. (2) ‘‘Division’’ means the Environmental Protection Division of the Department of Natural Resources. (3) ‘‘Effluent limitation’’…

O.C.G.A. § 12-5-23 Powers and duties of board and director as to control of water pollution and surface-water use generally

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(a) In the performance of its duties, the board shall have and may exercise the power to: (1) Adopt, promulgate, modify, amend, and repeal rules and regulations to implement and enforce the provisions of this article as the board may deem necessary to provide for the control and …

O.C.G.A. § 12-5-23.1 Water quality standards for lakes; monitoring; studies and reports; development, approval, and publication of water quality standards

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(a) As used in this Code section, the word ‘‘lake’’ means any publicly owned lake or reservoir located wholly or partially within this state which has a normal pool level surface average of 1,000 or more acres. (b) The director shall establish water quality standards for each lak…

O.C.G.A. § 12-5-23.2 Waste-water discharge limitations; schedule of construction milestones; penalties

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(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of Code Section 12-5-23 or any rule, regulation, or order adopted or issued pursuant to this article, no person who has been issued a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit which allows the discharge of 1,000,000 gallons or more …

O.C.G.A. § 12-5-23.3 Privatization of waste-water treatment facilities

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(a) For purposes of this Code section only, the term: (1) ‘‘LAS permit’’ means Land Application System permit. (2) ‘‘NPDES permit’’ means National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit. (3) ‘‘Waste-water treatment facilities’’ means all publicly owned facilities with aver…

O.C.G.A. § 12-5-24 Power of director to enter into contracts and compacts regarding surface-water management

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The director is authorized to enter into contracts or compacts on behalf of the State of Georgia with the federal government, sister states, political subdivisions of this state, and public utilities of this state for purposes of proper management of the state’s surface-water res…

O.C.G.A. § 12-5-26 Entry on premises to investigate and inspect conditions and operating records; protection of trade secrets and conﬁdential information

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Any duly appointed agent of the division may enter private or public property at reasonable times to inspect or investigate conditions relating to pollution and to inspect the operating records of any sewage system, waste treatment work, or sewage disposal plant, provided that no…

O.C.G.A. § 12-5-27 Authority to require owner or operator of facility to cooperate with division

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Whenever required to carry out the objectives of this article, including but not limited to developing or assisting in the development of any effluent limitation, or other limitation, prohibition, or standard under this article, or any rule or regulation promulgated and adopted p…

O.C.G.A. § 12-5-27.1 Sale or use of cleaning agents containing phosphorus

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(a) The General Assembly seeks, through the enactment of this Code section, to set standards limiting the amount of nutrients in various cleaning agents. The General Assembly realizes that the nutrients contained in many of these products serve a valuable purpose in increasing th…

O.C.G.A. § 12-5-28 Annual reports by division

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Annual reports shall be made and ﬁled by the division with the Governor and members of the General Assembly. History. — Ga. L. 1964, p. 416, § 15.

O.C.G.A. § 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

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(a) It shall be unlawful to use any waters of the state for the disposal of sewage, industrial wastes, or other wastes, or to withdraw, divert, or impound any surface waters of the state, except in such a manner as to conform to and comply with this article and all rules, regulat…

O.C.G.A. § 12-5-29.1 Combined sewer overﬂow; plans for elimination or treatment of sewage overﬂow; penalties

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(a) As used in this Code section, the term: (1) ‘‘Combined sewer overﬂow’’ or ‘‘CSO’’ means a sewage system so designed or constructed as to allow surface-water runoff to enter the conduit carrying sewage, industrial waste, or other waste and, when such conduit exceeds its maximu…

O.C.G.A. § 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 Na

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(a) Any person who owns or operates a facility of any type or who desires to erect, modify, alter, or commence operation of a facility of any type which results or will result in the discharge of pollutants from a point source into the waters of the state shall obtain from the di…

O.C.G.A. § 12-5-30.1 Major spills by publicly owned treatment works

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(a) As used in this Code section, the term: (1) ‘‘Board’’ means the Board of Natural Resources. (2) ‘‘Consistently exceeding an effluent limitation’’ means a POTW’s exceeding the POTW’s assigned effluent limitation for at least ﬁve days out of each seven-day period during a total…

O.C.G.A. § 12-5-30.2 Combined sewer overﬂow systems

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(a) As used in this Code section, the term ‘‘combined sewer overﬂow’’ or ‘‘CSO’’ means a sewage system so designed or constructed as to allow surface-water runoff to enter the conduit carrying sewage, industrial waste, or other waste and, when such conduit exceeds its maximum cap…

O.C.G.A. § 12-5-30.3 Sludge land application systems

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(a) As used in this Code section, the term: (1) ‘‘Sludge’’ means the solid or semisolid residue generated at a waste-water treatment or pretreatment plant. Such term speciﬁcally excludes treated effluent, septage, and sludge that has been treated to further reduce pathogens by su…

O.C.G.A. § 12-5-30.4 Establishment of water emergency response procedures

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(a) Whenever any substance which would endanger the health or property of downstream users of the waters of this state is discharged into such waters, it shall be the duty of any person in charge of such substance to immediately notify the division of the location and nature of t…

O.C.G.A. § 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; appea

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(a) For purposes of this Code section, the term: (1) ‘‘Director’’ means the director of the Environmental Protection Division of the Department of Natural Resources, or his designee. (2) ‘‘Diversion’’ means a turning aside or altering of the natural course of surface waters. (3) …

O.C.G.A. § 12-5-31.1 Applications, permits, and variances for public water supply reservoirs

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(a) Upon request of any local government entity that desires to construct a new public water supply reservoir for which permits and certiﬁcations under Code Section 12-5-31 and Sections 401 and 404 of the federal Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. Sections 1341 and 1344, are required, th…

O.C.G.A. § 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

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The division shall be the water pollution control and surface-water resource management agency of the state for all purposes of any federal water pollution control act or any other federal act within the purview of this article and may: (1) Take all necessary or appropriate actio…

O.C.G.A. § 12-5-33 Aid to pollution control and surface-water management — Grants to counties, municipalities, or other public authority for water pollution control projects

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(a) The division is authorized to make grants, as funds are available, to any county, municipality, or any combination thereof, or to any public authority, agency, commission, or institution, to assist them in the construction of those portions of water pollution control projects…

O.C.G.A. § 12-5-34 Aid to pollution control and surface-water management — Amount of state grant

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(a) The state’s contribution toward the construction of water pollution control projects shall not be limited by percentage contribution, and the State of Georgia may make grants to counties, municipalities, or combinations thereof in any amount up to the full cost of the constru…

O.C.G.A. § 12-5-35 Aid to pollution control and surface-water management — Administration of grants by division

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The division shall be the agency for the administration of the funds granted by the state. The administration of such granted funds shall be done in direct conjunction with the administration of federal funds granted for water pollution control projects. History. — Ga. L. 1961, p…

O.C.G.A. § 12-5-36 Aid to pollution control and surface-water management — Consistency with federal acts

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The determination of the relative need for, the priority of, and the standards of construction for federally assisted water pollution control projects shall be consistent with the provisions of Title II of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972 (P.L. 92-500), …

O.C.G.A. § 12-5-37 Aid to pollution control and surface-water management — Intent of article with regard to state contributions

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It is the intent of this article that full advantage be taken of all funds available under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, but the State of Georgia shall not be limited in its contribution, and where no funds are available under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, t…

O.C.G.A. § 12-5-38 Aid to pollution control and surface-water management — Management by division of federal construction grants program

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The division is authorized to manage the construction grants program as set forth in Title II of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972 (P.L. 92-500), 33 U.S.C. Section 1281, et seq., as amended by the Clean Water Act of 1977 (P.L. 95-217), or as may hereafter…

O.C.G.A. § 12-5-38.1 Administration of funds; water pollution control and drinking water revolving funds

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(a) The director is authorized to administer funds granted to the state by the administrator of the federal Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to Title VI of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as now or hereafter amended, for the purpose of providing assistance to mun…

O.C.G.A. § 12-5-39 Aid to pollution control and surface-water management — Area-wide waste treatment management

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The division is authorized to develop and operate a continuing area-wide waste treatment management planning process pursuant to its powers contained in this article for all portions of the state for which the state is required to act as the planning agency in accordance with Sec…

O.C.G.A. § 12-5-40 Aid to pollution control and surface-water management — Adoption of rules and regulations regarding application for state grants

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The Board of Natural Resources is empowered to adopt such rules, regulations, and procedures to be followed in applying for state grants authorized in this article as shall be necessary for the effective administration thereof. History. — Ga. L. 1961, p. 109, § 5; Ga. L. 1964, p.…

O.C.G.A. § 12-5-42 Cooperative efforts for abatement of pollution; order by director; request for hearing; allowance of reasonable time for abatement

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(a) Whenever the division determines that any person is discharging sewage, industrial waste, or other wastes into any waters of the state in a degree which prevents the water from meeting the established standards of water purity, the division shall act to secure the person’s co…

O.C.G.A. § 12-5-43 Administrative hearings

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(a) Whenever a person is aggrieved or adversely affected by any action or by any order or orders of the director, or by any action or by any order or orders pursuant to authority delegated by the director, such person may request and obtain a hearing by ﬁling a petition with the …

O.C.G.A. § 12-5-44 Judicial review

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(a) Any person who has exhausted all administrative remedies available within the department and who is aggrieved by a ﬁnal decision in a contested case is entitled to judicial review under this article. A preliminary, procedural, or intermediate action or ruling is immediately r…

O.C.G.A. § 12-5-45 Judgment in accordance with division’s order

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The division may ﬁle in the superior court in the county in which the person under order resides, or in the county in which the violation occurred or, if the person is a corporation, in the county in which the corporation maintains its principal place of business, a certiﬁed copy…

O.C.G.A. § 12-5-46 Effect of article on rights of action

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Nothing in this article shall be construed to alter or abridge any right of action existing in law or equity, civil or criminal, nor shall any provision of this article be construed to prevent any person, as a riparian owner or otherwise, from exercising his rights to suppress nu…

O.C.G.A. § 12-5-47 Emergency orders; hearing

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Whenever the division ﬁnds that an emergency exists requiring that such action be taken as it deems necessary to meet the emergency, notwithstanding any other provisions of this article, such order shall be effective immediately. Any person to whom such order is directed shall co…

O.C.G.A. § 12-5-48 Injunctive relief

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Whenever in the judgment of the division any person has engaged in or is about to engage in any act or practice which constitutes or will constitute any violation of this article, the division may make application to the superior court of the county where such person resides, or …

O.C.G.A. § 12-5-49 Representation of division and its agents by Attorney General and his staff

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It shall be the duty of the Attorney General to represent the division and its agents or designate some member of his staff to represent them in all actions in connection with this article. History. — Ga. L. 1964, p. 416, § 19.

O.C.G.A. § 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

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Nothing in this article is intended to conﬂict with any provision of federal law or result in loss of eligibility for any federal funds on the part of the division or any department of state government. In case such a conﬂict or loss of federal funds should occur by virtue of ena…

O.C.G.A. § 12-5-51 Civil liability

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(a) Any person who intentionally or negligently causes or permits any sewage, industrial wastes, or other wastes, oil, scum, ﬂoating debris, or other substance or substances to be spilled, discharged, or deposited in the waters of the state, resulting in a condition of pollution …

O.C.G.A. § 12-5-52 Civil penalty

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(a) Any person violating any provision of this article or any permit condition or limitation established pursuant to this article or, negligently or intentionally, failing or refusing to comply with any ﬁnal or emergency order of the director issued as provided in this article, s…

O.C.G.A. § 12-5-53 Criminal penalty

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(a) Any person who violates any provision of this article or any permit condition or limitation established pursuant to this article or who fails, neglects, or refuses to comply with any ﬁnal order of a court lawfully issued as provided in this article or who violates any require…

O.C.G.A. § 12-5-101 Injunctive relief

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Whenever, in the judgment of the director, any person has engaged in or is about to engage in any act or practice which constitutes or will constitute any violation of this part, the director may make application to the superior court of the county where such person resides, or i…