Update 2024-10-09: According to attorney Brock Perry this morning: “The meeting this week has been cancelled in light of the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. The area is still recovering, and hosting a meeting there is not practical or the priority at the moment. There will be a meeting next month, but the date has not been finalized. At that meeting, there will be a period of time dedicated to issues related to South Georgia rivers to compensate for our cancelled meeting.”

Their third meeting (second with public input) will be near Waycross on October 11. Actually, on the Satilla River, halfway between Waycross and Brunswick.

If you want to continue to be able to paddle or motor on your favorite stream, you may want to show up and speak, or send written input to your state representative. You can ask them for a 21st-century update to the 1863 Georgia navigability law.

Georgia House Study Committee on Navigable Streams in Nahunta 2024-10-11: Ownership, Property Rights, Recreation, Economy

Chair Lynn Smith of the Georgia House Study Committee on Navigable Streams and Related Matters announced at the end of the September 20 meeting at Unicoi State Park that there would be a third meeting in October in Waycross.

It will be 9 AM, October 11, 2024, northeast of Nahunta:
Location Strickland’s Lodge, 829 Wildlife Drive, Nahunta, GA 31553.

The agenda thus far posted has date, time, and location, and this clarification:

A site visit on October 10^th, 2024 is limited to study committee members and staff only due to logistics/capacity constraints.

The actual agenda just says “TBD”.

However, there is this note:

*NOTE: Public comment can always be submitted and distributed to committee members. Please contact Nicole Chappelle at nicole.chappelle @ house.ga.gov or Brock Perry at brock.perry@ house.ga.gov if you want to be notified of future meetings.

Thanks to Attorney Brock Perry for sending this much.

Two of the Committee members are in the Suwannee River Basin:

• 176, James Burchett, R – Waycross, 404-656-5105, Suite 1318, james.burchett@house.ga.gov, southwest Coffee, Atkinson, Lanier, and northeast Lowndes Counties
• 174, John Corbett, R – Lake Park, (404) 656-5105, john.corbett@house.ga.gov, Charlton, Brantley, south half of Ware, Clinch, Echols, east third of Lowndes Counties.

For other Georgia House members in the Suwannee River Basin, see:
https://wwals.net/about/elected-officials/georgia-house/

At the end of the September Committee meeting, Rep. James Burchett gave a pretty good summary of the issues. However, his preferred solution of listing all navigable stream stretches is flawed. We are happy that his previous bill that attempted to make such a list included all Georgia stretches of all the WWALS water trails. Except the Alapahoochee River, Sugar Creek, and Cat Creek; I sent him those suggestions.

But during previous discussions, Rep. Burchett claimed that his GA HB 1397 was sticking to the 1863 navigable definition that is still Georgia law. But that makes no sense, since most of our rivers never had bales of cotton floated down them to market.

What Georgia needs is an updated 21st-century definition of navigable that matches what people actually use the rivers for these days, such as paddling, motoring, fishing, and swimming.

Meanwhile, we are working on making navigable some of the more dubious stretchesn listed in Rep. Burchett’s bill, such as Okapilco Creek up to US 84 and the Little River upstream from Red Roberts Landing. This requires multiple chainsaws and multiple expeditions.

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

You can help with clean, swimmable, fishable, drinkable, water in the 10,000-square-mile Suwannee River Basin in Florida and Georgia by becoming a WWALS member today!
https://wwals.net/donations/

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