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Stream Buffers and You

By James Holland, Altamaha Riverkeeper

This article will help explain, "what does a stream buffer have to do with me?" If you hunt, fish, or your drinking water supply comes from a stream, worrying about stream buffers is exactly what you need to do. A stream buffer is the 25 feet of natural vegetation along a stream bank. A stream buffer for a trout stream (all located in North Georgia) is the 50 feet of natural vegetation along a stream bank.

You need to be concerned about stream buffers because stream banks provide important functions to our rivers and communities. Whether it is a farmer's crop, victory garden, or your lawn, fertilizer is healthy for plants. Although nutrients are good for plants, fertilizer and nutrients can pollute water. Undisturbed natural buffers are composed of trees, grass, vines, and other woody vegetation and these plants absorb the nutrients from animal waste and other rotted vegetative matter into their roots. This healthy process of natural absorption into the plant roots helps to filter the nutrients before they get into the water and create pollution. The banks also assimilate nutrients from floods and storm water run off.

Full view of destroyed stream & crossing.

Stream buffers provide many benefits, such as:

Slowing the velocity of storm water run off, which helps to prevent downstream flooding.
Assimilating polluted storm water run off from paved streets, parking lots, restaurants, and shopping centers.
Filtering other types of human and animal waste running off hard surfaces.
Filtering sediment and pollution from run off before it reaches our streams.
Providing a crucial habitat for plant life, fish, and other wildlife.

These narrow 25 and 50 feet strips of land along streams certainly don't remove all the pollutants that we place upon them. Many scientists recommend that a stream buffer should be a minimum of 75-100 feet to do a satisfactory job of removing pollutants before they reach a stream. In Georgia we don't have stream buffer laws that require large buffers, but we do have or rather had laws that require small stream buffer minimums.

What is a stream buffer variance and why is it required?

A stream buffer variance is a permit issued by the Environmental Protection Division (EPD) Director to authorize a developer to alter the vegetated buffer terrain along a stream bank. A stream buffer variance is required by EPD if a developer proposes a building plan that will disturb the 25-50 foot buffer along a stream bank because altering this buffer could upset the ecology of a stream or destroy the stream. Utilities, such as sewer lines and water lines, around a stream buffer do not need variances but they must abide by the Best Management Practices (BMPs) for erosion and sedimentation.

NEW RULES ADOPTED FOR BUFFERS

PLEASE READ ON:

Stream banks, another view

On Tuesday, December 7, 2004 the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Board bombed our headwater streams in much the same manner as the event on Pearl Harbor Day in December 7, 1941. The board members voting for these new rules couldn't get them passed in a straightforward manner, so they came in through the back door. Despite strong public opposition, the DNR Board adopted new rules that will exempt many of our smaller headwater streams such as streams that do not have base flow from requiring a stream buffer variance. These streams, which in many cases throughout Georgia are the first streams to receive storm water run off, are called ephemeral streams, swales, and gulleys or wet weather streams.

These streams are the victims of the new rule bombs, adopted by the DNR Board on December 7, 2004 because they will NOT be required to have a buffer.

In other words, developers will now be able fill in, pipe, or pave over streams that exist only in heavy rains. A stream buffer variance permit will not be required and the developers will not be required to notify people living downstream or anyone else about what they are doing to the stream.

BOARD ADDS CHANGES to STAKEHOLDERS RECOMMENDATIONS!

BACK GROUND: On October 27, 2004 the DNR Board of Directors met to discuss new stream buffer variance rules (Senate Bill 460) as ordered by the legislature in its last session. Prior to the DNR Board meeting, a stake holder group appointed from the development and environmental community, met 6 times to develop new stream buffer variance rules and these recommendations were presented to the DNR Board at the meeting. The stream buffer rules recommended by the stakeholders added three new criteria that would allow the director to review buffer variance applications for virtually any type of project. Apparently, Tom Wheeler, a developer and of one of the DNR Board members, didn't like the recommendations and added a change that now exempts our small head water streams. This change is basically a blanket variance that removes all protection for ephemeral streams.

Consequently, this change triggered a new round of public hearings and comments. After the public comment periods ended, the DNR Board held the December meeting where they were presented with almost a thousand written comments opposed to the weakening of protection of the stream buffer regulations. Only 16 people submitted comments supporting the change. Mr. Wheeler and his developer related friends on the DNR Board rammed these newly proposed rules through with an 11-5 vote.

These new rule changes will reduce our water quality as subdivisions and shopping centers are built on these headwater streams. People living down stream will more likely experience more flooding and increased pollution caused by the rapid run off from these newly developed areas. Before the rules, when the fresh rainwater fell it received the natural filtration provided by trees and other vegetation in the natural streamside buffers before flowing into an ephemeral stream, but now that water will most likely to be piped to and discharged directly in or near major streams. More sediment loading in our streams from increased mud run off from these areas can also be expected. Without natural stream buffers along these streams, fecal coliform bacteria counts can be expected to rise in our water ways because storm water flowing over concrete and pavement will wash fecal coliform bacteria into streams faster with no filtration.

All of these things degrade water quality for plants, aquatic species, wildlife and humans. The DNR vote leaves small streams in Georgia open to destruction and acres of fish and wildlife habitat subject to development. The lack of buffers on ephemeral streams will make them more susceptible to contamination and degradation. It will also necessitate more expensive treatment to clean the water for drinking. The victims in this reduction of regulation will be not only be the people who live downstream and suffer flooding, nor just the people who use the water for drinking; eliminating the buffer protection for these streams sacrifices water quality for everyone.

I hope this article helps you understand what a stream buffer does for you.

And ask yourself, how many more of our natural resources do we have to lose before deciding, I have had enough and act to help protect the natural resources we have left?

The Altamaha Riverkeeper is working to protect and restore the Altamaha from its headwaters in the Ocmulgee, Oconee, and the Ohoopee to its terminus at the Atlantic Coast. You can help. Please send a tax-deductible donation to Altamaha Riverkeeper, P. O. Box 2642, Darien, GA, 31305. Become a part of our volunteer network of citizens taking action to protect our rivers. Help keep Georgia's largest watershed clean and safe so it will support healthy populations of people, fish, and wildlife.

Join ARK

The Altamaha Riverkeeper is working to protect and restore the Altamaha from its headwaters in the Ocmulgee, Oconee, and the Ohoopee to its terminus at the Atlantic Coast.

You can help.

Join ARK Now Online

or send a tax-deductible donation to Altamaha Riverkeeper, P. O. Box 2642, Darien, GA, 31305.

Become a part of our volunteer network of citizens taking action to protect our rivers.

Help keep Georgia's largest watershed clean and safe so it will support healthy populations of people, fish, and wildlife.

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