Recommendations of the Environmental Advisory Council to ...

FindingGeorgia must become aggressive in buying and protecting land parcels that willsupport the reduction of NPS pollution.Georgia recognizes the need to buy and conserve land. The 2006 Land Conservation Actestablished the process to do so. Land, in its natural state, will always be an effectivemeans to reduce NPS pollutions. Local communities, such as Cobb, Paulding and CarrollCounty have created recent greenspace initiatives to fund, acquire and preserve greenspacethereby protecting natural resources, establishing passive recreation areas and improvingquality of life. Land conservation done properly will not only reduce NPS pollution, but itcan also enhance the values of the developed land around it. Yet, in areas like MetroAtlanta, where counties are rapidly exceeding 20% total impervious surface cover, Georgiaand its local communities must get even more aggressive in protecting the remaininggreenspace. The State must identify the most environmentally sensitive areas; the criticalbuffers and wetland filters, and protect the lands through acquisition. Aggressiveacquisition means identifying those land parcels that are critical to reducing NPS pollutionand providing more resources to buy and protect the land. If water councils are establishedto serve a Georgia watershed, those councils can be a great aid in the identification ofcritical land parcels to reduce NPS pollutions.Georgia can also encourage land conservation through the use of incentives and the freemarket system. Regulatory and fiscal support for Transfer of Development Rights (TDR)pilot programs like what is ongoing in the Chattahoochee Hills Country in South FultonCounty will encourage new patterns of development that will minimize land disturbance,protect the natural filter qualities of the land while also providing exceptional quality oflife in new communities.Georgians have demonstrated by voting of tax increases on numerous occasions, thatgreenspace is important to their quality of life. Even in a mature statewide watershedmanagement program such as Florida, leaders recognize that the most important action toprotect against NPS pollution is the acquisition of critical land areas. In the face of highpopulation growth, Georgia must get even more aggressive in the purchase and protectionof land parcels that will forever reduce NPS pollution.EAC Recommendations• The State should identify critical land parcels that must be purchased and protected.• Increase State funding to support more aggressive land acquisition.• Develop additional incentives to encourage local preservation of greenspace.• Support with regulation and funding pilot TDR projects that create the marketincentive for land conservation and sustainable development in accordance with thegoals of the NPS strategy.8