EPD gives history of Georgia agricultural water permitting, points to metering data as decision backbone

Officials from the Georgia Environmental Protection Division briefed the House Agriculture & Consumer Affairs Committee on the history and current status of agricultural water withdrawal permitting, emphasizing that the state’s agricultural metering program now provides the data basis for decisions about new permits.

Anya (Andya) Trzinski, who led the historical overview, told the committee that Georgia began issuing agricultural water withdrawal permits in 1988 as a basic tracking mechanism. She said a moratorium focused on Southwest Georgia began in 1999 because of concentrated irrigation growth, connected surface- and groundwater in that region, the presence of threatened and endangered mussels in the Flint River, and multiyear drought. The Flint River Basin Plan (developed 1999–2006) set zones with different conservation measures, and permits issued after the plan included additional efficiency requirements and 25‑year terms, Trzinski said.

Trzinski said a broader suspension on agricultural permitting was put in place in July 2012…