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 amid extremely low flows in the lower Flint River Basin. The 2012 suspension was reviewed periodically but intersected with litigation by Florida seeking an equitable apportionment of the states’ shared waters; the U.S. Supreme Court case consumed agency attention for years. To inform decisions during the litigation and afterward, Georgia implemented an agricultural metering program in 2003 and later strengthened it: legislators moved the metering program to EPD in 2018, and EPD has increased the number and quality of metered sites in recent years.

Officials described narrowly targeted permit changes informed by that metering data. Frost‑protection permits for crops such as blueberries were introduced because the crops require large short‑term withdrawals only under freezing conditions; EPD began by allowing frost permits in a portion of the suspension zone in September (year not specified in transcript) and expanded them by May 2024 to the entire suspension area. EPD also removed small portions of the Ochlockonee and Suwannee basins from the 2012 suspension in January 2024 for surface-water withdrawals while keeping groundwater withdrawals suspended there.

Most recently, after stakeholder discussion and review of metering data, EPD announced it would begin issuing drought‑restricted permits in the Flint River suspension area with compliance tools for long‑standing users. Trzinski characterized drought‑restricted permits as a way to acknowledge that withdrawals must be limited during drought and still give farmers flexibility when water is available. She said that while drought restrictions would have been severe in the 2003–2013 drought era, from 2013–2023 drought-restricted permits often allowed irrigation for most of the growing season; some years had zero days with drought restrictions.

EPD Director Jeff Cowen noted the Supreme Court decision in April 2021 was unanimous in Georgia’s favor but said the state still must manage resources effectively. Trzinski and Cowen said EPD’s improved metering—now under EPD since the 2018 legislation—provides better evidence for decisions on where capacity exists for new permits.

Committee members asked for additional detail. Representative Olsteen asked how many days in recent years would have been affected by drought restrictions; Trzinski said EPD maintains a year‑by‑year table showing exact dates and that, in the last decade, most years had only a handful of restricted days and very few multi‑day stretches, but 2012 would have imposed restrictions nearly continuously (365 of 366 days). Representative Reese asked about Atlanta metro-area water planning and whether Lake Lanier and other regional efforts could affect flows; Trzinski and Cowen described coordinated regional conservation efforts and the Metro North Georgia Water Planning District’s work to reduce per‑capita use, and said the system must be considered holistically when thinking about water sent downstream.

Trzinski closed by offering to provide the committee with the EPD year‑by‑year drought‑restriction table and maps showing permit zones and metered sites; committee members asked for those materials.