In March, the federal district court in Statesboro, Georgia, issued a ruling that shocked the forestry community. The court found that a logging company had built a road through a wetland in violation of federal clean water laws. The consequences for the company were severe, the court ordered the company to pay $78,000.00 in fines and restore the site and mitigate the damage.
In June, another landowner took a risk by building a bridge over a stretch of the Canoochee River frequented by fishermen and rowers without formal permits from the US Army Corps of Engineers.
What do these two incidents have in common? In each case, instead of formally
when applying for permits, the companies in question did not obtain permits from the US Army Corps of Engineers before beginning work. Instead, they took a chance that their project didn’t require one.
Under federal clean water laws, forestry is held to a different standard than land preparation for development. That is the “forestry exemption”. In other words, as long as you grow trees and harvest trees, you have relatively free hands on your land. But if you want to develop or sell timberland for development and wetlands are involved, the exemption is gone.
To be sure, many of us dread the paperwork and delays associated with getting that authorization in writing. But when you’re getting ready to work, aside from harvesting or handling your wood, in wetlands or along the banks of some body of water, it’s the right and smart thing to do. After all, the law puts the responsibility on you, the owner, to get it right, not on the consultants and construction companies that advise you.
Cutting shortcuts in your permits exposes you to legal action from the government, and anyone else who may be affected by your project. The lawsuit that led to the $78,000 fine was brought by a neighbor angry about flooding on his land. The environmental group that sued on behalf of this person did not receive any part of the settlement.
The March case will affect all of us in the forestry community. This ruling comes on the heels of another incident in which the US Army Corps of Engineers was sued in 2007 for failing to require proper permits in clearing a cypress swamp that would have made the swamp open water ready. for development. In the wake of these rulings, the Army Corps of Engineers reopened discussions with the Georgia Forestry Commission on wetland permits and the two agencies will bring the forestry community more consistently into compliance with the letter of the law.
So the next time you’re walking across your land and come to a stream or wetland, pause to listen for the birds in the trees. Imagine the ducks, deer, bass, turkey, sunfish, crayfish, and other animals that depend on this place to breed and thrive for future generations. Think of the terrible floods that hit Georgia not too long ago, and imagine the role your land plays in preventing those problems for your downstream neighbors.
Before disturbing this area, get their permission. If an advisor whispers in your ear that you don’t need it, go get your permission. If a neighbor brags about building without a permit, get his permission.
And then when an angry neighbor, environmentalist, estranged relative, or anyone else knocks on your door with a bone to pick up, tell them to take it with the government. Yes, it is a bit of bureaucracy. But it is very calm.
