Compilation of Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia › Department 391 - RULES OF GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES › Chapter 391-3 - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › Subject 391-3-28 - FLINT RIVER DROUGHT PROTECTION › Rule 391-3-28-.09 - Non-Voluntary Irrigated Acreage Reductions

Current through Rules
				and Regulations filed through June 27, 2024
(a) If the Director determines that the total
				number of non-irrigated acres needed during a given year cannot be sufficiently
				obtained through the irrigation reduction auction held in accordance with Rule
				391-3-28-.08, the Director is
				authorized to issue an order, in accordance with rules adopted by the board,
				requiring certain Permittees not to irrigate a specified number of acres of
				irrigated land until the end of the calendar year. When issuing such orders,
				the Director shall begin with the Permittees whose surface water withdrawal
				permits were issued most recently and then work chronologically backward with
				each order issued. A Permittee who is issued such an order shall be compensated
				for such restriction if such Permittee applied to the Division for a
				surface-water withdrawal permit prior to December 1, 1999, received a
				surface-water withdrawal permit from the Division prior to December 1, 2000,
				and is able to demonstrate actual previous irrigation on the same acres of land
				which the owner has been ordered not to irrigate. The per acre dollar amount
				received by a Permittee pursuant to this section shall be equal to the average
				agreed upon sum per acre paid pursuant to the irrigation reduction auction
				during the same year. The amount of the payment shall be that average offer to
				sell price multiplied by the acreage determination. The total amount of
				irrigated land chosen by the Division on a non-voluntary acreage reduction
				basis may be limited by the amount of money present in the drought protection
				fund. Additional acreage may only be selected if the resulting monetary
				liability does not exceed the total amount of money remaining in the drought
				protection fund.
(b) Strong
				consideration shall be given by the Division to the different and recognizable
				impacts caused by the type of withdrawal and the water source for the various
				Permittees. In this regard, the retirement of irrigated acres under permits to
				divert surface waters from perennial streams will have a greater impact on
				protecting river flows than the suspension of irrigation from ground water or
				those surface water users using non-perennial streams or withdrawing from ponds
				not on streams. Therefore, because of the direct and immediate impact caused by
				surface water withdrawals on the Flint River and its tributaries, the
				Director's orders to not irrigate from surface water permit holders withdrawing
				water from perennial streams shall take precedence over similar orders not to
				irrigate from those surface water users using non-perennial streams or
				withdrawing from ponds not on streams. For suspension of groundwater irrigation
				withdrawals, the Director shall consider, based on geologic studies, the degree
				to which the withdrawal will affect stream flow in the Flint River or its
				tributaries. The Director's orders to not irrigate from those permitted wells
				determined to have the greatest impact will have precedence over similar orders
				not to irrigate from those ground-water withdrawals determined to have a lesser
				impact.
(c) Additional
				consideration during the non-voluntary phase of selection may be given to
				different priorities for the suspension of irrigation on these irrigated lands,
				as established by the Director. This may take into account annual versus
				perennial crop types, planted versus non-planted acreage or any other relevant
				factors determined.
(d) The steps
				to implement this non-voluntary approach are as follows:
(1) If insufficient irrigation suspension
				acreage has been offered the Division during the auction, either because no
				further offers are being tendered by auction certificate holders or their
				representatives, or because the Director's chosen maximum offer to sell price
				has been reached, the Director may then determine the amount of additional
				remaining agricultural acreage which may be removed from irrigation during that
				particular severe drought year.
(2)
				The Director may then issue an order to existing agricultural permit holders
				requiring designated Permittees not to irrigate a specified number of acres of
				irrigated land until the end of that calendar year. Acceptance of this Division
				order does not impact the ability of the permit holder to continue to farm this
				acreage without irrigation. The priority for selection shall again be
				considered in terms of the water source, irrigated acreage amount, date of
				withdrawal application and by withdrawal source type.
(3) The Division may begin sending suspend
				irrigation orders to those permit holders who have most recently been issued an
				agricultural withdrawal permit from the affected area in question, and then
				move through all the agricultural withdrawal permits granted, stepping
				chronologically backwards through the list by application date, until
				sufficient acreage totals have been reached to fulfill the previously
				calculated amount of acreage needed to be taken out of irrigation that severe
				drought year. Permit holders selected must meet the eligibility requirements
				established above.
(4) If more
				permit holders than required are found with the same application submission
				date, then the appropriate number of permit holders and their acreage shall be
				selected by consideration of equivalent acreage impacts, or if more remain than
				can be approved, with a selection by random draw or lottery.
(5) The selection and notification process
				shall be completed on or before March 30 of any officially announced severe
				drought year.
(6) Any permit holder
				meeting the eligibility requirements above and who receives a suspend
				irrigation order shall be compensated from the drought fund at a rate equal to
				the average agreed upon offer to sell price per acre paid to all other auction
				certificate holders during that announced severe drought year times their
				number of certified acres.