Coastal Advisory Council
February 19, 2014 at Richmond Hill Wetlands Education Center
Meeting Summary
Welcome and Introductions:
Meeting was called to order by Chairman Steve Vives. Introduction of special guest Dr. Doug Samson,
new Reserve Manager for Sapelo Island National Estuarine Research Reserve.
Old Business:
Meeting Summary from meeting on November 6, 2013 was provided for review. No comments were
provided on the meeting summary.
New Business:
Membership vacancy for a Citizen-at-Large position due to Frank Mirasola ending his service on the
Council. Chairman Vives stated that there has been a practice of taking nominations. Staff
recommended that any nominations be emailed to us along with a name and bio. There was a short
discussion on geographical need and the previous nomination list that was compiled.
Chairman Vives, in place of Frank Mirasola, provided the Legislative Committee report out. The report
covered nine current proposed legislative measures the committee was tracking. Senate Bill 299
Watershed Protection Standards strikes language requiring buffers and regulation of land activities and
densities around streams, rivers, and reservoirs that supply drinking water; these minimum standards
become optional; adds requirement that local governments will submit a watershed protection plan. A
comment was made concerning the buffer aspect that GA EPD had asked for an opinion from the
Attorney General’s office for interpretation of the buffer line. Senate Bill 306 Ban on Aquifer
Storage/Recovery places permanent moratorium on aquifer storage and recovery in the Floridan aquifer
in any county governed by the coastal zone management program. There was discussion on likelihood
and concerns about aquifer contamination. House Bill 549 Water Emergency Response Procedures:
Establishes emergency response procedures relating to pollution events in Georgia waterways; Includes
a mandate for the GA EPD to provide proper and timely notice to the public, GEMA, and local
authorities. House Bill 715/Senate Bill 296 Jekyll Island Masterplan limits new development on Jekyll to
78 acres (46 acres for public safety, public health or public recreation, 12 acres for campground
expansion, and 20 acres by the Jekyll Island Authority; public hearings would be required regarding
development plans for the 20 acres. House Bill 864 Water Conservation Act of 2014 requires each
county, municipality, local government authority holding surface water withdrawal permit to report the
volume of water withdrawn and the volume returned; a 25% return rate would be required initially,
50% return rate required in 2019, and 75% in 2024. House Bill 741 Sludge Land Application Permits
requires that state-issued permits for sludge land application be consistent with existing local zoning
ordinances and would require public hearings where the application sites are located. House Bill 904/
Senate Bill 333 Right to Appeal Hazardous Site Remediation allow property owners to sue over the
listing of their property on the state’s hazardous site inventory. Comments following the presentation
included whether federal legislation was being discussed and that the Georgia Conservancy legislative
updates were good. Georgia Conservancy representative Clay Mobley said to email him and will sign
you up.
An update on the Cycle 17 Coastal Incentive Grants was provided by Kelly Hill (Staff). Forty-six letters of
intent were submitted by the November 1, 2013 deadline. Staff contacted each applicant and provided
constructive comments. Thirty formal applications were received by the January 17, 2014 deadline. The
total funds requested were $1,481,723 with 20 applications being 2 year projects requesting $1,106,489
in the second year. There is approximately $525,000 available for new grants. Applications ranged in
Theme selection as follows: Ocean & Wetlands (12), Public Access (5), Sustainable Communities (6), and
Disaster Resiliency/Coastal Hazards (7). The various types of projects submitted were Research (16),
Planning (7), Education and Outreach (2), Public Access (4), and Construction (1). The internal staff
commentary is complete and grant application packages have been distributed to external reviewers.
Scores are due back from all reviewers by March 3 with the review committee meeting to make final
decisions on March 13. The deadline for the Georgia Coastal Management Program to incorporate
selected CIG projects into our NOAA draft grant application is April 4. Staff was asked to compile a list of
how much money was requested per applicant in order to get an idea of how many were requesting a
lot or a little.
Presentations:
Wrack Disturbance in Salt Marsh Communities
Dr. Merryl Alber,Karri Bulski, Zane Cress, University of Georgia, Dept. of Marine Sciences
Dr. Alber presented on research conducted on marsh wrack accumulation and its effect on marsh
vegetation and other properties. She investigated how the effects of wrack vary in different vegetation
zones, in response to the timing of the disturbance, and in response to the length of wrack cover. Lastly
Dr. Alber is looking at how long it takes for an affected area to recover after the wrack is removed. Dr.
Alber’s team covered 1.2 m2 plots in five vegetation zones in one year treatments and varying time
treatments after which they observed recovery. They measured % cover, density, height, chlorophyll
and dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) concentration in plants. They also recorded fiddler crab
burrows, snail densities, soil salinity, redox potential and elevation. Observations were made at 0, 0.5,
1, 2, 4, 8, and 12 months during the disturbance phase and the recovery phase.
Some key findings were that percent plant cover decreased rapidly in all zones, plants under wrack for 1
year had reduced chlorophyll and DMSP, sediment under wrack for 1 year had slightly reduced
porewater salinities with no trends in redox, percent plant cover increased slowly after wrack removal,
snail densities decreased rapidly with slow recovery, crab burrow densities were variable, plants
respond differently to spring versus fall placement of wrack, and different plant communities responded
differently over time in disturbance and recovery phases. The researchers concluded that wrack is a
source of disturbance, timing of wrack accumulation plays a role, where in the marsh wrack accumulates
has different effects, recovery follows elevation, and recovery takes time.
The executive summary of Dr. Alber’s report can be viewed online at
http://coastalgadnr.org/cm/about/cac
Dave Kyler asked if the study was essentially a diagnosis of death. He further commented that docks
exacerbate the issue and there was an exhibit at UGA on marsh wrack. Dr. Alber mentioned Dr.
Alexander’s study on docks and wrack accumulation. Steve Willis commented that the study area was
not large enough to show the full effect of wrack accumulation. Lisa Ligori asked how CRD management
has or plans to use this information and would like a report out at a future meeting.
Ogeechee River Supplemental Environmental Project
Dr. Steve Vives, Georgia Southern University
Dr. Vives presented on the Supplemental Environmental Project (SEP) that is being undertaken in
connection with the settlement of an enforcement action taken by the Georgia Environmental
Protection Division for violations of the Georgia Water Quality Control Act. Dr. Vives provided a
background of the fish kill on May 20, 2011 where more than 38,000 fishes died below the King America
Finishing Inc. (KAF) effluent pipe. The fish kill was due to Columnaris disease which is a bacterial disease
caused by environmental stress. The stress was determined to be from a combination of KAF effluent,
low flow, and high temperatures. He reported the GA EPD determined KAF would fund one or more
Supplemental Environmental Projects for a minimum of $1,000,000. The final EPD consent order
specifies 3 SEPs which are third party monitoring, City of Millen water quality improvement, and an
assessment of hydrological, biological, and environmental components of the lower Ogeechee River
ecosystem. Georgia Southern is a partner in conducting the third SEP comprised of two teams. Team 1
is comprised of the Georgia Southern University Department of Geology and Geography. Team 2 will be
the Georgia Southern University Department of Biology and the Southeastern Natural Sciences Academy
(SNSA) from Augusta, GA. This SEP will have a 3 year duration and take a watershed system approach to
studying the interactions of various stressors. The emphasis will be on better understanding the
Ogeechee River ecosystem. Team 1 (Geology and Geography) will install monitoring equipment to
analyze the partitioning of rainfall in the watershed; monitor stream flow, rainfall rates, air
temperatures, and evaporation to accurately describe drought, flood, and other disturbance regimes;
calculate drought indices for the southeastern region and lower coastal plain; install shallow wells to
provide accurate estimates of base flow and chemical composition of sub-surface water entering the
river. Team 2 (Biology and SNSA) will continuously monitor water quality data at 4 sites providing realtime data to stakeholders; monitor chemical constituents such as nutrients, chlorophyll a, and oxygen
demand substances; monitor invertebrate and fish communities; monitor environmental stressors on
fish embryos and fish reproduction, test toxicity of sediment and water samples; and bio monitor fish
stress through DNA damage. There will also be a community outreach component including an annual
report of progress and results, annual public education workshops concerning the reports, and funding
of Adopt-A-Stream test kits to enable citizen scientists. This project is hoped to establish a long-term
research program in the Ogeechee River watershed.
Lisa Ligori commented that MAREX could provide assistance with the outreach portion. Dr. Samson
asked about was being tested for and if NPDES monitoring was done. Dr. Barkovski asked about the
techniques being used. Dr. Vives stated that the funding is designed to target effluent constituents
namely fire retardants. Dave Kyler mentioned that Tyrone Hayes, UC Berkeley, completed a study on
atrazine and there was an article in the New Yorker.
Other Announcements:
Dave Kyler announced there is a marsh wrack exhibit at UGA. The Circle Gallery at the University of
Georgia College of Art and Design is hosting the exhibit entitled “Wrack and Ruin and the Creative
Response: A Cautionary Environmental Tale” which will run February 6 through March 12.
Clay Mobley announced the Georgia Conservancy Oyster Roast on Whitemarsh Island March 1st.
Steve Willis announced that there was an article written by Dan Chapman in the Atlanta Journal
Constitution on the Savannah Harbor Deepening. He briefly discussed the article and recommended
council members read it.