Subject 391-1-1 ORGANIZATION AND PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
| (1) |
The Board of Natural Resources is a
Constitutional Board, empowered by law to establish the general policies to be
followed by the Department of Natural Resources. |
| (2) |
The Board appoints and removes (subject
to the approval of the Governor) the Commissioner of Natural Resources and the
Director of the Environmental Protection Division. The Board sets out the
general policy under which the Commissioner supervises, directs, accounts for,
organizes, plans, administers and executes all the respective statutory
functions of the Department and the Divisions, and under which the Director of
the Environmental Protection Division supervises, directs, accounts for,
organizes, plans and executes the respective statutory functions of the
Environmental Protection Division. |
| (3) |
As organized by the Commissioner, the
Department consists of the Commissioner's Office and six operating Divisions:
Wildlife Resources; Parks, Recreation and Historic Sites; Coastal Resources;
Law Enforcement; Historic Preservation; and Environmental Protection (created
by statute). The directors of the Divisions other than Environmental Protection
are appointed by the Commissioner, subject to the approval of the Board.
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| (1) |
By O.C.G.A. 27-1-16 there is established
within the Department of Natural Resources a unit of peace officers known as
conservation rangers. The Commissioner of Natural Resources appoints such
number of conservation rangers of the state at large as are necessary to carry
out the law enforcement responsibilities pertaining to the Department.
|
| (2) |
A conservation ranger of the
state at large appointed by the Commissioner of Natural Resources is an
employee of the Department and holds either the title of Conservation Ranger or
of Class I Deputy Conservation Ranger, depending upon whether law enforcement
duties are primary function of athe conservation ranger's employment
(Conservation Ranger) or if additional duties, such as that of a park manager,
wildlife technician or biologist are the primary functions of the conservation
ranger's employment (Class I Deputy Conservation Ranger). However, regardless
of their title, Conservation Rangers and Class I Deputy Conservation Rangers
are conservation rangers of the state at large. |
| (3) |
By O.C.G.A. § 27-1-17 the Board of Natural
Resources is also authorized to appoint deputy conservation rangers, however,
that authority is delegated by the Board by this rule to the Commissioner of
Natural Resources except to the extent set forth in this rule. Deputy
conservation rangers appointed by the Commissioner as Class I Deputy
Conservation Rangers pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 27-1-16 and this delegation are
assigned all of the qualifications, powers and duties of conservation rangers
of the state at large, shall take the same oath, and shall adhere to all of the
laws, rules, policies and guidelines which govern the Department's law
enforcement unit. The badge of a Class I Deputy Conservation Ranger shall be
inscribed with the State Seal, the name of the Department, and such other
information as may be appropriate. |
| (4) |
The Board of Natural Resources reserves
the exclusive power to appoint deputy conservation rangers who are not
currently employees of the Department. They will normally either be retired
Department employees who were formally conservation rangers or persons, such as
marshals of county magistrate courts, who assist the Department's law
enforcement unit by enforcing certain aspects of the environmental and wildlife
laws such as waste control and hunter safety. Deputy conservation rangers
appointed by the Board of Natural Resources must have actual duties relating to
the protection of natural resources and post the bond required by O.C.G.A.
§ 27-1-17(c). |
| (5) |
A deputy conservation ranger appointed by
the Board of Natural Resources holds the title of Class II Deputy Conservation
Ranger and by this rule is assigned by the Board of Natural Resources all of
the powers and duties of a conservation ranger. Class II Deputy Conservation
Rangers must be certified peace officers pursuant to the requirements of the
Peace Officers Standards and Training Council. They shall take the same oath as
a conservation ranger and shall adhere to all of the laws, rules, policies and
guidelines which govern the Department's law enforcement unit. The badge of a
Class II Deputy Conservation Ranger shall be inscribed with the State Seal, the
name of the Department, and such other information as may be
appropriate. |
| (6) |
Class I and Class
II Deputy Conservation Rangers are authorized by the Board of Natural Resources
to arrest persons accused of violating any law or regulation which such
officers are empowered to enforce by the issuance of a citation pursuant to
O.C.G.A. § 27-1-19. |
| (7) |
The appointments of all deputy
conservation rangers holding that status on the effective date of this rule,
regardless of whether their title is Class I Deputy Conservation Ranger or
Class II Deputy Conservation Ranger and regardless of whether they were
appointed initially by the Board of Natural Resources or by the Commissioner of
Natural Resources are hereby ratified. |
| (1) |
General
Information concerning the Department's operations may be obtained from 2
Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive, S.E., Suite 1252 East, Atlanta, Georgia
30334-9000. |
| (2) |
More specific
requests for information or submissions may be directed as follows:
| (a) |
For licenses - fishing and hunting, 2065
U.S. Highway 278, S.E., Social Circle, Georgia 30025. |
| (b) |
For boat registration - 2065 U.S. Highway
278, S.E., Social Circle, Georgia 30025. |
| (c) |
For coastal information - One
Conservation Way, Suite 300, Brunswick, Georgia 31520-8687. |
| (d) |
For environmental information - 2 Martin
Luther King, Jr. Drive, S.E., Suite 1152 East, Atlanta, Georgia
30334-9000. |
| (e) |
For state parks and
historic sites information - 2 Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive, S.E., Suite 1352
East, Atlanta, Georgia 30334-9000. |
| (f) |
For historic preservation information -
34 Peachtree Street, N.W., Suite 1600, Atlanta, Georgia 30303. |
|
| (3) |
To request that the name and
address of a person or organization be placed on a Division's mailing list
maintained for advance notice of its rule-making proceedings pursuant to
O.C.G.A. Section
50-13-4, a written request shall
be mailed to the Director of that Division. The written request shall contain a
complete and accurate mailing address of the person or organization to which
advance notice is to be mailed. The written request may specify that the person
or organization is to receive advanced notice of only the proposed rules or
proposed amendments to rules of a specific program or branch of a Division,
such as proposed rules or amendments to rules proposed by the Land Protection
Branch of the Environmental Protection Division or the Hunting and Fishing
Regulations proposed annually by the Wildlife Resources Division. |
| (1) |
Any interested person desiring to
petition the Board of Natural Resources requesting the promulgation, amendment
or repeal of a rule shall submit three copies of the petition, in writing, to
the Commissioner, Department of Natural Resources, 2 Martin Luther King, Jr.
Drive, S.E., Suite 1252 East, Atlanta, Georgia 30334-9000. No special form of
petition shall be required but the petition shall state fully the rule
involved, the reason for the desired change, any parties who it is known will
be affected by the change, and any additional facts known to the petitioner
which might influence the decision of the Board to initiate or not initiate
rulemaking. |
| (2) |
The Board shall act
upon the petition as prescribed in O.C.G.A. Section
50-13-9. |
| (1) |
Any person wishing to file a petition for a declaratory ruling as to the
applicability of a statute or rule or order shall submit three copies of the
petition, in writing, to the Commissioner, Department of Natural Resources, 2
Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive, S.E., Suite 1252 East, Atlanta, Georgia
30334-9000. |
| (2) |
The petition shall
state all the facts, including the names of those parties involved in the fact
situation, and shall include a statement of the legal issue sought to be
resolved. A declaratory ruling will not be issued on a hypothetical fact
situation, and any ruling requested must affect a specific fact situation and
specific parties, including the person or persons requesting the ruling. If the
parties involved in the fact situation include persons in addition to the
person or persons requesting the ruling, the person or persons requesting the
ruling shall serve a copy of the petition upon such additional persons by
personal delivery or by mail. Service by mail shall be complete upon mailing by
first class mail, with proper postage attached, to such person. Every
submission shall be accompanied either by an acknowledgment of service from the
person served, or his authorized agent for service, or by a certificate of
service stating the date, place, and manner of service, and the name and
address of the persons served. Any person, including the additional parties
served, may seek to participate in a declaratory ruling proceeding in the
manner and under the standards provided by O.C.G.A. Section
50-13-14. |
| (3) |
The individual or entity within the
Department of Natural Resources responsible for enforcing the statute or rule
will be assigned the petition for a declaratory ruling and shall issue a ruling
thereon as promptly as possible. In doing so, the individual or entity may seek
the opinion of the Attorney General. |
| (4) |
A ruling disposing of a petition for a
declaratory ruling shall have the same status as an administrative law judge
decision or order in a contested case. |
The Asbestos Licensing Board was abolished by Act No. 614 of
the 1996 Session of the General Assembly (Ga. Laws 1996, Page 238) and certain
functions of the Asbestos Licensing Board were transferred by said Act to the
Board of Natural Resources. The Board of Natural Resources has enacted its own
rules to carry out those transferred functions which rules are found in Chapter
391-3-14. The rules of the Asbestos Licensing Board published by the Secretary
of State as Chapters 52-1 through 52-7 of the Official Rules of the State of
Georgia are hereby repealed.
