Subject 391-3-18 RULES FOR CERTIFICATION OF ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE PROPERTY
The purpose of these rules is to establish the procedures for
certification of environmentally sensitive property for purposes of ad valorem
taxation for conservation use, in accordance with O.C.G.A. Sec.
48-5-7.4(a)(2).
These rules are also designed to complement the Department of Revenue's Rules
for Conservation Use Property, Chapter 560-11-6.
All terms used in this rule chapter shall be interpreted in
accordance with the definitions as set forth in O.C.G.A. Sec.
48-5-7.4 and Rule Chapter
560-11-6.
| (1) |
"Department" means the
Georgia Department of Natural Resources. |
| (2) |
"Maintenance in its natural condition"
means to manage the land in such a manner that would not ruin, erode, harm,
damage, or spoil the nature, distinctiveness, identity, appearance, utility or
function that originally characterized the property as environmentally
sensitive under O.C.G.A. Section
48-5-7.4(a)(2). |
| (3) |
"Primary use" means the principal use to
which the property is devoted, as distinct from an incidental, occasional,
intermediate or temporary use for some other purpose not detrimental to or in
conflict with its primary purpose. |
| (1) |
Environmentally sensitive property
includes real property that meets the definition of one or more categories of
paragraph (2) and where the primary use of such property is:
| (a) |
for categories (2)(a) through (2)(f),
maintenance in its natural condition; or |
| (b) |
for categories (2)(a) through (2)(c),
enhancing the water quality of surface or ground waters; or |
| (c) |
for category (2)(g), controlling or
abating pollution of surface or ground waters by storm water runoff or
otherwise enhancing the water quality of surface or ground waters. |
|
| (2) |
In accordance with O.C.G.A.
§ 48-5-7.4(a)(2),
the categories of environmentally sensitive property are:
| (a) |
Mountainous Terrain, defined as any land
area 1,000 feet or more above the lowest elevation of the county in which such
area is located that has a percentage slope of 25 percent or greater, including
the crests, summits, and ridge tops which lie at elevations higher than any
such area; |
| (b) |
Wetland areas that
are determined by the United States Army Corps of Engineers to be wetlands
under their jurisdiction pursuant to Section 404 of the federal Clean Water
Act, as amended, or wetland areas that are depicted or delineated on maps
compiled by the Department or the United States Fish and Wildlife Service
pursuant to its National Wetlands Inventory Program; |
| (c) |
Significant groundwater recharge areas as
identified on maps or data compiled by the Department; |
| (d) |
Undeveloped barrier islands or portions
thereof as provided for in the federal Coastal Barrier Resources Act, as
amended; |
| (e) |
Habitats certified by
the Department as containing species that have been listed as either endangered
or threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act of 1973, as
amended; |
| (f) |
River or stream
corridors or buffers which shall be defined as those undeveloped lands which
are:
| 1. |
Adjacent to rivers and perennial
streams that are within the 100 year flood plain as depicted on official maps
prepared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency; or |
| 2. |
Within buffer zones adjacent to rivers or
perennial streams, which buffer zones are established by law or local ordinance
and within which land-disturbing activity is prohibited; and |
|
| (g) |
Constructed storm-water
wetlands of the free-water surface type certified by the Department under
O.C.G.A. § 12-2-4(k) and
approved for such use by the local governing authority. |
|
| (1) |
Property owners who wish to have all or
portions of their property certified as environmentally sensitive for tax
assessment purposes must submit the information set forth below using an
application form provided by the Department.
| (a) |
The qualifying property must be owned by
an entity meeting the ownership requirements of O.C.G.A. § 48-5-7.4(a)(1)(C). |
| (b) |
The application for certification must
include a property map or survey providing the total acreage of the owner's
property and showing the property boundaries. The total acreage and boundaries
should correspond to the records maintained by the county tax
assessor. |
| (c) |
The application for
certification must also include a map identifying those portions of the
property that the applicant believes meets one or more of the categories in
paragraphs (3) through (9). |
|
| (2) |
In order for the Department to verify the
primary use of those portions of the property identified in paragraph (1)(c),
the property owner must provide a written statement regarding the primary use
of those portions of the property. Where appropriate, the Department may also
require photographic documentation.
| (a) |
Where
the primary use is maintenance in its natural condition, as defined in
391-3-18-.02(2),
the written statement should indicate how long those portions of the property
have been undisturbed and how they have been and will be managed. The written
statement should include as much historical information as is available to the
property owner. |
| (b) |
Where the
primary use is enhancing the water quality of surface or ground waters, the
written statement should describe how the use of those portions of the property
enhance the water quality of surface or ground waters. Any measures being taken
to reduce, control or eliminate pollution should be described. |
| (c) |
For the constructed storm water wetlands
category of paragraph (9), the applicant should provide a signed statement from
an authorized employee or agent of the local governing authority that, pursuant
to Rule 560-11-6-.04(5),
they have inspected the site and determined that the property is being used for
controlling or abating pollution of surface or ground waters of this state by
storm-water runoff or by otherwise enhancing the water quality of surface or
ground waters. |
|
| (3) |
Mountainous Terrain. For this category, the property owner must
provide:
| (a) |
a map showing the elevations on
the property and indicating the areas of the property that meet or exceed the
minimum elevations for that county that are designated on the application form
provided by the Department; |
| (b) |
an
identification on the map of the areas above the minimum elevations where the
percentage slope is 25 percent or greater, measured as the difference in
elevation between two points 500 feet apart divided by the horizontal distance
between those two points; and |
| (c) |
an identification on the map of any crests, summits, or ridge tops that lie at
elevations higher than the areas identified in (b); and |
| (d) |
the total acreage of those portions of
the property identified under (b) and (c). |
|
| (4) |
Wetlands. For this category,
the property owner must provide one of the following:
| (a) |
A map identifying those portions of the
property containing wetlands, as depicted on maps compiled by the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service pursuant to its National Wetlands Inventory Program, and the
total acreage for those portions of the property containing wetlands. The Fish
and Wildlife Service maintains an online Wetlands Mapper tool that depicts
wetlands included in the National Wetlands Inventory. |
| (b) |
A map identifying those portions of the
property containing wetlands, as depicted on maps compiled by the Department,
and the total acreage for those portions of the property containing
wetlands. |
| (c) |
A map identifying
those portions of the property containing wetlands, as determined by the United
States Army Corps of Engineers pursuant to a jurisdictional determination
completed under Section 404 of the federal Clean Water Act, and the total
acreage for those portions of the property containing wetlands. An expired
jurisdictional determination will be considered, as long as the property owner
can attest that the area included in the jurisdictional determination has not
been disturbed. |
|
| (5) |
Significant groundwater recharge areas. For this category, the
property owner must provide a map identifying those portions of the property
containing significant groundwater recharge areas, as depicted on the digital
version of Hydrologic Atlas 18 (HA-18) that is available from the Department,
and the total acreage for those portions of the property. |
| (6) |
Undeveloped barrier islands.
For this category, the property owner must provide a map identifying those
portions of the property that are identified as undeveloped barrier islands by
the federal Coastal Barrier Resources Act, as amended, and the total acreage
for those portions of the property. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
maintains an online Coastal Barrier Resources System Mapper tool that depicts
the undeveloped barrier islands identified in the Act. |
| (7) |
Habitats for federal endangered or
threatened species. For this category, the property owner must make a
site-specific request to the Department for information regarding the
occurrence of federal endangered or threatened species on those portions of the
property that are and will remain undisturbed. The property owner should follow
the instructions for making a site-specific request that are included on the
application form provided by the Department. |
| (8) |
River or stream corridors or
buffers. For this category, the property owner must provide a map
identifying the undeveloped areas of the property that meet the requirements of
(a) or (b) and the total acreage for those portions of the property.
| (a) |
Undeveloped areas adjacent to rivers and
perennial streams that are within the 100 year flood plain, as depicted on maps
prepared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The Department maintains
an online Georgia Flood Map Program that identifies 1% annual chance flood
zones that correspond to the 100 year flood plain. |
| (b) |
Undeveloped areas within buffer zones
adjacent to rivers or perennial streams, which buffer zones are established
under the Erosion and Sedimentation Act, O.C.G.A. Secs.
12-7-1 et seq., or by local
ordinance. Where the buffer zone is established by local ordinance, the
property owner should include a reference to the applicable local
ordinance. |
|
| (9) |
Constructed storm water wetlands. For this category, the property
owner must provide a plat of the property prepared by a licensed land surveyor,
in accordance with Rule
560-11-6-.03(e),
showing the location and measured area of the constructed storm water
wetlands. |
