The Citizen’s Guide to Fighting Water Pollution in Georgia is designed to help citizens like you understand permitting, monitoring and management processes under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) and help achieve the Clean Water Act’s fundamental goal of protecting our water resources. This 8-step Guide offers insight on the federal and state permitting programs, TMDLs, 303(d) Lists, 305(b) reports, CAFOs and other point sources, and watersheds. Links to the summaries and full-text documents of federal and state statutes are made available in the Guide.

Never before has there been such a need to protect Georgia’s water resources. Rapid population growth, corresponding growth of urban areas, and poor implementation and enforcement of existing environmental laws has taken a toll on Georgia’s streams, rivers, and lakes. According to the Georgia Public Interest Research Group, from 1988 to 1997, the total amount of toxic chemicals discharged into Georgia’s waterways increased by over 400 percent. Now, more toxic chemicals flow through Georgia’s rivers and streams than in New York or New Jersey.

While the statistics on water pollution are discouraging, Georgians have the tools to prevent further degradation of our waterways. The Clean Water Act, passed by Congress to protect our nation’s waters, gives citizens the power to protect our streams, rivers, lakes, and watersheds. While enacted as a regulatory tool for the government, the Act also allows for public involvement in environmental decision-making.

This guide is designed to help citizens like you maneuver through these processes and help achieve the Clean Water Act’s fundamental goal of protecting our water resources. We will take you step-by-step through the process of finding out what type of pollutants are being discharged into your watershed, by whom, whether they are harmful, and how to develop a strategy to reduce the amount of that pollution. We will also let you know how GreenLaw can help you through this process. In fact, we are available to answer questions, point you in the right direction, and even help you implement your strategy!

This Guide is sponsored in part by the Georgia Civil Justice Foundation. The purpose of the Guide is to educate you about environmental laws and regulations, not to advocate any particular position on any of these provisions, and the support for this program by the Civil Justice Foundation is intended solely to educate citizens of Georgia in the law and the process for participation by citizens in the legal process.