Cumberland Harbour (GA)
Georgia Supreme Court examines coastal protections in case brought by SELC
The future of a key coastal protection law in Georgia is now in the hands of the Georgia Supreme Court. In a case brought by SELC concerning a major coastal development near Cumberland Island National Seashore, the court has its first opportunity to interpret the state’s Coastal Marshland's Protection Act.
©FL Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission/NOAA
The North Atlantic right whale is the most endangered whale off the American coast, with strikes by boats a leading cause of death. Placing more than 800 new boats in the waters that serve as the whale’s only known calving grounds will threaten the survival of this entire species.
At issue is our challenge of Cumberland Harbour, a massive proposed marina and residential resort. SELC won a series of legal decisions under the Coastal Marshlands Protection Act that compel the state to prevent such developments from jeopardizing the salt marsh and other sensitive resources. In July 2007, the Georgia Court of Appeals issued a ruling that ignored our lower-court successes and fell far short of providing marshlands the protection they deserve under state law. The Georgia Supreme Court, which heard oral argument in the case on May 19, now has the chance to restore our victories.
Cumberland Harbour, the largest marina project ever permitted in Georgia, is directly across the sound from Cumberland Island National Seashore (see map). In April 2005, SELC filed suit against Georgia’s Coastal Marshlands Protection Committee for its decision to grant a permit to this development, which would increase polluted runoff in the marsh, degrade water quality, and harm wildlife. The Court of Appeals’ decision overturned a previous ruling by a Georgia administrative law judge that rejected the permit for Cumberland Harbour and found that state regulators must consider the impact of the entire project (not just the portion to be constructed in the marsh) on the state’s marshlands.
As planned, Cumberland Harbour would bring more than 800 boats to the area, greatly elevating the risk of boat strikes to the federally and state-protected species that live in nearby waters, including manatees, sea turtles, and the North Atlantic right whale—the most endangered large whale species in the world. With a global population that hovers around 300, the right whale calves in waters off the Georgia coast. Just a month after the Cumberland Harbour project received its permit, a recreational boat of similar size to the ones that would be docked at the development struck a right whale off of Cumberland Island. The project also threatens habitat for federally protected wood storks and Eastern indigo snakes, as well as state-protected gopher tortoises.
