HB143: HB143 Water resources; water-measuring devices for farm use of surface and ground water; revise provisions

Georgia law already requires many farm water permits to have water-measuring devices, which track how much surface water or groundwater a farm withdraws. This bill amends two sections of the state water resources code (O.C.G.A. § 12-5-31 for surface water and § 12-5-105 for groundwater) to update how those devices get installed, paid for, and maintained. The bill sets clearer rules for when the state's Environmental Protection Division pays for a device versus when the permit holder (permittee) must pay. If a site lacks the infrastructure needed to install a state-funded device, the division must document that and give the permittee five years before the cost shifts to them. The bill also lets the division use trained staff to install devices when no contractor is available, requires annual meter readings and progress reports, and keeps penalties in place for anyone who tampers with or removes a required device.

• Lets the state's water division use its own trained and certified staff to install water-measuring devices when no outside contractor is available, at no charge to the farmer.
• Gives permittees a five-year grace period to install their own device, at their own cost, if the state finds the site lacks the infrastructure needed for a state-installed device.
• Requires the division to document any site's lack of withdrawal or irrigation infrastructure in writing and notify the permittee that a device is still required.
• Keeps in place the division's duty to contract for annual readings, maintenance, repair, or replacement of devices at no cost to permit holders.
• Preserves existing civil penalties for permittees whose device is willfully dismantled, sold, relocated, or removed.
• Applies these same updated rules in parallel to both surface water farm-use permits and groundwater farm-use permits.

Georgia farmers who hold state permits to withdraw surface water or groundwater for irrigation and other farm uses, especially those in the Flint River basin, along with the Environmental Protection Division of the Department of Natural Resources, which installs, funds, and monitors the measuring devices.

Farmers with water permits will have more predictable timelines and cost responsibilities for installing measuring devices, especially when their land lacks the infrastructure the state needs to install one. The changes also let the state rely on its own staff for installations, potentially speeding up a process that depends on contractor availability.

• Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 12-5-31(b)(3) and (m.1), governing surface water farm-use permits, to update installation, cost, and maintenance rules for water-measuring devices.
• Section 1 requires the division to document cases where a site lacks infrastructure for a state-funded device and give the permittee five years before costs shift to them.
• Section 1 allows the division to use trained, certified staff to perform installations when no contractor is available, still at no charge to the permittee.
• Section 2 makes matching amendments to O.C.G.A. § 12-5-105(b) and (b.1), applying the same rules to groundwater farm-use permits.
• Both sections retain the division's duty to contract for annual device readings, audits of reported readings, and repairs or replacements at no cost to the permittee.
• Both sections keep civil penalty authority for permittees who dismantle, sell, relocate, or remove a required water-measuring device.
• Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2025-05-08Effective Date 2025-07-01
2. 2025-05-08Act 72
3. 2025-05-08House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2025-04-07House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2025-03-25Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
6. 2025-03-25Senate Third Read (Senate)
7. 2025-03-21Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
8. 2025-03-20Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)

• Robert Dickey (R, HD-134)Primary sponsor
• Lynn Smith (R, HD-070)
• Bill Yearta (R, HD-152)
• Gerald Greene (R, HD-154)
• Charles Cannon (R, HD-172)
• Steven Meeks (R, HD-178)
• Sam Watson (R, SD-011)

1. PassedHouse voteFebruary 27, 2025

   165 yea, 0 nay (8 not voting, 7 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #100

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 25, 2025

   53 yea, 0 nay (2 not voting, 1 absent)

   Passage: Senate Vote #281

• water resources
• farm irrigation permits
• agricultural regulation
• groundwater use
• Flint River basin