Georgia’s HR1554 House Committee on Navigable Streams has submitted their final report and it’s good news for private property owners across the state, including for us here on the upper Toccoa!

The Committee issued six (6) recommendations, the most important of which is that they recommended against changing the state’s regulatory definition of navigability. As a result, the privately owned sections of the upper Toccoa River that we enjoy will remain that way for now.

The Committee’s proceedings reaffirmed that hunting and fishing rights do not extend to the public on non-navigable privately owned sections of waterways like the Toccoa River, and they recommended against changing this by keeping the existing navigability laws and regulations in place.

Some parties argued that separate and distinct rights of passage laws provide a legal right for float throughs on non-navigable private waterways. The Committee pushed back on this argument in their meetings and they noted that this is not supported by case law, but it will likely continue to receive further discussion in the future. The status quo on the upper Toccoa has been to allow float throughs so whether it’s a legal right or a privilege will remain a debatable but largely moot point. 

Congratulations to all and thank you for letting your voices be heard by supporting this petition!

Here’s a link to the Committee’s final report: GA HR1554 Final Report