Collins Questions Corps Decision in Letter

A letter from 9th District U.S. Representative Doug Collins to the Army Corps of Engineers is questioning the Corps’ recent policy change regarding the application process for residents to apply for Shoreline Use Permits and licenses.

Joining Collins in sending the letter were the Lake Hartwell Association and the Lake Lanier Association.

The congressman and the groups are questioning December’s announcement by the Corps that the Savannah District will no longer use a consolidated SUP and license application, but will require them to be separate documents, with both documents requiring the applicant to provide a taxpayer identification number, which for most people, is their Social Security number.

Collins said that while the Corps insists that this change is minor, it imposes a huge burden on homeowners on the affected lakes, including multiple lakes in the Ninth District, such as Hartwell.

Collins said that describing a change that will alter a decades-long policy as ‘administrative’ is flippant, and dismissive of the thousands of property owners who have put down roots in these communities.

Also, Collins noted that residents received little, if any, notice of the changed policy, despite the fact that it is likely to increase fees and significantly slow down the permit process because more offices will be involved.

According to Collins changing a process that used to be simple into a bureaucratic maze, and forcing applicants to submit personal information that has little to do with the situation, is unnecessary and only serves to further weaken the relationship between the community and the Corps.

He said he hopes that this can be resolved in the same manner as the sudden policy changes that prohibited residents from drawing water from the lakes, when public opinion was enough to get the Corps to reconsider.

Meanwhile, Lake Hartwell Association Executive Director Herb Burnham said that the group, on behalf of the more than 11,000 permit holders on Lake Hartwell, is extremely disappointed in the Corps’ decision to create a less efficient and more bureaucratic system.

Burnham said this will certainly lead to higher fees for permit holders, adding that at a time when government should aim for higher efficiency, this accomplishes the exact opposite.

In the letter, Collins asked for the Corps to re-consider the changes and open them up to public comment.

He also asked the Corps to answer a series of questions about how this decision was reached.