Gwinnett County, GA Environmental Rules: Coastal Development (2026)

Gwinnett County sits in the Atlanta metropolitan area approximately 250 miles from the Atlantic Ocean and has no tidal waters, salt marshes, estuaries, or coastal zone management jurisdiction. The Georgia Coastal Marshlands Protection Act (GA Code §12-5-280 through §12-5-295) and the Shore Protection Act (§12-5-230+) apply exclusively to the six coastal counties: Chatham, Bryan, Liberty, McIntosh, Glynn, and Camden. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources Coastal Resources Division (based in Brunswick) has no permitting authority in Gwinnett. Water-resource regulation in Gwinnett instead falls under the Georgia Erosion and Sedimentation Act (§12-7-1+), the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District rules, and local stream buffer ordinances (typically 25-75 feet for perennial streams and 50-100 feet for state waters). Gwinnett's water features include the Chattahoochee River (western boundary), Lake Lanier (northern tip), and tributaries feeding the Ocmulgee and Altamaha basins — all non-tidal freshwater systems regulated under inland environmental statutes rather than coastal law.