Any activity in violation of this part or of any ordinance or regulation adopted pursuant to this part shall be a public nuisance; and such activity may be enjoined or abated by an action filed in the appropriate superior court by the Attorney General on behalf of the department, by any local unit of government affected, or by any person. Upon showing of any activity in violation of this part or of any ordinance or regulation adopted pursuant to this part, a temporary restraining order, a permanent or temporary injunction, or other order shall be granted without the necessity of showing lack of an adequate remedy at law and irreparable injury. The relief granted by the court in an action filed pursuant to this Code section may include, but shall not be limited to, an order requiring the sand dunes, beaches, and submerged lands to be returned to their condition prior to such violation.

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Sovereign immunity barred injunctive relief.

- In a suit brought by an organization seeking to enjoin the Georgia Department of Natural Resources from issuing letters of permission authorizing land alterations, the appellate court erred by reversing the dismissal of the organization's claim for injunctive relief because sovereign immunity barred injunctive relief against the state at common law and the plain language of the Shore Protection Act, O.C.G.A. § 12-5-245, did not provide for a specific waiver of governmental immunity. Ga. Dep't of Natural Res. v. Ctr. for a Sustainable Coast, Inc., 294 Ga. 593, 755 S.E.2d 184 (2014).

Suit seeking injunctive relief proper.

- Trial court erred in dismissing claim for injunctive relief because the issuance of letters of permission by the Department of Natural Resources for activities that required a permit under the Shore Protection Act, O.C.G.A. § 12-5-237, were subject to challenge under O.C.G.A. § 12-5-245; the center's claim for declaratory relief from letters already issued was properly dismissed because a justiciable controversy no longer existed for which a declaratory judgment would have been appropriate. Ctr. for a Sustainable Coast, Inc. v. Ga. Dep't of Natural Res., 319 Ga. App. 205, 734 S.E.2d 206 (2012).

RESEARCH REFERENCES

C.J.S.

- 39A C.J.S., Health and Environment, §§ 150, 155.

ALR.

- Requirement that there be continuing violation to maintain citizen suit under federal environmental protection statutes - post-Gwaltney cases, 158 A.L.R. Fed. 519.

Syfert Injury Law Firm

2018 Georgia Code 12-5-245 | Car Wreck Lawyer

TITLE 12 CONSERVATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES

Section 5. Water Resources, 12-5-1 through 12-5-586.

ARTICLE 4 COASTAL WATERS, BEACHES, AND SAND DUNES

12-5-245. Injunctive relief.