TITLE 50 STATE GOVERNMENT

Section 2. Boundaries and Jurisdiction of the State, 50-2-1 through 50-2-28.

ARTICLE 1 STATE BOUNDARIES

50-2-2. Boundary between Georgia and South Carolina.

The boundary between Georgia and South Carolina shall be the line described as running from the mouth of the River Savannah, up said river and the Rivers Tugalo and Chattooga, to the point where the last-named river intersects with the thirty-fifth parallel of north latitude, conforming as much as possible to the line agreed on by the commissioners of said states at Beaufort on April 28, 1787, except for the Barnwell Islands and the Oyster Bed Island in the River Savannah; provided, however, that the boundary along the lower reaches of the Savannah River, and the lateral seaward boundary, shall be more particularly described as being:

BEGINNING at a point 32 degrees 07 minutes 00 seconds North Latitude and 81 degrees 07 minutes 00 seconds West Longitude, located in the Savannah River, and proceeding in a southeasterly direction down the thread of the Savannah River equidistant between the banks of the River on Hutchinson Island and on the mainland of South Carolina, including the small downstream island southeast of the aforesaid point, at ordinary stage, until reaching the vicinity of Pennyworth Island;

Proceeding thence easterly down the thread of the northernmost channel of the Savannah River as it flows north of Pennyworth Island, making the transition to the said northernmost channel using the triequidistant method between Pennyworth Island, the Georgia bank on Hutchinson Island, and the South Carolina mainland bank, thence to the thread of the said northernmost channel equidistant from the South Carolina mainland bank and Pennyworth Island at ordinary stage, around Pennyworth Island;

Proceeding thence southeasterly to the thread of the northern channel of the Savannah River equidistant from the Georgia bank on Hutchinson Island and the South Carolina mainland bank, making the transition utilizing the triequidistant method between Pennyworth Island, the Georgia bank on Hutchinson Island, and the South Carolina mainland bank;

Proceeding thence southeasterly down the thread of the Savannah River equidistant from the Hutchinson Island and South Carolina mainland banks of the river at ordinary stage, through the tide gates, until intersecting the northwestern (farthest upstream) boundary of the "Back River Sediment Basin," as defined in the "Annual Survey - 1992, Savannah Harbor, Georgia, U.S. Coastal Highway, No. 17 to the Sea," U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District, as amended by the Examination Survey - 1992 charts for the Savannah Harbor Deepening Project, Drawings No. DSH 112/107, (hereinafter the "Channel Chart");

Proceeding thence along the said northwestern boundary to its intersection with the northern boundary of the Back River Sediment Basin, in a generally southeasterly direction until said boundary intersects the northern boundary of the main navigational channel as depicted on the Channel Chart at the point designated as SR-34 (Georgia State Grid, East Zone, 1927 NAD, coordinates x=849479.546, y=759601.757);

Proceeding thence toward the mouth of the Savannah River along the northern boundary of the main navigational channel at the new channel limit as depicted on the Channel Chart, via Oglethorpe Range through point SR-33 (coordinates x=853126.849, y=761229.575), Fort Jackson Range through point SR-32 (coordinates x=854568.183, y=762555.255), the Bight Channel through points SR-31 (coordinates x=855854.367, y=765145.946), SR-30 (coordinates x=857363.583, y=766237.604), SR-29 (coordinates x=858471.561, y=766530.527), SR-28 (coordinates x=859881.928, y=766491.887), and SR-27 (coordinates x=861359.826, y=765804.794), Upper Flats Range through point SR-26 (coordinates x=863655.959, y=763821.629), Lower Flats Range through points SR-25 (coordinates x=865361.347, y=759910.744), SR-24 (coordinates x=866413.099, y=758260.171), SR-23 (coordinates x=867339.230, y=757647.194), SR-22 (coordinates x=870024.011, y=756511.390), and SR-21 (coordinates x=873855.646, y=755906.677), Crossing Range through points SR-20 (coordinates x=875581.821, y=754992.833), and SR-19 (coordinates x=884667.253, y=744780.789) and New Channel Range around the Rehandling Basin, and along the northern boundary of the Oyster Bed Island Turning Basin through point SR-16 (coordinates x=894907.977, y=742529.752), to the easternmost end of Oyster Bed Island at Navigational Buoy R "24";

Proceeding thence from Navigational Buoy R "24" easterly along the mean low water line of Oyster Bed Island to the point at which the mean low water line of Oyster Bed Island intersects the Oyster Bed Island Training Wall;

Proceeding thence along the southern edge of the Oyster Bed Island Training Wall until reaching the Jones Island Range line;

Proceeding thence southeasterly along the Jones Island Range line until reaching the northern boundary of the main navigational channel as depicted on the Channel Chart;

Proceeding thence southeasterly along the northern boundary of the main navigational channel as depicted on the Channel Chart to Navigational Buoy R "6," via Jones Island Range and Bloody Point Range; and finally

Proceeding thence in an easterly direction from Navigational Buoy R "6" in a straight line forming the seaward lateral boundary line to the seaward limit of Georgia as now or hereafter fixed by the Congress of the United States, said boundary line bearing approximately 104 degrees from magnetic north, the bearing of said line being more particularly described as being at right angles to the baseline from the southernmost point of Hilton Head Island and the northernmost point of Tybee Island, drawn by the Baseline Committee in 1970.

Provided, however, that the boundary shall be as more particularly shown by reference to the United States Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) GPS coordinates on a map to be prepared by NOAA as a part of the survey commissioned by the States of Georgia and South Carolina in order to locate this boundary. In case of any conflict between the verbal description set forth hereinabove and the map locating the boundary with reference to GPS points, the location shown on the map shall prevail.

Provided, further, that nothing herein shall in any way be deemed to govern or affect in any way the division between the states of the remaining assimilative capacity, that is, the capacity to receive wastewater and other discharges without violating water quality standards, of the portion of the Savannah River described herein.

(Orig. Code 1863, § 18; Code 1868, § 16; Code 1873, § 16; Code 1882, § 16; Civil Code 1895, § 17; Civil Code 1910, § 17; Code 1933, § 15-102; Ga. L. 1994, p. 824, § 2.)