DEPARTMENT
OF
AUDITS
AND
ACCOUNTS
270 Washington Street, S.W., Suite 1-156
Atlanta, Georgia 30334-8400
270 Washington Street, S.W., Suite 1-156
Atlanta, Georgia 30334-8400
Russell W.
Hinton
State Auditor
(404) 656-2174
State Auditor
(404) 656-2174
January
7, 2008
Honorable Chip
Pearson
State Senator
Paul D. Coverdell Office Building, Room 321-B
Atlanta, Georgia 30334
State Senator
Paul D. Coverdell Office Building, Room 321-B
Atlanta, Georgia 30334
SUBJECT: Fiscal
Note
Senate Bill
(LC 25 5008)
Dear
Senator Pearson:
This
bill would expand the duties of the State Soil and Water Conservation Commission
(SWCC) to provide up to 20% of the cost of obtaining permits for constructing
improvements to dams that were originally constructed and financially assisted
by the federal Natural Resources Conservation Service, provided that matching
federal funds are available for such use. In addition, the bill would allow the
SWCC to fund up to 40% of the cost of obtaining a permit for the construction of
any new public water supply reservoirs. The bill would also require the state
Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to make available, in a single collection,
all forms necessary for permit applications regarding new public water supply
reservoirs.
The
SWCC indicated that, as this would be an entirely new function for them, they
were unable to estimate the volume and associated costs of obtaining the dam or
reservoir permits. However, they indicated that their budget currently does not
include funding for either the 20% of permit costs for dam improvements or the
40% of permit costs for new reservoir construction. Consequently, the cost
estimates included below are exclusive of additional appropriation amounts that
may be needed to fund these permit costs.
The
estimated first-year cost to implement the provisions of this bill total
approximately $154,500, with an estimated cost of about $137,500 for each
following year. The SWCC estimates that, at a minimum, two additional full-time
staff, consisting of an engineer and a resource specialist, would be necessary
to assess dam and reservoir improvements in order to comply with permit
requirements. The salary and benefits of these staff, plus the purchase of a
vehicle total approximately $150,000. In addition, if the timetable for the
implementation of this new program exceeds the availability of SWCC’s
legal counsel, outside counsel would be needed to write the new policies,
costing an estimated $4,500.
The
DNR indicated that there would be no significant fiscal impact to the agency
associated with this bill.
Respectfully,
/s/ Russell W.
Hinton
State Auditor
State Auditor
/s/ Trey Childress, Director
Office of Planning and Budget
Office of Planning and Budget
RWH/SCN/jr/bb