FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Saturday, September 30, 2006

Chambliss, Isakson Bill Assists Property Owners on Jekyll Island

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senators Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., and Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., today praised final Senate approval of legislation that will allow private property owners on Jekyll Island to qualify for federal flood insurance.    

The Georgia barrier island was designated as an “Otherwise Protected Area” after a 1990 revamp of the Coastal Barrier Resources Act, making private property owners ineligible for federal flood insurance. The tools used at that time to determine if Jekyll Island should be included in this category incorrectly identified the island as being entirely undeveloped.   

Because the state of Georgia allows up to 35 percent of the Jekyll Island to be leased for development by private individuals, and because Jekyll Island was already privately developed, these areas should not have been designated as an Otherwise Protected Area. 

“This mistake has kept homeowners and commercial developers on Jekyll Island from making much needed improvements and renovations to their properties, or even rebuilding after fires or natural disasters,” said Chambliss. 

“This legislation will correct a problem that never should have happened in the first place, and I am pleased we could help the property owners on Jekyll Island requalify for flood insurance,” Isakson said.

The Chambliss/Isakson legislation corrects this mistake and removes the privately developed areas of Jekyll Island from the Otherwise Protected Area designation and allows private property owners to requalify for federal flood insurance. The legislation also increases the number of acres of federally protected land on Georgia’s coast to ensure the net acreage of protected land is essentially the same.

The legislation was sponsored in the U.S. House of Representatives by Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Ga., where it received unanimous approval on Tuesday. It now goes to President Bush for his signature. 

“I am pleased that Johnny, Jack and I were able to correct this error and set things straight for folks who work, live and play on Jekyll Island,” said Chambliss.

“This bill strikes the right balance between the need for residents to be able to protect their property and the need to protect federal lands along Georgia’s coast,” Isakson said.