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Corps of Engineers lifts security camera ban for Lake Lanier docks
lake cameras
Times file photo

 

Security cameras will now be allowed on docks on Lake Lanier.

The Army Corps of Engineers announced July 28 that the ban on cameras had been lifted after a dozen years.

After a 30-day comment period in May and June, the corps received 257 responses in favor of lifting the ban, seven opposed and five neutral responses.

“Based on received comments, the prohibition of cameras outlined in the Lake Sidney Lanier Shoreline Management Plan has been repealed,” the Army Corps states in its announcement.

The Lake Lanier Association supported repealing the camera ban, and Duluth-based corps staff acknowledged earlier this year that technology and public policy had changed to the point that the ban was antiquated.

The new rule takes effect immediately, according to Army Corps spokeswoman Lisa Hunter, and no application is needed to install a camera on a dock. Powering a dock with electricity requires a permit from the corps.

Lake Lanier’s policy change was celebrated on Friday.

“Given the current technology that’s readily available we think it’s appropriate to have security cameras both from a personal safety as well as a property protection standpoint,” said Lake Lanier Association Director Joanna Cloud.

Entrepreneur Matt Thompson, who is designing a remote dock monitoring application to market on the lake, said the change will benefit all residents on the lake.

Rep. Doug Collins, R-Gainesville, complimented the Army Corps for taking public comment and responding “accordingly by allowing Lake Lanier residents to install security cameras on their property.”

“My chief concern is that residents near Lake Lanier and Hartwell have a platform for communicating their interests to the corps,” Collins said on Friday, “and we continue to make progress on this front.”

Cloud also said the corps did well in taking and responding to public comment from Georgians.

Permanent cameras were banned from docks in 2004. The first iPhone was released in 2007, launching the rise of the smartphone and the proliferation of cameras into the public sphere.