THOMASVILLE — Thomas County commissioners have approved a new timber harvesting ordinance that could make loggers who damage roads pay for those repairs.

Under the new rule, which is being adopted across the state, timber harvesters will have 24 hours to notify the county from when they begin logging on a tract and 24 hours to tell the county when they have stopped. That notice will be needed for each separate tract where timber is being cut. 

“We’ve had a problem with loggers tearing up the road and they would leave and we wouldn’t know who,” county public works director Tony Boddiford told commissioners. “Before, you wouldn’t know who was logging. This way, you’ll know who is doing it.” 

State lawmakers passed House Bill 897 in 2020, setting the framework for timber cutting ordinances. The Georgia Forestry Commission’s website hosts a statewide timber harvest notification page. The new law also raised the fine for harvesters who do not notify the county they are operating and also raises the bond amount for harvesters who previously have damage county roads or right-of-way. 

Loggers will have to provide a map of where their harvesting will take place and a list of the vehicles that will be traveling in and out of those areas with loads of timber. Loggers also must provide where they will be going in and out of those tracts to be cut.

“He has to put down where he’s at, the roads he’s using for ingress and egress,” Boddiford said. 

Loggers also will have to put up a bond before work starts. The bond, Boddiford said, will cover the county’s costs to repair a road or a ditch, “anything they tear up when they are going in and out.”

If the county issues a claim for damages and the logger has 30 days to repair the work to the county’s satisfaction. 

Also as part of the ordinance, timber cutters must put up a sign in each direction 500 feet from the access point. The signs also must be legible and highly visible. 

If the timber cutting operation is not in compliance with the ordinance, the county code enforcement officer can issue a stop work order.