The Senate gave final approval Friday to legislation re-establishing a 25-foot buffer around the state’s marshes.

Senate Bill 101, which has been subject to a see-saw battle between developers and environmentalists, now goes to Gov. Nathan Deal for his signature.

The measure would give the state power to review projects that gain federal permits. More importantly to environmentalists, however, is that lawmakers have received a promise from the state’s Environmental Protection Division to prevent property owners from building make-shift bulkheads along the marsh.

The buffers are considered important because they help reduce erosion and filter land-based pollutants such as fertilizer and insecticides that threaten the state’s environmentally sensitive coastal habitat.

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 First Liberty Building & Loan founder Brant Frost IV. (Photo illustration: Philip Robibero/AJC)

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Waymo autonomous vehicles operate across 65 square miles inside I-285 and have been involved in six incidents with Atlanta Public School buses since May. Waymo issued a recall because of their cars briefly stopping or slowing down before continuing forward while a bus was stopped and flashing its lights. (Courtesy of Atlanta Public Schools)

Credit: Courtesy of Atlanta Public Schools