Eyeing flood insurance reform

– Jan. 31, 2024 –

Good morning! We have our eyes on vulnerability and persistence today with news about a bill to protect the Okefenokee, an update on endangered right whales and a Congressional critique of flood insurance. Read on!

Questions, tips or concerns? Send us a note at staff@thecurrentga.org

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Supporters push Okie bill

Despite significant bipartisan support, the Okefenokee Protection Act can’t seem to get out of committee in the Georgia legislature.

“The majority of the House of Representatives are co-sponsors of the Okefenokee Protection Act already so it will pass the House if allowed to come to a vote,” State Rep. Darlene Taylor, the bill’s sponsor, said at a press conference held at the Capitol Monday to draw attention to HB 71.

The bill languished in committee last year and supporters don’t want to see it suffer the same fate again, as Capitol Beat’s Dave Williams reports here. (For a refresher on how a bill becomes law in Georgia, see this explainer from The Current’s Maggie Lee.)

The Okefenokee Protection Act would not affect Twin Pines Minerals’ proposed demonstration project, for which Georgia regulators are currently evaluating permit applications. The EPD last week fined Twin Pines $20,000 for failing to comply with the rules surrounding the hundreds of exploratory boreholes it drilled to study the mining site, as The Current’s Mary Landers reports here.

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Whale update

Researchers haven’t again spotted the right whale calf injured by a vessel strike and last seen Jan. 11, but they do have more information about what caused the potentially fatal gashes on its head and lip. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries and its partners, including the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, reviewed photographs and aerial videography to glean information about the vessel from measurements of the propeller lacerations on the calf. “Based on this assessment, preliminary estimates indicate the vessel involved in the incident was likely between 35–57 feet in length,” NOAA Fisheries reported.

NOAA has proposed expanding its vessel speed rules to include boats over 35 feet long to protect the highly endangered whales, which number fewer than 350. Recreational anglers and harbor pilots have pushed back against the proposal, with U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter (R-St. Simons) joining them. Vessel strikes and entanglements are the top documented causes of death for right whales. A young female right whale washed ashore dead near Martha’s Vineyard on Sunday with a rope entangled near its tail, NOAA reported.

There is some hopeful right whale news. Researchers documented two additional newborn calves over the last week, bringing the count to 16 babies this season. The most recent to give birth was “Butterfly,” who is at least 42 years old.

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Congress eyes flood insurance reform

If you’ve been shocked by a recent uptick in your flood insurance bill, this article is for you. In it, Georgia Recorder’s Jennifer Shutt reports on a recent U.S. Senate hearing that called out the National Flood Insurance Program as ripe for reform.

“NFIP’s new risk assessment policy called Risk Rating 2.0 has made flood insurance simply impossible to afford; in some cases policies rising over 1,000%,” Louisiana GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy said.

South Carolina Republican Sen. Tim Scott called for change, including more buyouts of properties that flood repeatedly.

“The program is financially insolvent with over $20 billion in debt,” Scott said. “Instead of educating communities and homeowners on the risks they face, the program’s outdated flood maps and lack of transparent data often obscures the risks.”

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Also noted:

• As a sponsor for the upcoming Savannah Book Festival on Feb. 15-18, The Current’s staffers are reviewing some of the featured titles. Among them is “Of Time and Turtles,” by Sy Montgomery, who also wrote “The Soul of an Octopus.” Her latest is an especially great read for nature lovers in turtle-rich Coastal Georgia. Check out the review here.

•  Georgia DOT in cooperation with The Eastern Transportation Coalition is testing a mileage-based usage fee to fund road construction and maintenance as electric vehicles become more popular. About 125 drivers signed up for the test, which will track mileage with an in-vehicle device for three months, ending March 1. The mileage-based user fee is a potential alternative to the fuel tax on gasoline or the $213 a year flat fee Georgia EV drivers pay.

•  Illinois-based LanzaJet opened its new sustainable aviation fuel production facility in Soperton last week, GPB’s Benjamin Payne reports.

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