– Dec. 20, 2023 –
Good morning! In this, the last Coast Watch of 2023, we first have a rundown of the week’s environmental news, then we review our favorite environmental stories of the year in Coastal Georgia. The Current’s newsletters (and their writers) will take a break between Christmas and New Year’s Day. Coast Watch will return Jan. 3. Meanwhile, have a happy holiday and see you next year!
Questions, tips or concerns? Send me a note at mary.landers@thecurrentga.org
This week’s enviro news
In Liberty County on Monday, timber giant Weyerhaeuser backed off a plan to fumigate logs with methyl bromide after weeks of public outcry against it. In a statement, the company defended its ability to use the chemical safely, but said it failed to seek public input and engagement on the project. The Current’s Robin Kemp has the full story here.
In Bulloch County on Thursday, community members packed a meeting of the Coastal Georgia Regional Water Planning Council. After hearing an update on wells planned to provide water for the Hyundai metaplant and associated development in Bryan County, residents blasted back at officials. Many are worried that there won’t be enough water to support the county’s farming traditions. Read more from The Current’s Mary Landers here.
As expected, the Georgia Public Service Commission on Tuesday approved an additional 6% rate increase to pay for $7.56 billion in remaining costs for new nuclear reactors at Georgia Power Co.’s Plant Vogtle, as Capitol Beat’s Dave Williams reports. The increase will add $8.95 a month to a typical residential customer’s current monthly bill of $157 once Vogtle Unit 4 goes online in 2024. Read the full story here.
Five faves
Looking back over 2023, some environmental stories stood out as surprising, fun to report, or just plain satisfying because they quenched a longstanding curiosity. Here are our five favorites:
DNR clears illegal encampments from Little Tybee A story that was launched by a tip from a reader turned into one of our best read environment stories this year. A local police officer was among the regular users of unauthorized semi-permanent encampments on Little Tybee, a natural area set aside as a state Heritage Preserve. State wildlife officials hired a barge and spent tens of thousands of dollars returning the island to a more natural state.
Why don’t Coastal Georgia warehouses have solar on their roofs? Warehouses have blanketed Coastal Georgia over the last decade. With their enormous, flat roofs they seem like perfect spots to locate solar panels. More than a year ago, a reader asked, why aren’t they all solar powered? The question nagged at us. It turns out a few coastal warehouses do have solar, including a locally based Savannah beverage distributor. But between relatively cheap electricity for industrial users and low power demand at warehouses, it’s just not an economic priority for most warehouse businesses.
Fact check: Expanded right whale speed rules Right whales have a special place in the hearts of Coastal Georgians. These highly endangered animals are not only a symbol of Georgia as the state marine mammal, but the bus-sized mama whales also migrate to an area off the coast each winter to give birth. When a federal rule was proposed to further protect them from fast moving boats, the sport fishing industry pushed back, aided by U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter. But Carter doesn’t always get his right whale facts right, as we examined in this article.
Georgia’s hedge against climate change: the Okefenokee’s peat Plans to mine near the Okefenokee have put the spotlight on the beauty and habitat value of this blackwater swamp, but this story went deeper, literally, to examine the importance of the peat that lies under the largest wildlife refuge east of the Mississippi. That peat has tucked away at least 95 million tons of carbon, about the same as the net emissions from all Georgia’s homes, businesses and transportation in a year, giving Georgians a climate-based reason to protect the Okefenokee.
The trouble with horses on Cumberland Island Wild islands have a special allure. So do wild horses. The two come together on Cumberland Island where about 150-170 horses roam. But what sounds idyllic poses issues for the horses themselves, which lead shortened and sickly lives, and for the national seashore, the habitat of which is degraded by this herd of non-native animals.
What would you like to know more about?
At least two of our favorite stories evolved from reader tips. What would you like to know more about in 2024? If there’s an environmental question you’d like investigated, or a problem not getting adequate attention, or a situation you want explained, please email me at mary.landers@thecurrentga.org.
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Liberty County log fumigation plant canceled
Log fumigation plant would’ve used toxic methyl bromide to fumigate logs for shipping.
Water plans for Hyundai trouble Bulloch residents
State, regional water officials hear water concerns from farmers, residents at meeting in Bulloch County.
Georgia PSC approves agreement on Plant Vogtle costs
Georgia utility regulators’ approval of over $7 billion in additional costs for new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle will add almost $9 to average monthly Ga. Power bills.
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