-April 10, 2024 –
Good morning! State regulators received more than 70,000 comment letters ahead of last night night’s deadline to weigh in on plans to mine near the Okefenokee. Today we’re diving into some of those comments as well as taking a look at what happens next. We also challenge stereotypes of climate activists ahead of Earth Day. And another story reveals climate concerns from the Pentagon.
Questions, tips or concerns? Send me a note at mary.landers@thecurrentga.org
NEWS
Okefenokee comments
Last night marked the end of the public comment period for draft mining permits issued by Georgia regulators for Alabama-based Twin Pines Minerals to strip mine near the Okefenokee Swamp. And boy, did people comment. As of Friday, the Environmental Protection Division had received more than 70,000 comments, as Jill Nolin of the Georgia Recorder reports. In fact, in its comments the Southern Environmental Law Center wrote that “(n)o permit application in Georgia history has drawn as much opposition as this one.” SELC tallied up more than
a quarter million individual comments at the state and federal level since the project was first proposed in 2018.
Swamp lovers wrote in about the uniqueness of this unspoiled wilderness and their fear of losing it. But environmental groups and scientists also weighed in with detailed analyses that contradicted assurances that mining would be harmless. EPD will respond to comments but has not released a timeline for its final decision. Here are links to full comments from some prominent voices:
- The Georgia River Network alleges the “demo mine” does not demonstrate true impacts to the Okefenokee and that the regulators failed to consider groundwater impacts to the Okefenokee Swamp and St. Marys River as required.
- Professional Geologist Kristen Ritter Rivera , a former EPD employee, questions the integrity of Twin Pines’ data after the company failed to follow Georgia’s rules during its initial exploratory drilling program. A dozen former EPD employees endorsed her letter.
- Georgians for the Okefenokee outlines how it believes the draft permits violate the Georgia Surface Mining Act and other laws.
- C. Rhett Jackson, John Porter Stevens Distinguished Professor of Water Resources at the University of Georgia, notes that the EPD’s modeling of water levels in the swamp does not meet any accepted standards for hydrologic modeling or documentation.
NOTES
Who are climate activists?
Ahead of this year’s Earth Day celebrations on April 22, The Conversation published a look at today’s climate activists. The results may surprise you. For starters, while young protesters like Greta Thunberg capture headlines, many of those speaking out on climate policy in the U.S. aren’t fresh out of school. They’re boomers who cut their teeth on the Civil Rights Movement. And some lessons from that era resonate now: “Nonviolent civil disobedience in the climate movement also plays an important role in keeping climate change in the media and on people’s minds.”
Savannah’s Earth Day celebration will take place from 4-7:30 p.m. Friday, April 19 in Daffin Park. For details on the workshops and vendors see the event’s Facebook page here.
Glynn Environmental Coalition lists Earth Day-related events happening in and around Brunswick from April 19-22, including electronics recycling.
NEWS
DOD opposes more dirty power
Last week we brought you news that Georgia Power had reached an agreement with staff at the Public Service Commission over the utility’s surprise request to produce more electricity using planet-warming fossil fuels. The last-minute announcement of the agreement gave clean energy advocates only 20 minutes to review it before they were scheduled to question Georgia Power representatives in a public hearing, as Southern Alliance for Clean Energy’s Bryan Jacob explains in his blog. The agreement approved items the Public Interest Advocacy staff’s own witnesses testified against just a few weeks before, a perplexed Jacob wrote.
Also opposed to the deal is the U.S. Department of Defense, which recognizes climate change as a threat. It filed a motion to amend the agreement by directing Georgia Power to expand its Georgia Clean and Renewable Energy Subscription Program by at least 1,000 MWs of carbon pollution-free electricity.
The PSC is scheduled to vote on the deal April 16.
Meanwhile, elections for the five-member Public Service Commission have been postponed until 2025, a decision that has drawn criticism.
Also noted
- The Coastal WildScapes Spring Native Plant Sale is from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, April 13 at the Ashantilly Center, 15591 GA Hwy 99 in Darien. Native plant vendors include Florabundance Gardens, Victory Gardens, Naturescapes, and Georgia Native Plant Society – Coastal Plain Chapter.
- Remember yellow-legged hornets? WTOC reported Monday on the first capture in Georgia of this honeybee-threatening invasive. The Georgia Department of Agriculture offers step-by-step instructions for a homemade yellow-legged hornet trap here.
- Eclipse Glasses USA collects used, undamaged eclipse glasses to send to school children in other countries for future eclipse viewing experiences. Contact them at info@eclipse23.com to learn how to donate.
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Time runs short to comment on plan to mine near Okefenokee
Tuesday is the last day to submit a written comment on Alabama-based Twin Pines Minerals’ plans to mine Trail Ridge, which is seen as an important barrier for the swamp, for titanium dioxide, staurolite, and zircon.
State PSC members could avoid voters for years as meter runs on Georgia Power rate hikes
Critics say Georgia Power customers are denied rights to elect members.
Proposed deal would up Ga. Power’s use of climate-warming fuels
Georgia’s largest electric utility would build new natural gas turbines, add batteries and buy more electricity under a surprise agreement filed Wednesday.
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