– Dec. 14, 2022 –
Right whales return
The coast-hugging, bus-sized beasts once hunted nearly to extinction because they were the “right” whale to hunt have returned once again to Georgia to give birth. Two North Atlantic right whale calves and their mothers were spotted last week, one pair off St. Catherines and the other off Little St. Simons. Researchers who routinely fly aerial surveys searching for the whales also posted photos of an adult female named Viola who last gave birth 12 years ago. So far they haven’t seen a calf with Viola, but flippers crossed. Right whales have had a tough few years with scientists documenting 34 deaths since 2017, most from vessel strikes or entanglement in fishing gear. Climate change has heightened those threats by pushing the whales out of their typical feeding areas and into places where they encounter more ships and fishing gear.
Clay George, a DNR biologist who coordinates the state’s work on marine mammals, says right whales can’t reproduce fast enough to overcome these threats. More protection is needed. Fishermen in the Southeast are testing ropeless gear as one solution. And NOAA is calling for an expansion of its speed rules to include recreational boats under 65 feet long, which are currently exempt but have been involved in lethal whale strikes.
Check out mom and calf photos here as the season progresses.
Interior secretary speaks out on swamp
Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland was silent on the issue of mining when she visited the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in September. And swamp supporters were sorely disappointed. But last week we learned that Haaland, the first Native American to serve as a cabinet secretary, wrote to Gov. Brian Kemp about the issue last month. She was direct with the governor: “I strongly recommend that the State of Georgia not move ahead with approval for this proposed mine in order to ensure that the swamp and refuge are appropriately protected, consistent with all appropriate legal processes,” Haaland wrote in the Nov. 22 letter obtained by The Current.
Alabama-based Twin Pines Minerals plans to mine for titanium dioxide about 3 miles from the refuge’s border in Charlton County. A series of federal decisions created an on-again, off-again need for permitting from the Corps of Engineers that ended in Twin Pines’ favor after the company sued the agency. The company needs only state permits to be cleared to begin. But recent correspondence from state regulators to Twin Pines indicated those permits hit a new snag: The company may have drilled more than 350 boreholes around the site without having the required credentials to do so. Regulators are waiting for documentation from Twin Pines.
Will 2023 be Vogtle’s year?
Nearly seven years after it was initially slated for completion, the first of two new nuclear reactors is finally due to go into service early next year at Plant Vogtle on the Savannah River, Capitol Beat’s Dave Williams reports. The second reactor, which was supposed to go into service in 2017, is now looking to be up and running at the end of 2023. Georgia Power, Oglethorpe Power, MEAG Power and Dalton Utilities are the co-owners of the facility, the first new nuclear built in the U.S. in 30 years. Along with being long overdue, the nuclear reactors will cost more than double the initial estimate of $14 billion.
The average Georgia Power residential customer has already paid more than about $1,000 in total for the financing costs associated with the project. That finance fee was first imposed in 2011 and since then has ranged from about 6% to nearly 11% of the base bill. Listed on bills as NCCR, for Nuclear Construction Cost Recovery, the fee will go away once the units are operating. That’s the good news. The bad news is that customers will then start paying for the most expensive power plant ever built. Georgia Power is expected to ask for rate increases in the next few years to cover that cost.
If you have feedback, questions, concerns, or just like what you see, let us know at thecurrentga@gmail.com.
First two right whale calves of the season spotted off Georgia coast
Researchers spotted the first North Atlantic right whale mom and calf pair of the 2022-2023 season Wednesday off the coast of St. Catherines Sound.
Interior Secretary to Georgia: Reject mining near Okefenokee
Two months after Interior Secretary Deb Haaland visited the iconic south Georgia swamp, she urged Georgia to protect the Okefenokee by rejecting a proposed mine nearby.
Visit from Interior Secretary shines a light on Okefenokee supporters
Interior Sec. Deb Haaland toured the Okefenokee but hasn’t yet weighed in on the issue of proposed strip mining nearby
Georgia Power completes key testing milestone at Plant Vogtle
The two reactors were originally expected to go into service in 2016 and 2017, respectively. But the work was delayed by the bankruptcy of Westinghouse Electric, the original prime contractor on the project, as well as pandemic-related disruptions to the construction workforce.
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