Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026
Good morning! A controversial proposal to site a nickel refinery in Richmond Hill may have hit a snag Tuesday. We also have sad news about a right whale that Georgia wildlife officials tried to rescue in December. Finishing today’s newsletter is a look at how this year’s PSC races are shaping up. Hint: One race looks a lot like a rerun.
Questions, tips or concerns? Send me a note at mary.landers@thecurrentga.org
NEWS: ENVIRONMENT
Nickel refinery scrutinized
The CEO of Westwin Elements may eventually regret implying to Richmond Hill residents that her nickel refinery was their best hope for cleaning up toxic waste left behind at the old Caesarstone facility, where Westwin hopes to locate, as The Current GA‘s Margaret Coker and Mary Landers report. The possibility of hazardous waste there was news to the county commission, which voted at an emergency meeting Tuesday to have its attorney investigate the claims and trigger a state law that requires property owners to clean up such waste before a property could be sold.
Also up for scrutiny: an expedited air pollution permit application that’s already in the works. Its public comment period is scheduled to end Friday. Despite pledging transparency, Westwin officials didn’t mention the permit application at Monday’s town hall.
NEWS: ENVIRONMENT
Entangled right whale dies
A right whale that researchers in Georgia partially disentangled from fishing gear in December has died, NOAA Fisheries reports. Tracking via a satellite tag showed that the whale, nicknamed “Division,” swam north to New England, then back south again. Flying over the animal, researchers documented worsening injuries from his entanglement. But poor weather and his distance from shore prevented teams from trying to remove the remainder of the fishing gear. Recently, the satellite track showed he was drifting rather than swimming.
On January 27, a Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute aerial survey team documented what turned out to be part of Division’s carcass about 25 miles off Avon, NC. Weather conditions and distance from shore made it too dangerous to recover the carcass and bring it to shore for examination.
While Division’s death was a blow to the highly endangered North Atlantic right whale population, the calving season continues to be a bright spot. A few days after Division’s carcass was sighted, the 22nd calf of the season was documented off Flagler Beach, Fla. The last year to have that many calves documented was 2011.
NEWS: ELECTIONS
PSC elections
Georgia elected two new Public Service Commissioners in November, but the race is already revving up for two seats in the 2026 election. One of those races looks like deja vu, with newly elected Commissioner Peter Hubbard again running against his Republican opponent from November, Fitz Johnson. Litigation threw the usual 6-year PSC term cycles akilter, resulting in what looks to be a repeat of the 2026 contest for this seat.
Republican Tricia Pridemore’s seat, which she’s held since 2018, is also on the ballot. At least one Democrat, Angelia Pressley, is running for that position. (Pridemore is the featured speaker at the noon Feb. 12 meeting of the Golden Isles Republican Women at Bennie’s Red Barn located at 5514 Frederica Road, St. Simons.)
A key point for voters: Each of the seats on the PSC, which helps determine how much Georgia Power charges its customers, is elected statewide.
Also noted:
The Georgia Forestry Commission last month began a forest management project on 75 acres of planted loblolly pine forest along McWhorter Drive on the University of Georgia Skidaway Marine Science Campus. The project includes a clearcut harvest, a one-day prescribed burn scheduled for October, and replanting in spring 2027 with native longleaf pine, a species that provides critical habitat for several threatened and endangered species, including the gopher tortoise, indigo snake, red-cockaded woodpecker and others.
The Georgia Environmental Protection Division announced its intent to issue a temporary groundwater withdrawal permit for water withdrawal of 2 million gallons a day from 45 wells in the Upper Floridan aquifer around Savannah. This is a temporary permit for implementation of a limited term groundwater repositioning pilot study to evaluate the effects of groundwater withdrawal redistribution to wells further from the Savannah cone of depression. The Current GA reported on this study here.
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Bryan County to review Westwin allegation of toxic waste left at Caesarstone site
Bryan County commissioners will review potential nickel refinery site for toxic waste after Westwin CEO KaLeigh Long brought the issue to town hall meeting. The review will likely stall Westwin’s plan to develop old Caesarstone site.
Former Georgia energy regulator launches bid to retake seat
Former Georgia Public Service Commissioner Fitz Johnson has announced his campaign to reclaim his seat, while Democrat Peter Hubbard is running for reelection to the seat for a full six-year term.
U.S. Coast Guard report details multiple errors that led to bridge-crane collision in Savannah
The U.S. Coast Guard determined that multiple errors by a tugboat vessel operator, tug master and crane operator led to a collision between a crane and Savannah’s Talmadge Bridge, causing $450,000 in damages and halting vehicle and ship traffic for hours.
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