Okefenokee legislation, whale death

– April 3, 2024 –

Good morning! With the legislative session finished for the year we examine the fate of several important environmental bills. Checking in at the Public Service Commission, we look at an upcoming decision from these energy regulators and another decision about them expected from the U.S. Supreme Court. Finally, we have sad news about the fate of an endangered right whale and her calf seen earlier this year off the Georgia coast .

Questions, tips or concerns? Send me a note at mary.landers@thecurrentga.org

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Okefenokee update

Lawmakers’ on-again-off-again attempts to safeguard the Okefenokee from the effects of strip mining produced lots of frustration but no protections this session.

A popular effort to prevent future mining just east of the swamp on Trail Ridge garnered more than 90 representatives’ signatures, enough to guarantee passage in the house. But the Okefenokee Protection Act remained stalled in the Natural Resources and Environment Committee.

A compromise bill championed by the Georgia Conservancy offered a 3-year moratorium on processing new dragline mining permits on Trail Ridge. It stalled but was revived by a substitute. The final version of the moratorium needed only an up or down vote in the senate, but was never called.

Meanwhile, the current permitting process continues for Twin Pines Minerals’ request to mine nearly 600 acres for titanium dioxide on Trail Ridge. The public comment period for the draft permits closes at 4:30 p.m. April 9. Comments will also be accepted at TwinPines.Comment@dnr.ga.gov. EPD will consider all public comments and may request the applicant make changes to address those comments. EPD will post a response to comments on the EPD website after the official comment period closes.

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Hot energy mix

In a deal one critic labeled a “fossil fuel bonanza,” Georgia Power reached an agreement with staff at the Public Service Commission over the utility’s surprise request to produce more electricity, as Emily Jones of WABE/Grist reports. The settlement was announced minutes before the last round of public hearings on the plan began. The PSC must approve the deal. Georgia Power’s addition of climate-warming fuels to its mix comes after the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced that February was the ninth straight month of record high average temperatures worldwide.

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PSC elections appealed

Black voters who sued over Georgia’s elections for key utility regulators are appealing their case to the U.S. Supreme Court, as Emily Jones of WABE/Grist reports. “It’s kind of an upside-down view,” said Bryan Sells, one of the lawyers for the plaintiffs. “What the 11th Circuit’s ruling says is that Georgia is allowed to discriminate against Black voters.” PSC elections have been on hold since 2022.

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Fishing, private water bills

We told you last week about a bill that could restrict access to some Georgia waterways for anglers and paddlers. That bill passed. Jill Nolin of the Georgia Recorder explains what it means here.

And on the last day of the legislative session last week, lawmakers approved a bill to allow “a private utility to provide water service for new homes near Hyundai’s upcoming electric vehicle plant without first getting permission from local governments,” as Russ Bynum of the Associated Press reports.

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Another right whale dies

NOAA Fisheries on Tuesday confirmed the death of a North Atlantic right whale identified as #1950, a female at least 35 years old. As one of fewer than 70 reproductively active females, she was especially important to the dwindling right whale population, as The Current’s Mary Landers reports. 

The whale, which was seen earlier this year off St. Simons, had already begun her migration north with her calf when she died off the coast of Virginia.

The whale’s death comes less than two weeks after Gov. Brian Kemp spoke out against a proposed strengthening of federal regulations meant to protect right whales from ship strikes, the Savannah Morning News reported.

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Also noted

• The National Park Service has selected Melissa Trenchik as the new superintendent for Cumberland Island National Seashore and Fort Frederica National Monument. She starts April 21.

• Georgia’s state herpetologist has advice for what to do if you see a snake. His first hint comes instinctively to many: Give it space. Read the rest here.

• Is there a bee boom? This Washington Post article explores what’s really going on with an agricultural census that shows a big jump in bee colonies nationwide.

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