Okefenokee updates

– Sept. 11, 2024 –

Good morning! We have a look today at how mining opponents are pushing companies to protect the Okefenokee. We also bring an update about the Sapelo referendum, both in the voting booth and the courtroom. And we have a reminder about upcoming saltmarsh workshops that were postponed by Tropical Storm Debby.

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

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NEWS: ENVIRONMENT

Focus on miners

Twin Pines Minerals, the Alabama-based company that plans to mine for titanium near the Okefenokee swamp, has been getting a tax break based on a promise to keep its land in forest until 2034. It’s a promise not compatible with mining, as attorneys for the Southern Environmental Law Center pointed out to Georgia regulators. The law provides a way out of the covenant, but SELC attorney Megan Huynh calls the finding another reason “we should not trust Twin Pines to mine next to this exceptional natural resource.”

Twin Pines fell behind on its Charlton County tax bill earlier this year and paid a $20,000 penalty to the state related to its drilling of exploratory boreholes for the project. Given these and other missteps, Okefenokee supporters are trying to anticipate the company’s successor. Delaware-based Chemours, which already mines titanium dioxide in Georgia, would be a natural choice, said Annie Sanders, director of shareholder advocacy at Green Century. With that in mind, 20 investors with $700 billion in assets under management wrote to Chemours last week urging the company to pledge to protect the swamp.

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NEWS: ENVIRONMENT

Upcoming marsh workshops

Miami just passed new construction rules that require driveways, pool decks and patios to let rainwater pass through to the soil below, instead of running off onto properties next door, the Miami Herald reports. The idea is to reduce street flooding with these porous materials.

That’s the kind of practical mitigation measure Coastal Georgia could use after its recent brush with Tropical Storm Debby. And it’s the kind of measure found throughout the South Atlantic Salt Marsh Initiative’s “Marsh Forward” plan. SASMI emphasizes both the importance of the salt marsh to coastal residents and residents’ dependence on the marsh. In Georgia, upcoming SASMI Summit workshops (some postponed by Debby) offer coastal communities the chance to learn about future marsh migration and climate-related impacts they’re facing, as well as share priorities for the conservation of historical and cultural sites. The workshop dates and locations:

• 4-6 p.m. Sept. 12 at Camden County Resiliency Operations Center, 135 Gross Road, Kingsland
• 4-6 p.m. Sept. 24 at Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens and Historic Bamboo Farm, 2 Canebrake Road, Savannah
• 4- 6:30 p.m. Oct. 22 at the Dorchester Improvement Association, 8787 E. Oglethorpe Hwy, Midway
• 3-6 p.m. Oct. 24 at McIntosh SEED, 1135 North Way # C, Darien

To register or learn more please visit www.georgiaconservancy.org/coast/coastal-marsh-resiliency

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NEWS: ENVIRONMENT

Voting begins for Sapelo referendum

Early voting began Monday in McIntosh County on a referendum to reverse zoning adopted last year for Sapelo Island’s Hogg Hummock. Election Supervisor Elenore “Doll” Gale reported that 52 people voted on the first day. Early, in-person voting continues from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mon-Fri. through Sept. 27 and 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Saturday Sept. 14 and 21 at the McIntosh County Board of Elections, 103 Jefferson St., Darien. All polls will be open on Oct. 1, 2024 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

As voting continues, so does the county’s attempt to undo the referendum. In late July the county commission challenged the validity of the petition-driven referendum, naming as a defendant the probate judge who approved the petition. A hearing on the issue has been set for Sept. 20 with Superior Court Senior Judge Gary C. McCorvey presiding.

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Just one thing

This week’s tip for personal environmental action comes from the U.S. EPA. One-third of all food in the U.S. goes uneaten, costing the average family $1,500 a year, the agency says. Their advice saves money and reduces your carbon footprint:  Buy only what you need, eat what you buy, and avoid throwing away food.

Send “just one thing” you do as part of your personal environmental action plan to mary.landers@thecurrentga.org. We’ll publish our favorites and credit the contributor. Thanks!

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On our radar

• Cumberland Island National Seashore is seeking public feedback on four proposed land exchanges. By exchanging property with private landowners, the National Park Service seeks to lessen impact on visitors.
  The park will host a virtual public meeting from 6-7:30 p.m. on Sept. 19. To attend use this link and join the meeting 5 to 10 minutes early to test your connection.
  To listen only and not view the presentation, call: (309) 205-3325 Webinar ID: 759293#
• Tuesday marked the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season. Based on the last 100 years of storm records, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration pegs Sept. 10 as the most active day. A secondary peak occurs around the middle of October but it’s mainly for the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico region.
• Heatmap reports that Summer 2024 was the warmest on record in the Northern Hemisphere. “Between June and August, the average global temperature was 1.24 degrees Fahrenheit higher than the 1991-2020 average, beating out last summer’s record.”
  

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