Wednesday, May 28, 2025
Good morning! First up today we have look at what happens behind the scenes as a company waits for its permits to mine near the Okefenokee. We then turn to the Public Service Commission, where after years of electoral delay there’s a flurry of activity lately. Finally, we’re obliged to remind our coastal neighbors that it’s almost hurricane season again. Sorry! But there’s at least one crucial way to prepare now. Let’s get ready!
Questions, tips or concerns? Send me a note at mary.landers@thecurrentga.org
NEWS: ENVIRONMENT
Waiting takes a toll
It’s been over 15 months since Georgia regulators issued a draft permit for mining near the Okefenokee. The Environmental Protection Division still hasn’t finalized its decision on the controversial project. For Twin Pines Minerals, the company seeking a mining permit, that indecision has proven expensive. The Current’s Mary Landers took at look at what the delay is costing Twin Pines and how defenders of the swamp are trying to anticipate the company’s next move.
NEWS: ENVIRONMENT
PSC hears Ga. Power’s plans
The Georgia Public Service Commission is in the spotlight this week. First up, early voting began Tuesday for special primary election for two spots on the five-member board whose duties include the regulation of Georgia Power. Every county has at least one early voting location. Find yours here. Early voting continues through June 13 for the June 17 primary.
As that voting begins, the PSC is reviewing Georgia Power’s controversial long-range plans at public hearings streamed live and archived on the commission’s Youtube channel. The regulators will vote in July on the company’s proposal to build new methane gas units to generate up to 9,000 more megawatts of capacity by 2031. Critics argue that the company’s projected demand is overstated and that existing ratepayers could be saddled with the cost of unnecessary electricity generating infrastructure, as Georgia Recorder’s Stanley Dunlap reports.
Georgia Power anticipates much of the increased demand to come from data centers seeking to locate in Georgia. Emily Jones of WABE/Grist reports on how the artificial intelligence boom relates to the resurgence of fossil fuels.
NEWS: ENVIRONMENT
Brace for hurricane season
The 2025 Atlantic Hurricane Season begins Sunday, June 1. Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center are predicting we’ll get to a storm named Melissa this year and may get as far as Tanya. That 13-19 named storms if you’re counting on the list above. It’ll make for an above-average season if it comes to pass, as Capitol Beat’s Ty Tagami reports. “Warm sea surface temperatures (are) probably the number one contributor,” said Ken Graham, the National Weather Service director.
Even without hurricanes, a warmer atmosphere means heavier rainstorms, as Coastal Georgia has seen repeatedly in recent weeks.
Both threats make flood insurance a valuable investment. Home and renters insurance doesn’t cover flooding, so residents need a separate policy for it, as NOAA reiterates. Flood insurance is available through insurance companies, agents, or directly through the National Flood Insurance Program at floodsmart.gov. Note that flood insurance requires a 30-day waiting period.
Also noted
- The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” passed by the U.S. House last week would sunset individual and business incentives created by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, such as tax credits for electric vehicle purchases and for solar panels, despite the broad support these measures enjoy, Yale Climate Connections reports. The Senate takes up the bill next and could restore some cuts, but appears focused on Medicaid rather than environmental protections.
- Interior Secretary Doug Burgum recently signed an order reversing the Department of the Interior’s policy to phase out single-use plastics across national parks and other public lands by 2032, the nonprofit Oceana reports. This rescinds a 2022 order banning the sale and distribution of single-use plastic products like plastic foam food ware, bottles, bags, cups, and utensils in these federal lands.
- Proposed changes to the Endangered Species Act would remove protections for a species’ habitat, potentially resulting in dire losses, a law and biology professor report in The Conversation.
We want to meet your friends! If you like this newsletter be sure to share it. And, if someone shared this with you, click here to sign up for regular delivery!
Awaiting permits to mine near Okefenokee, Twin Pines finds time is money
Doubting Twin Pines Minerals’ ability to mine near the Okefenokee Swamp, environmentalists are pressuring a likely successor to pledge not to take over.
Critics pan Georgia Power’s plans to use more fossil fuels
Georgia Power’s 2025 Integrated Resource Plan calls for more fossil fuels, with environmental groups calling for a more diverse mix of clean, affordable energy solutions.
Climate advocates worry as fossil fuels power Georgia’s data centers
The rapid growth of data centers and the use of fossil fuels to meet demand could have serious consequences for climate change.
The Current GA is part of The Trust Project.
Read our policies.
Support independent, solutions-based investigative journalism without bias, fear or favor on issues affecting Savannah and Coastal Georgia.
WITH GENEROUS SUPPORT FROM
You must be logged in to post a comment.