PSC elections back on

– Nov. 29, 2023 –

Good morning. As former First Lady Rosalynn Carter is remembered on the week of her funeral, we take a look at an effort she began in her 80s to aid monarch butterflies. We also have an update on a postponed race for Georgia’s utility regulators, and we examine how the true pearl of Georgia’s oyster reefs might be their ability to fight climate change.

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Utility regulators back on ballot

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday issued a long-awaited opinion that maintains Georgia’s system of voting statewide for utility regulators. The three-judge panel overturned a lower court ruling that would have required the Public Service Commissioners to be elected by district to avoid diluting the Black vote.

The PSC regulates monopoly utilities, including Georgia Power, and thus has a huge influence on Georgians’ pocketbooks. Its decisions on power plant construction and green energy projects also shape the state’s carbon footprint. The five-member board is voted on for six-year terms on a rotating basis.

The plaintiffs in the voting rights case have not yet determined if they will appeal. But barring another legal delay, Friday’s decision means three PSC seats will be on the ballot in 2024, with two of them possibly appearing as early as the March presidential primary.

In the meantime, the PSC continues to operate with all five commissioners despite the litigation having postponed previously scheduled elections for seats held by Commissioners Tim Echols and Fitz Johnson. The panel will decide next month how to divvy up costs between customers and shareholders for Plant Vogtle’s two additional nuclear reactors. Public hearings are scheduled for Dec. 4-6 , with a vote set for Dec. 19. Patty Durand, a candidate for PSC commissioner, is scheduled to testify as an expert witness in opposition to a deal that would allow Georgia Power to recover $11 billion from its customers. (Her pre-filed testimony is available here.) The hearings and vote will be livestreamed and archived on the PSC’s YouTube channel.

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Project restores oyster reefs

Oysters were once plentiful along the Georgia Coast, but overharvesting led to a huge decline in the early 20th century. Over the past couple decades, restoring oyster reefs has gained traction as a way to stabilize eroding shorelines. Now a team that includes Georgia Southern University staff and students is working on an oyster restoration project in Liberty County that aims to track the benefits from a climate change perspective, as Emily Jones of WABE/Grist reports.

Oyster reefs store carbon directly by physically trapping carbon-rich organic matter as it flows by in the water. They also help marshes expand – and marshes themselves are very good at storing carbon. In fact, coastal wetlands annually sequester carbon at a rate 10 times greater than mature tropical forests.

The full story of the Liberty County reef restoration is available here.

For coastal residents interested in putting post-oyster roast shells to good use, a map of oyster shell recycling centers is available on the Coastal Resources Division website.

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Rosalynn’s butterfly legacy

First Lady Rosalynn Carter, who died Nov. 19, was well known for her mental health advocacy. But that worthy cause was far from the only one she championed. About 10 years ago, Carter decided to grow a pollinator garden in her own yard, an idea that grew into the Rosalynn Carter Butterfly Trail, as the project’s web site explains:

“When Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter learned of the struggling monarch butterfly population and threatened migration from North America to Mexico, she called on her neighbor and friend Annette Wise for advice on planting the right native plants in her garden. When friends and neighbors in Plains learned what she was doing, they wanted to provide habitat in their gardens to help pollinators. Eventually, a ‘trail’ started of butterfly gardens one house at a time, one church at a time, one library, one state, and so on.”

The trail now boasts 20 public butterfly gardens in Plains and more than 200 public butterfly gardens around the country. Even more schools and private gardens have registered with the project.

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Also noted

• Since last December, Nile monitor lizards, African helmeted turtles, Chinese softshell turtles, Argentine black and white tegus, and Indian rock and Burmese pythons have been listed as wild animals in Georgia. The grace period for pet owners to tag their animals with a passive integrated transponder (PIT) tag and then register them with DNR ends at midnight Dec. 3. Visit https://georgiawildlife.com/Reptile-Tagging-FAQ for a guide to tagging and registering pet reptiles.

• The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has determined that five southeastern species, including one that occurs in Coastal Georgia — the Florida pinesnake — are not in danger of extinction and do not warrant listing under the Endangered Species Act.

• Georgia DNR is again offering Wildlife Viewing Grants to boost projects that help people experience the animals, plants and natural habitats emphasized in Georgia’s State Wildlife Action Plan. Interested organizations, including nonprofits and local governments, can review the program details and apply at georgiawildlife.com/wildlifeviewinggrants. The deadline to apply is Feb. 6, 2024.

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If you have feedback, questions, concerns, or just like what you see, let us know at staff@thecurrentga.org.

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