– December 6, 2023 –
Good morning. This week we celebrate an annual sign of hope — the first sighting this calving season of a newborn right whale in the Southeast. We also have an update on the (probably) last in a series of hearings to determine what ratepayers will have to fork over for the overbudget and overdue Vogtle nuclear reactors. There’s lots more to note as well, from a name change for a bird group to a quiet end for a relatively quiet hurricane season in Georgia.
A big baby arrives
Last week marked the arrival of the season’s first North Atlantic right whale calf, born to a 38-year-old mother nicknamed Juno. Researchers from the Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Center spotted the mother/calf pair off South Carolina on Nov. 28. The calf was less than three days old, and likely weighed at least a ton.
These highly endangered baleen whales migrate from New England and Canada to offshore waters from South Carolina to the mid-Florida east coast to give birth in the winter. Part of the lure of their southernly migration appears to be the Southeast coast’s water temperature, which is not too cold for the relatively thin-blubbered calves but not too warm for the well-insulated mothers.
The whales are arriving this year as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration continues to wrestle with a proposal to require some recreational boats to abide by speed limits when the whales are present. The right whale population is down to fewer than 360 individuals. Vessel strikes along with entanglement in fishing gear are two of the main threats to these creatures.
Rate hike coming, but how big?
Hearings were held Monday and Tuesday at the Public Service Commission on the latest in a series of bill increases for Georgia Power customers related to the cost of building new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle, as Emily Jones of WABE/Grist reports.
The hearings are meant to determine how much of Vogtle’s bloated price tag should be paid by ratepayers and how much by shareholders. But months before the hearings began, the PSC’s Public Interest Advocacy Staff, Georgia Power and consumer advocacy groups including the Partnership for Southern Equity and Georgia Watch negotiated privately and agreed to a deal that would deem $7.5 billion in Vogtle costs “reasonable and prudent,” making ratepayers responsible and adding about $9 a month to the average bill. The company would shoulder the remaining $2.6 billion.
Energy consultant Patty Durand, a Democratic candidate for the PSC’s District 2 seat currently held by Republican Vice-chairman Tim Echols, slammed the agreement during her testimony Tuesday.
“Stipulated agreements should involve all interested parties; otherwise, it’s a backroom deal. And this case was even worse,” Durand testified. “Not only were intervenors hand selected by Georgia Power, but for the first time ever this stipulated agreement was reached prior to any hearings or any testimony from intervenors or members of the public. This is a gross distortion of the public process.”
The commissioners declined to ask Durand any questions. (A video recording is available here. Durand’s testimony begins just before the 1:14 mark.)
The PSC is scheduled to vote on the agreement Dec. 19.
Also noted
• A $9 million project aimed at removing toxaphene from the food chain in and around Terry Creek in Brunswick is nearing completion, Terry Dickson reports in The Brunswick News. The pesticide, which was produced nearby by Hercules Inc., was banned in 1990.
• U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, a St. Simons Republican, questioned the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week during a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee hearing. He asked why her agency was looking at climate change, instead of sticking to “communicable disease detection, investigation, outbreak control.” (Video of the hearing is available here, with Carter speaking at the 2:19 mark.) Director Dr. Mandy Cohen defended her agency’s attempt to address the effects of heat and wildfires, as Clayton Henkel reports in the Georgia Recorder. Joining the CDC in the intersection of climate and health is the Fourth National Climate Assessment, which includes a chapter on human health. And at the U.N. climate conference being held in Dubai, leaders have declared “the climate crisis is a health crisis.” Carter did not respond to The Current’s request for comment.
• Hurricane season ended Nov. 30 with a total of 20 named storms, the fourth highest count in a year. Seven of those storms became hurricanes and three became major hurricanes. Only Idalia, in late August, affected Georgia directly.
• Activists added Home Depot to their list of companies to target for shareholder action related to mining near the Okefenokee, as Dave Williams of Capitol Beat reports. The connection? Home Depot sells lots of paint, and lots of paint contains titanium dioxide, one of the main minerals to be extracted by a planned strip mining operation near the swamp.
• Georgia Audubon recently changed its name to Birds Georgia, as Ross Williams of the Georgia Recorder reports. The new name is meant to better reflect the group’s mission while also distancing it from James Audubon, who, while achieving renown as a naturalist was also a slaveholder and white supremacist.
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