– July 10, 2024 –
Good morning! After an Independence Day break last week, Coast Watch has some catching up to do. We start with a challenge to zoning on Sapelo, move along to the difficulty of meeting climate goals in Georgia, review what recent Supreme Court decisions mean for the environment and land finally on newly issued water permits at each end of the coast.
Questions, tips or concerns? Send me a note at mary.landers@thecurrentga.org
Petition filed for Sapelo
Community groups filed a petition in McIntosh County Probate Court Tuesday to force a county-wide vote about controversial zoning changes on Sapelo’s Hogg Hummock.
More than 2,300 people signed the petition that invokes a largely overlooked voter-empowerment clause of the Georgia Constitution, as The Current’s Mary Landers reports. It’s the same method Camden County activists used to quash Spaceport Camden with a 2022 referendum.
“This is about us asking our local officials and wanting to work with them, and them not hearing us, not listening to us,” said Josiah “Jazz” Watts, a community leader who also works on environmental justice issues for One Hundred Miles. “So now we are demanding that they hear us, that they listen to us, the voters.”
Climate goals unmet
Big companies headed to Georgia — including Hyundai — plan to power their production with 100% renewable energy. While that’s good for the climate and for Georgia’s air, it doesn’t look like Georgia utilities can deliver on that goal.
Hyundai had to turn to a solar farm in Texas to meet its goal, as Emily Jones of WABE/Grist reports.
“Key deadlines for clean energy targets are looming, and companies and local governments can’t achieve those goals on their own,” Jones writes. “They need support from electric utilities and regulators, support that some say isn’t coming fast enough.”
Supreme Court disrupts regulation
The Heatmap newsletter had nine attorneys weigh in on what it called a “disastrous week at the Supreme Court.” Decisions in two cases — Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo and Corner Post, Inc. v. Board of Governors — mean courts are no longer deferring to experts at regulatory agencies like the EPA to interpret statutes.
Adam Orford, assistant professor at University of Georgia School of Law, told Heatmap, “The ball is now in Congress’s court to protect the American people by regularly improving the nation’s environmental laws, ensuring that federal regulatory programs that prevent pollution and preserve our country’s natural resources for future generations are not lost forever over legal technicalities.”
Draft water permits issued
The Georgia Environmental Protection Division issued draft groundwater withdrawal permits for Bryan and Bulloch counties’ Hyundai-related wells on Monday. (See links to permits here and here.) The four wells will be located in Bulloch County and will draw a total of 6.625 million gallons a day from the Floridan aquifer.
The draft permits list special conditions, including the creation of a joint Bulloch County and Bryan County fund to address significant impacts to existing Floridan aquifer wells within about 5 miles. A copy of the response to public comments on the draft special conditions is available here.
Before the permits are finalized EPD will host a meeting to seek further comment from 6-9 p.m. Aug. 13 at Southeast Bulloch High School, Auditorium. Stakeholders may also send written comments to EPD at EPDComments@dnr.ga.gov.
In Camden County, the hydrogen power plant, Plug Power, plans to use 1.1 million gallons of water a day from the Floridan aquifer. The EPD issued the company a draft permit last week. The public comment period ends July 31. Send comments to: EPDComments@dnr.ga.gov. EPD may hold a public hearing if there is significant public interest in the draft permit.
The Latham, NY-based company began production of liquid hydrogen at its Woodbine facility earlier this year. The company plans to use the aquifer water for cooling and process water, Plug states in its application. For comparison, the city of Woodbine has a permit to withdraw 0.8 million gallons a day.
Also noted
- The Tybee Island Marine Science Center is offering “Shark Week: Replace Fear with Facts.” Learn what a shark’s skin feels like, why we find so many shark teeth and if they really can smell blood. Shark programming is included with admission July 10-14.
- The Department of Natural Resources’ latest eagle nest survey indicates Georgia’s coastal eagles are thriving. Here are the coastal numbers: 83 occupied nests; 68 successful; 99 young fledged; nine new nests.
- Worried about hurricanes like Beryl spinning up in a flash? Hurricane researcher Brian Tang studies how hurricanes gain strength quickly, which they’re doing more frequently as the climate warms. Writing in The Conversation, Tang offers some hope, though, “The good news for anyone living in a region prone to hurricanes is that hurricane prediction models are getting better at forecasting rapid intensification in advance, so they can give residents and emergency managers more of a heads-up on potential threats.”
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Petition starts process for county-wide zoning vote on Sapelo’s Hogg Hummock
Community groups in McIntosh filed a petition to force a county-wide vote on a controversial zoning change for Hogg Hummock.
Ga. companies and governments push for faster climate action
Companies and local governments can’t achieve climate goals without support from electric utilities and regulators, support that some say isn’t coming fast enough.
FAQ: How much do you know about your water?
As Hyundai increases demands on water supplies, learn about where the Savannah area gets its water and how the supply is regulated and protected.
Bulloch OKs Hyundai-related water agreements despite public concerns
Bulloch County Commissioners approved agreements between Bulloch and Bryan counties to provide water and sewer services and a well mitigation fund program.
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