– July 24, 2024 –
Good morning! We’re taking a look this morning at a newly scheduled zoning referendum that puts the future of Hogg Hummock in the hands of McIntosh County voters. Then we examine what’s at stake when elections for utility regulators are delayed. Finally, environmental groups are enlisting federal help to force Georgia to protect its water from the pollution coal leaves behind.
Questions, tips or concerns? Send me a note at mary.landers@thecurrentga.org
Date set for Sapelo vote
McIntosh County voters are scheduled to cast their ballots on the single issue of Hogg Hummock zoning on Oct. 1, 2024, Probate Court Judge Harold Webster announced Tuesday. The county, however, upped its efforts to quash the referendum with a court filing Monday.
The movement for the county-wide vote stems from a county commission decision in September to allow taller, bigger houses in the traditionally Gullah-Geechee area of Sapelo’s Hogg Hummock. Longtime residents decry the move as gentrification that will push them out.
Generated by seldom-employed voter empowerment process outlined in the state constitution, the referendum will be the second such vote this decade in coastal Georgia if it takes place.
PSC elections challenged
Speaking of elections, a group of Georgia energy and voting rights advocates is calling for delayed Public Service Commission elections to happen as soon as possible.
The PSC makes important decisions about real pocketbook issues, like how much Georgia Power can charge its customers. They also influence how environmentally friendly the monopoly utility will be.
The advocates’ complaint boils down to accountability. Litigation delayed scheduled elections and then state lawmakers decided the sitting commissioners could stay even longer. That means they’ve been able to approve rate hikes and dirty power sources without facing voters.
Read the full story from Emily Jones of WABE/Grist here.
Coal ash threatens groundwater
Georgia environmental organizations are pressing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to enforce national standards that would prevent Georgia Power from disposing of coal ash waste in a way that pollutes groundwater. The utility plans to dump 33 million tons of toxic coal ash in unlined pits submerged in groundwater unless federal regulations are enforced, attorneys from the Southern Environmental Law Center said.
Read the full story from Georgia Recorder’s Stanley Dunlap here.
Also noted
- Vogtle’s new Unit 3 quit producing power July 9 – July 16 because of a problem with a valve on one of its main pumps. (Find the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s nationwide “Power Reactor Status Reports” here.) The unit has operated at full power about 95% of the time since it went into service July 31, 2023. The average capacity factor for the U.S. nuclear fleet, much of which is aged, was just a bit lower at 93% last year.
- Summer rainfall can vary dramatically over a short distance. Case in point: Savannah. Official precipitation measures, taken at the airport, reached less than a quarter inch Monday and even lower Saturday. Meanwhile, some downtown and surrounding neighborhoods saw 6 inches or more of rain each day. Saturday’s downpour came at the high tide of a nearly full moon, leaving water no place to drain. Here’s the rain gauge at The Current’s office Monday for proof:
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Sapelo zoning referendum date set for Oct. 1 as county files suit
A petition filed in probate court met the signature threshold to force a county-wide vote on Hogg Hummock zoning, but the county is suing to prevent a referendum.
Lawsuit calls for PSC elections as soon as possible
Under the new law, most of the current commissioners would end up serving at least two years beyond their regular six-year terms.
Environmentalists press EPA to force Georgia Power to follow federal rules for coal ash disposal
The petition says that state and federal environmental officials are failing to protect nearby rivers, lakes, and streams and safeguard the state’s water supply.
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