Wednesday, July 16, 2025
Good morning! First up today we have a look at how vacancies at the National Weather Service office could affect the Georgia coast. Then we turn to a controversial deal struck by Georgia Power at the Public Service Commission last week. Finally, we bring you results of yesterday’s statewide runoff in the PSC primary.
Questions, tips or concerns? Send me a note at mary.landers@thecurrentga.org
NEWS: ENVIRONMENT
Retirements leave NWS gaps locally
The Jacksonville National Weather Service office, which serves 14 Georgia counties including Camden and Glynn, has two leadership positions vacant. They are among the 36 vacancies in these positions across the agency’s 122 local offices nationwide, according to a NOAA list of regional and field leadership. The loss of key employees like these came into sharp focus after the deadly flash floods in Texas earlier this month. The NWS office serving hard-hit Kerr County has the same two leadership vacancies as Jacksonville, as The Current’s Mary Landers reports.
Emergency managers in Camden and Glynn are facing this hurricane season knowing that they not only lost their trusted NWS liaison to retirement, but also that his position remains unfilled.
NEWS: ENVIRONMENT
Advocates ‘shocked’ by utility deal
Georgia Power and the Georgia Public Service Commission last week agreed on a deal that would allow coal plants to stay open longer, improve the power grid, and launch a new pilot program for rooftop solar with battery storage. The proposal has been met with sharp criticism from environmental advocates, who argue that it violates a previous agreement, as WABE/Grist’s Emily Jones reports.
“I am shocked that Georgia Power has withdrawn its promised support for its expansion of energy efficiency programs,” Jennifer Whitfield, an attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center, told the commission at last week’s hearing.
Despite the outrage from advocates, the PSC unanimously approved the deal Tuesday.
NEWS: ELECTIONS
Hubbard wins PSC primary runoff
Peter Hubbard, a clean-energy advocate and former utility executive, won the Democratic nomination for Georgia’s energy-regulating Public Service Commission District 3, and will face incumbent Republican Commissioner Fitz Johnson in November, as Capitol Beat’s Dave Williams reports.
Also noted
- After being fitted with a small transmitter on Little Tybee Island in spring 2024, a robin-sized sandpiper labeled H7 migrated more than 3,000 miles to breed in the Arctic, then launched into a 5,000-mile flight south that July, navigated through a category 1 hurricane and three South American countries where shorebirds are hunted, and returned to Little Tybee this April. Read more about this “Rocky” of shorebirds in this Wildlife Resources blog.
- Regulators are proposing updates to Georgia’s “bird island rule” to add new protected nesting sites for seabirds and shorebirds while removing areas that have eroded, as GPB‘s Benjamin Payne reports.
- The Ogeechee Riverkeeper and Chatham County UGA Extension Office are partnering to offer a Georgia Master Naturalist program. The 10 weekly classes begin September 3 and will include field trips and hands-on activities with topic experts. Successful participation in the required 48 hours of coursework will earn participants an official certification from UGA. Click here for more information.
- The Environmental Protection Division is holding two to public meetings related to wastewater pretreatment permits in Bryan County this week. Both meetings will be held at Bryan County Elementary School, 250 Payne Drive, Pembroke
July 16, 7 p.m.: Draft permit for HL-GA Battery Company LLC.
July 17, 7 p.m.: Draft permit for Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America LLC.
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Retirements leave gaps in Georgia’s weather forecasting ahead of hurricane season
As the height of hurricane season approaches, key leadership positions remain unfilled at the Jacksonville National Weather Service office.
Advocates ‘shocked’ by Georgia Power deal they say breaks earlier promise
Georgia Power and the Georgia Public Service Commission have reached a deal to keep coal plants open longer, improve the power grid, and launch a new pilot program for rooftop solar with battery storage, despite some advocates arguing that it violates a previous agreement about energy savings.
Georgia Power to extend coal plant operations under new energy plan
Georgia Power has been approved to expand its renewable energy generation and keep some of its coal plants open longer than planned, despite objections from consumer advocates who claimed the agreement violates a previous commission order.
Hubbard to challenge incumbent Fitz Johnson in PSC District 3 after runoff win
Peter Hubbard, a clean-energy advocate and former utility executive, won the Democratic nomination for Georgia’s energy-regulating Public Service Commission (PSC) District 3, and will face incumbent Republican Commissioner Fitz Johnson in November.
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