Center for a Sustainable Coast

05/31/2024

THE TRUE COST OF NUCLEAR POWER - GEORGIA'S VOGTLE ORDEAL

PLEASE REVIEW, COMMENT, & SHARE THIS IMPORTANT REPORT.
https://files.constantcontact.com/2bef2499301/30dc27ee-fe41-4c64-9c68-c14d5966f84b.pdf

Six Georgia-based organizations have come together to publish a report titled Plant Vogtle: The true cost of nuclear power in the United States.

We released it yesterday, prior to the ribbon-cutting that is taking place today at Vogtle, which Georgia Power has organized to celebrate the project's completion on April 29th.

The Center firmly believes this celebration is a deceptive PR ploy, fabricated with misinformation that obscures billions-of-dollars in cost overruns that are being imposed on residential power customers, unjustly rewarding Georgia Power [& Southern Company] with lavish profits for their costly management failures. Please more at https://southatlanticbytes.blog/209-2/

The purpose of the report is three-fold:
1. To empower Georgians with documentation explaining how this plant became a disaster for our state and should never have been built.
2. To tell the truth about why Vogtle was so expensive – and it was NOT due to burdensome regulations.
3. To demonstrate how the state’s biased agenda allowed this giant fraud on the people of Georgia to occur.

05/22/2024

WE URGE COASTAL GEORGIANS TO GET INVOLVED!

PUBLIC REVIEW & COMMENT - MAJOR 2,000-HOME PROJECT IN PEMBROKE [BRYAN COUNTY]

NOTICE of THE COASTAL REGIONAL COMMISSION, May 21, 2024

DEVELOPMENT OF REGIONAL IMPACT = DRI

Review Requested for DRI #4204
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Please review the following information about this development and respond with comments via e-mail to Caity McKee, Senior Planner at [email protected] Phone - 912-696-0149
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The comment period runs from 05/21/2024 thru 06/05/2024.

DRI #4204 Warnell-GSL Cattle Co LLC - PEMBROKE

DRI #4204 spans 531.62 acres, with the landowner pursuing rezoning for a planned unit development (PUD). Managed by GSL Cattle Company, this development will integrate commercial spaces with a mix of high, medium, and low-density single-family homes, totaling approximately 2,000 dwelling units. Parcels involved in this request for rezoning are 011 024, 011 024 01, & 011 025.

Economic Development
The estimated value of the project at build-out is $500,000,000. The estimated annual local tax revenues likely to be generated by the proposed development is $6,646,000. The applicant indicates that there will be a new vehicle plant that is currently under construction within a short distance of the development. This plant is expected to bring approximately 8,000 jobs to the area. With the expected increase in population, comes the need for an increase in the supply of homes in the area. This development would increase the local housing supply, as it will contribute to 2,000 new housing units, which could provide some of those workers with housing options. Additionally, the applicant indicates that the regional work force is sufficient to fill the demand created by the proposed project and that it will not displace any existing land uses.

Water Supply
The City of Pembroke will supply water for this development. The estimated water supply demand to be generated by the project is +/ -0.8 MGD. The applicant states that there is sufficient water supply capacity available to serve the proposed project.

Wastewater Disposal
The City of Pembroke will be the wastewater treatment provider for this development. The estimated sewage flow to be generated by the proposed project is anticipated to be +/ -0.5 MGD. The applicant states that there is currently sufficient wastewater supply capacity available to serve the proposed project.

Transportation
A traffic study has been performed at this time. The applicant indicates the expected traffic volume to be generated by the proposed development is 1,533 total peak hour trips per day. The proposed development will be accessed off of and served by Highway 67, Mason Road, Sims Road, & W.E. Smith Road. The applicant indicates that more in-depth traffic studies will be needed in the future as the PUD develops to determine if any roadway improvements are necessary.

Solid Waste Disposal
An estimated 6,570 tons of solid waste will be generated annually. The current landfill capacity is sufficient to serve the project. Hazardous waste will not be generated.

Stormwater Management
Approximately 53% of the project site is expected to be impervious surface once the development is completed. Each of the proposed development pods will have detention basins installed. Natural buffers will be maintained around the perimeter of the project and between the differing uses proposed in the development. The site will be designed to meet the current requirements as required by Georgia EPD.

Environmental Quality
Applicant states that development is likely to affect wetlands and floodplains. A portion of the site lies within zone AE. Any fill placed within an AE zone requires an evaluation or study to confirm that the fill will not cause the base flood elevation to rise more than 1 foot in that flood hazard zone. This evaluation will be submitted to the City of Pembroke for review with the site development permit submittal. Portions of the site are in X 0.2 flood areas.

Local Planning Considerations
The Character Map designates project site as Suburban Development. The Current zoning for the portion of the project in the City of Pembroke is R-1: Single Family Residential. Once rezoned, the project site will receive a PUD (Planned Unit Development) zoning designation.

Regional Planning Considerations
The regional Future Development Map designates the project site as partially Rural, and Developed, but mostly Developing. Rural areas are not expected to urbanize or require urban services in the next 20 years. These areas are characterized by sparsely developed non-urban areas where the land is primarily used for farming, forestry, very low density residential or open space uses. Developed areas currently exhibit urban type development patterns, and currently have access to urban services. These areas typically include higher density residential areas, along with industrial and commercial developments. Developing areas are expected to urbanize and require provision of new urban services in the next 20 years. These services will include water and sewer service at a minimum.

The ARSA Map designates portions of the project site as an Area of Significant Natural Resources, where Regionally Important Resources (green infrastructure, groundwater recharge areas, wetlands, priority forests, floodplains, and conservation areas) are likely to be threatened by development. A portion of the project site is also designated as an Area of Rapid Development. These are areas where rapid development or change of land uses are likely to occur, especially where the rate of development has and/or may outpace the availability of community facilities and services, including transportation.

The Green Infrastructure Map shows wetlands and floodplains within the development parcel. A portion of the site lies within zone AE. Any fill placed within an AE zone requires an evaluation or study to confirm that the fill will not cause the base flood elevation to rise more than 1 foot in that flood hazard zone. This evaluation will be submitted to the City of Pembroke for review with the site development permit submittal. Additionally, the map indicates that portions of the site are in X 0.2 flood areas.

For more information on this development, please see the information forms at:
https://apps.dca.ga.gov/DRI/InitialForm.aspx?driid=4204
and https://apps.dca.ga.gov/DRI/AdditionalForm.aspx?driid=4204 .

Also included for your review is the: Existing Zoning, Character Area Map, and a Conceptual Site Plan are included.

Please submit your comments to Caity McKee by 06/05/2024.

Sincerely,

Caity McKee
Senior Planner
Coastal Regional Commission
[email protected]
912-696-0149

Coastal Regional Commission | 1181 Coastal Drive, SW. Darien, GA 31305 | www.crc.ga.gov

https://www.savannahnow.com/story/news/local/2024/05/16/developer-looking-to-build-thousands-of-residential-units-in-pembrok/73675497007/

05/15/2024

Center wins action opposing approval of private dock at Cumberland Island National Seashore

The Center for a Sustainable Coast argues more public review is needed for a private dock at the national seashore.

05/15/2024

Letter to Editor, published in The Brunswick News, April 19, 2024

REWARDING EXPLOITATION UNDERMINES DEMOCRACY

There can be little doubt that if our era is objectively chronicled, it will be marked by escalating, corrupt opportunism – exploitative practices being rewarded rather than punished. When the growing injustices of abusing the common good repeatedly go uncorrected, victims grow cynically disengaged while grifters are emboldened and empowered.

Consider two prominent examples related to Georgia’s Public Service Commission, the agency supposedly responsible for representing the public interest in issues related to the price of electricity, as well as how it’s generated and distributed. Contrary to their legal obligation, PSC members have shifted billions-of-dollars in Plant Vogtle expansion cost-overruns from Georgia Power executives and Southern Company stockholders onto residential energy consumers. Southern Company stock-returns and executive salaries soared during the 15-year project, while its subsidiary, Georgia Power, caused massive cost burdens that the PSC converted to a 40% increase in residential utility rates to compensate for corporate blunders. Apparently, the PSC would rather sustain the cushy incomes of company executives and stockholders than protect household energy-users.

Similarly, after a federal court determined that the method for electing PSC members violated the Voting Rights Act, instead of immediately correcting the problem, Georgia courts delayed the next election, extending the term-of-office for two members from three years to five. Moreover, while enjoying their unfairly extended PSC positions, these members helped worsen air and climate pollution for years ahead by irresponsibly approving expanded fossil-fuel-burning power-generation instead of converting to clean energy.

Oppression undermines democracy when justice is flagrantly denied through politically sanctioned exploitation.

David Kyler
Center for a Sustainable Coast
Saint Simons Island

04/22/2024

EARTH DAY 2024

10 POLICIES TO HELP MAKE EARTH GREAT AGAIN

1. Prohibit environmentally degrading activities, based on balanced, thorough assessment of their consequences for life-support systems and at-risk communities.

2. Immediately adopt escalating restrictions on the emission of heat-trapping emissions, with the goal of eliminating all such emissions no later than 2050.

3. Eliminate all government subsidy of activities that threaten or degrade environmental quality, critical species, and social justice.

4. Issue comprehensive monthly reports based on well-researched scientific evaluation of key ecosystems essential to life-support and food supplies.

5. Adopt federal procedures requiring mandatory review of all legislative proposals and existing laws to revise them as needed, based on these ecosystem threat-assessments.

6. Tax all incomes over $10 million annually at a minimum of 20% and provide a 50% carbon-emission-reduction tax-credit for all households earning less than $200,000 a year.

7. Use at least half the proceeds from high-income-bracket taxes to restore damaged ecosystems, correct environmental injustices, and enforce emission-reduction activities.

8. Implement a comprehensive international environmental education and internship program, strengthening capabilities for global ecosystem restoration and protection.

9. Adopt federal requirements applicable to licensed media outlets to eliminate all environmental disinformation, while disseminating weekly updates on ecosystem conditions.

10. Create federal trade policies that strictly prohibit products, services, and practices that degrade essential ecosystems, consistent with the latest scientific assessments.

04/15/2024

Georgia's Energy Policy endangers our future! Please REVIEW & SHARE this message, including the published letter below and a letter in The Brunswick News, April 19, 2024 [posted above], both written by the Center's executive director.

04/10/2024

Please see my letter-to-editor about protecting the Okefenokee, published in the AJC, April 10, 2024

03/11/2024

New Economic Vision Urgently Needed for Georgia

[Please submit a statement explaining your concerns about protecting the Okefenokee against proposed mining risks to [email protected] by April 9, 2024, or email David Kyler at the Center for a Sustainable Coast at [email protected]. The article below was published in the Bryan Count News on Marcy 7, 2024.]

Georgia’s prolonged status as most business-friendly state raises troubling questions about trade-offs made to achieve it.

Consider these disturbing indicators of such trade-offs:
• Georgia is one of the nation’s worst states in ranking of cancer-causing water pollution and related premature deaths.
• While corporate profits skyrocket, average wages flounder and unionization is impeded by state policy.
• Over 200,000 households are disconnected yearly from Georgia Power service due to high utility costs relative to income.
• Inflation is being caused by corporate price gouging, which accounts for about half of recent consumer price increases according to Forbes.
• Electricity costs for most residential customers increased by 40% while industrial rates rose by less than 10%, meaning residents are unknowingly subsidizing industry.
• Tax credits and other state subsidies boost corporate profits, while local property taxes for many citizens rise faster than their income.

The foolhardy recklessness of Georgia’s pro-business fixation is underscored by heated disputes over the Twin Pines mining proposal at Trail Ridge, which directly threatens the world-renown Okefenokee Swamp. In a co-signed written statement, a hundred well-qualified scientists have testified about the unacceptable risks: “Mining close to the swamp has a high likelihood of causing permanent damage” to the Okefenokee.

Engineering solutions to prevent various destructive impacts of the project on the swamp are claimed, but such methods are unproven and prone to unexpected failures. Yet, thanks to Georgia’s business-friendly blind-eye, state officials appear ready to put the Okefenokee in needless jeopardy, just to strip-mine titanium, among the most commonly found minerals. The cavalier marginalization of serious hazards to this world-class environmental treasure is tragic testimony to the abject failure of Georgia’s outdated economic-development standards.

To prevent irreversible damage to the Okefenokee a new vision for Georgia’s economic future is imperative.

As another indication of problems caused by irresponsible favors done for Big Business, consider that despite Georgia developing a Climate Pollution Reduction Plan, the state’s Public Service Commission is considering approval of Georgia Power’s proposal to use still more natural gas to generate electricity. In addition to releasing heat-trapping carbon-dioxide, using natural gas is linked to methane leaks that have far worse over-heating effects than CO2, yet these factors remain unevaluated. Although Georgia’s draft CPRP just submitted to EPA supports the use of clean energy, it is conspicuously silent about curbing the use of fossil-fuels to generate power – presumably to accommodate the profit-making goals of Georgia Power.

Until Georgia establishes a more equitable and transparent procedure for ensuring accountable economic development decisions, the workforce, citizens, and taxpayers will continue to suffer. The adversities of trade-offs to industry include debilitating public health, unfair burdens on taxpayers to subsidize infrastructure needed by corporate operations, and, above all, declining quality of life caused by poor enforcement of environmental safeguards essential to protecting life-support systems and preventing the catastrophic consequences of climate change.

David Kyler
Center for a Sustainable Coast
Saint Simons Island

02/28/2024

Why the Twin Pines Mining Proposal Must Not Be Permitted

Note: The public is urged to voice concerns about this unjustified threat to the Okefenokee Swamp by sending comments to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division of DNR. Send comments by email to [email protected] .

The statement was submitted to EPD/DNR on behalf of the Center for a Sustainable Coast by David Kyler, Co-Founder & Executive Director. This statement and other Center commentary is also posted on the Center's blog at www.southatlnticbytes.blog .
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The Okefenokee Swamp is listed as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Georgia and is the largest blackwater swamp in North America. Most of it is under federal protection within the boundaries of the Okefenokee Wildlife Refuge and the Okefenokee Wilderness. It is the largest National Wildlife Refuge east of the Mississippi River and was designated a Wetland of International Importance by the Wetlands Convention in 1986.

- The Okefenokee Swamp is also the headwaters of the St. Mary’s River and the Suwanee River. Given the unique value and vulnerabilities of the Refuge’s complex ecosystem and living resources, any potentially damaging activities in the vicinity are of dubious justification, and the standards for properly evaluating and enforcing needed precautionary protection measures are so rigorous under these circumstances that the costs would far exceed any benefit of the project.

- The hydrology at the proposed project site is complex and sensitive to alterations that may disrupt and/or degrade the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge (ONWR). Although the applicant has alleged a mining methodology that restores the soil substrate, the proposed technique is unproven. Given the importance of protecting the unique conservation and recreational benefits of the ONWR, we believe it is extremely important to thoroughly evaluate the proposal, to include an EIS review that serves the public interest.

- The escalating disruptive effects of climate change in the area could produce extreme drought, extreme precipitation, or both, which further complicate the ability to confidently predict and assess the hydrological risks of mining at the site and how to control them. Thus, risks of adverse outcomes are not only great, but they are increasing.

- Subsurface conditions altered by the proposed mining operations could significantly alter water flow and water quality entering the ONWR. Even subtle modifications that appear to be marginal could produce significant and unacceptable cumulative, long-term environmental consequences. It is possible that such impacts would not be perceived or measurable until after significant damage becomes irreversible.

- Our concerns are further justified by the uncertain, unreliable, and untested procedures for monitoring and assessing on-site impacts of the project, which – if the project proceeds – would be crucial to preventing unacceptable disruption and degradation of the hydrology essential to the ONWR’s functions and ecosystem stability.

- Initially proposed location of facilities for equipment storage and refueling indicate the applicant’s poor understanding of environmental risks and how to control them, given the site’s topography in relation to the ONWR. It’s our understanding that such planning decisions by the applicant suggest avoidable and rudimentary site contamination hazards. These planning deficiencies also strongly substantiate apprehensions that justify the preparation of a thorough, well-researched EIS.

- According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Trail Ridge is part of a recovery unit for the federally threatened eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon couperi) and “[e]liminating a significant area of habitat from a recovery unit may eliminate the value of the entire unit, and delay species recovery.” A thorough survey of the presence of this species as well as the gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus), recently delisted as endangered but a keystone species, is warranted since it is possible that these species’ habitat will be permanently altered by the disruption caused by surface mining.

Former Secretary of the Interior, Bruce Babbit, who opposed an earlier proposal to strip mine on another Trail Ridge tract abutting the ONWR, summed up our position aptly when he said, "Titanium is a common mineral, while the Okefenokee is a very uncommon swamp." This project has a large footprint which could be multiplied many times by subsequent projects along the Trail Ridge formation.

Additional authoritative objections to the project include:

• U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland urged the state not to approve the mine last year after visiting it with Senator Ossoff.

• The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service [USFWS] — which protects and manages the swamp — has said the proposal would have "major negative impacts" to the Okefenokee.

• In his comments, Senator Ossoff cited USFWS and a report by University of Georgia hydrologist, Rhett Jackson, who said the mining plan "fails to address key environmental issues."

• The Center's own board member, Dr. Jim Reichard, a respected veteran Geo-Hydrologist on the faculty of Georgia Southern University, advises us that, “Replacing this complex layered deposit [at Trail Ridge] with homogenized waste material from the mining operation is expected to cause an increase in permeability across Trail Ridge, permanently lowering the water table in the Okefenokee. This will drastically alter the swamp’s delicate ecosystem and also make it more prone to drought and wildfires. Risking such a national treasure for a small, short-term economic gain hardly seems like a wise choice.”

It would be a grave error to set or prolong a precedent of permitting surface mining at such a uniquely complex, vulnerable and valuable location. To protect the ONWR and honor the public interest that EPD is legally obligated to uphold, this proposed mining activity should be denied.

Respectfully,

David C. Kyler, Co-Founder & Director
Center for a Sustainable Coast

Advocating responsible decisions that sustain coastal Georgia's environment and quality of life.

02/20/2024

Georgia Power proposal to burn more fossil-fuels must be denied.

Many articles about climate change causing higher temperatures provide extensive data substantiating concerns about escalating global heating and related damage like flooding, premature deaths, and crop failures. These impacts are costing Americans over $150 billion yearly in damages, with over half a million homes on the U.S. east coast now at risk.

But too little is said about the urgency of curbing the causes of these threats. Applying scientifically supported evidence about rising temperatures is vital in taking effective action that will rapidly curtail the source of these menacing climate-overheating impacts.

Potential corrective action includes Georgia’s Climate Pollution Reduction Plan [CPRP]. This ‘climate pollution’ includes carbon-dioxide and other heat-trapping emissions released in extracting and burning fossil fuels. The CPRP addresses the emissions of various economic sectors, including transportation, agriculture, and power generation.

Despite the urgency of curbing these emissions, Georgia Power Company is proposing to further expand reliance on natural-gas power generation. Not only does burning natural gas release CO2, but producing and using it is linked to methane leaks, far worse in heat-trapping effects than carbon dioxide.

Unless Georgia resolutely diminishes fossil-fuel dependency, it will be impossible for the state to hit targets for preventing the disastrous effects of rising temperatures.

Doing so will require diligent efforts to replace major sources of heat-trapping emissions – such as natural gas-powered generators – with community-based ‘distributed power’ systems, including extensive use of rooftop solar-panels and on-site battery storage.

Georgians must insist that state officials reduce these destructive emissions by denying Georgia Power’s proposal.

David Kyler
Center for a Sustainable Coast
Saint Simons Island
https://thebrunswicknews.com/eedition/page-a4/page_4a4b27ee-34dd-5b11-86d8-44854b5a2e84.html

02/16/2024

INFLATION IS WORSENED & EXPLOITED BY CORPORATE AGENDAS, ROBBING THE PUBLIC

It is estimated that over half of recent U.S. inflation has been caused by corporate greed, gouging consumers to boost profits.

This price-gouging not only harms households having inadequate income, but it worsens overall quality of life by reducing funds available to invest in community improvements, conversion to clean energy sources, and better environmental protection.

Such corporate exploitation of the public unfairly boosts stock dividends and executive salaries, further concentrating wealth and empowering the elite.

The proportion of Americans who say corporate greed is a “major cause” of inflation has risen by 15 percent since 2022.

02/05/2024

GEORGIA MARSHLAND FRAUD BILL, HB370, MUST BE OPPOSED

HB370, now in the General Assembly, would undermine the longstanding requirement for private landowners to prove that they own a "King's Grant" to win benefits of marshland in Georgia.

But HB370 unjustly imposes this burden-of-proof on the state. If passed and signed into law, the bill would award private ownership to adjcent owners of uplands who make claims to King's Grants when state officials cannot disprove them within six months.

Once granted by default under HB370, these unproven claims can then be used by bogus applicants to dodge taxes by getting credits for conservation easements on marshlands for which there's no proof that they own.

HB370 is a brazen, unjustified landgrab by marshfront property owners to dodge taxes, making the public pay for private beenfits.

All voters are urged to contact members of the General Assembly House and Senate - particularly the House Rules committee - to stop this outrageous, unwarrented claim on treasured marshalnds that belong to the people of Georgia.

A proposal to reduce the legal burden for proving private ownership of coastal marshlands first granted to Georgia settlers centuries ago was advanced Tuesday by a state House committee. The […]