State Okays Pipeline Expansion

The state is giving the go-ahead for plans to expand a petroleum pipeline affecting 500 private properties in Georgia. The Environmental Protection Division issued a permit to Colonial Pipeline so they can build a new line from Alabama to Atlanta through Cobb, Paulding, Carroll and Haralson counties.

A 1995 law regulating petroleum pipelines requires companies report to the EPD on how the line’s construction will affect the environment.

EPD geologist Jim Kennedy says his agency is satisfied with Colonial Pipeline’s findings.

“There were, of course, stream crossings that we were interested in and there were some streams that had some listed species that we concerned about and there were some soil areas that could be highly eroded by water and they have described how they’re going to map these things, and how they’re going to deal with any issues that may arise."

Kennedy says most of the new line will run parallel to two existing pipelines and less than 10 percent will touch undisturbed land. The EPD approval paves the way for eminent domain allowing Colonial to negotiate with landowners to purchase 25 foot easements.

Colonial pipelines connect Georgia to refineries on the Gulf Coast and provide 70 percent of the state’s gas, diesel, and other petroleum products.

Chemical goes unregulated in drinking water

A leaked report indicates the Environmental Protection Agency is not going to regulate a chemical linked to thyroid problems. In Georgia, the chemical has shown up in at least 3 drinking water sources. .

The chemical is called perchlorate. It’s a component of rocket-fuel and has been found in fertilizers and people across the nation. The Centers for Disease Control found it all the people it tested in a 2001-2002 study.

An EPA report leaked to the Washington Post suggests the federal government will not regulate perchlorate in drinking water. That means it’s up to the state to limit the chemical.

Government scientists found perchlorate in drinking water sources in Fayette, Oconee and Houston counties. The levels ranged from 5 to 38 parts per billion. The CDC says rates that high in people disrupt hormones and would require treatment for some pregnant women to prevent developmental risk to babies.

The EPA will make a final decision on federal regulation in December. Public comment opens in a few weeks

Environmental official resigns

The chief of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division's Air Protection Branch, has resigned. The branch is responsible for protecting Georgia's air quality through the regulation of emissions from industrial and mobile sources. Heather Abrams will join the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's regional office in Atlanta.

Augusta salvage yard must pay EPD clean-up

A salvage yard that polluted a neighborhood in Augusta must pay for the cleanup costs.

A federal court ordered the Goldberg Brothers Salvage Yard to pay over 10 million dollars to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division.

Back in the 1990’s, the EPD found toxins including lead and arsenic in the nearby Hyde Park neighborhood. They began a ten-year cleanup that involved removing scrap metal, tires and contaminated soil from the area.

The Goldberg Brothers filed for bankruptcy after the EPD’s discovery.

Closing arguments in coal plant permit case

The state heard closing arguments today, on whether to allow a Houston, Texas company to build a coal-fired power plant in southwest Georgia. Environmentalists say if the plant is built, annual pollution levels will equal the exhaust from one and a half million new cars each year. The testimony before the Office of State Administrative Hearings capped a nearly month long trial. At issue is whether to allow Dynegy of Houston to build a 1,200 megawatt coal fired power plant in Early County.

Justine Thompson is Executive Director of Greenlaw, one of the groups protesting construction of the coal-powered facility. She accuses the state Environmental Protection Division of ignoring the concerns of Georgians throughout the permit and hearing process.

“The EPD, while it’s middle name is “protection,” it considers its client to be the industry that’s requesting a permit, instead of the general public. They basically just adopted the coal company’s position and didn’t adequately review the permit.”

Dynegy presently operates thirty two energy facilities around the country, including the Heard County Power Plant in Franklin, Georgia. Neither attorneys for the EPD nor Dynegy were available for comment.

Companies struggle to slash water use by 10 percent

Today's the first day that city and county water utility companies in North Georgia are working under tighter state limits. But many are still hashing out how, exactly, to get their customers to use less water.

Last week, Governor Sonny Perdue ordered water withdrawal permit-holders to reduce their water usage by 10 percent between November and March. Kevin Chambers, spokesperson for Georgia's Environmental Protection Division, says it's OK that some counties and municipalities haven't figured out how to do that yet:

"Many of them have called us for guidance on this as well. And what we're recommending they do is identify their big users, if they've got industry that is using significant amounts of water, to work with industry to try to reduce their water use."

Some counties are looking into incentives. Gwinnett County, for example, is considering rebates for people who replace their toilets with low-flush toilets. Both the city of Atlanta and DeKalb County are expected to announce concrete water-saving measures tomorrow.

Georgia EPD dismisses outsourcing Atlanta water

A persistent drought has Atlanta's Mayor eyeing water across the border, but Georgia officials say they have no plans to try to tap the Tennessee River. The drought in the Southeast has sapped federal reservoirs in northern Georgia, including 38,000-acre Lake Lanier, which supplies Atlanta. With less than three months before the lake is depleted, Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin suggested recently the region explore piping in water from the Tennessee or Savannah Rivers. The director of Georgia's Environmental Protection Division, Carol Couch, said, "The state of Georgia has no plans to pursue such an idea."

Statewide water ban a possibility

A water ban could soon cover all of Georgia. State environmental officials plan to meet Friday on the issue. Right now the only statewide water restrictions limit lawn watering to three days a week. Eight counties have imposed total outdoor water bans. The Gwinnett Daily Post reports that yesterday the Director of the state Environmental Protection Division Carol Couch said low water levels at Georgia’s major reservoirs means she wants to consider tougher statewide water restrictions.