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April 2009 News & Issues
Blue Water for a Green Future: How You Can Help Protect Athens' Water Resources
On Tuesday, April 28, from 7pm – 9pm the Athens Environmental Summit, of which Grow Green is a part, will host Blue Water for a Green Future: How You Can Help Protect Athens' Water Resources. The event takes place at the UGA River Basin Center auditorium, 110 Riverbend Road, Athens (see map.)
Abundant clean water is essential to our community's health – and our economy. Come learn about what you can do locally to help ensure that our water is clean and we have enough of it, now and into the future. Speakers include Athens writer Ben Emanuel; Jenny Hoffner of American Rivers; Marilyn Hall, ACC Water Conservation Coordinator; and Heather Koepnick from Thyme After Thyme Garden Center.
This event is part of GreenFest, Athens' annual celebration of the environment. Visit www.AthensGreenFest.org for a complete calendar of events.
 Transmetropolitan wins AGGC's Best Development Award
This year's Best Development Award went to Transmetropolitan. In the fall of 2008 the owners of Transmetropolitan, opened their second location at 1550 Oglethorpe Avenue in the former Helan Auto Parts Store. Brothers Jay and Wesley Russo and their partner Brian Collantuno, with the help of Bona Fide Construction, have provided new vitality to a previously dormant structure with this comprehensive adaptive re-use project, offering the West side of Athens a stylish and locally-owned dining destination. The Oglethorpe Avenue Transmetropolitan is pedestrian-friendly, within easy walking distance of several neighborhoods. The interior renovations have retained the mid-century modern character of the original structure and the flat roof construction of the building provides the opportunity for roof-top patio dining. The award was an original watercolor by Athens artist Jamie Calkin.
General Assembly Update: Transportation funding fails to pass
The General Assembly ended the 2009 session without passing any kind of transportation funding legislation.
Below is information about the fate of bills affecting water, courtesy of the Georgia Water Coalition :
GWC Legislative Priorities
Well Water Protection Passes! HB 552 places a 5-year moratorium on pumping chemically treated sewage and river water into our groundwater. This practice can contaminate vital drinking water sources for many Georgians. The Georgia Water Coalition (GWC) aired television commercials in Middle Georgia informing citizens about proposals to pump chemically treated sewage and river water into our groundwater. View the ad by clicking this link. Learn more about this issue here.
Water Efficiency through Sub-Metering of Multi-Family Housing Fails. HB 158, sponsored by Reps. Judy Manning and John Meadows would have required new multi-family residential buildings to install meters on each unit to more accurately measure and charge for water consumption. Currently most people who live in multi-family housing (apartments, condos, town homes) don’t receive a water bill, their landlords do, so they don’t know how much they use and they don’t pay directly for what they use.
HB 158 passed the House and the Senate Natural Resources Committee, but the Senate Rules Committee failed to put it on the calendar for a vote by the full Senate. The bill remains alive for next year.
Water Efficiency through Drought-Tolerant Landscaping Stopped by Senate Natural Resources Committee. HB 262, sponsored by Reps. Calvin Hill and Tom McCall would have allowed homeowners belonging to homeowners’ associations to plant drought-tolerant landscaping (also called xeriscaping). Some homeowners’ associations have covenants that prevent homeowners from planting drought-tolerant landscaping.
A weakened version of HB 262 passed the House but died in the Senate Natural Resources Committee.
Rollbacks We Opposed
Damaging Special Interest Reservoir Stopped. HB 406 would have undermined existing intergovernmental service agreements, discouraging water utilities from investing in existing water systems and would have had statewide impacts on the revenue bond market. This bill would have made it more difficult to finance infrastructure projects, creating problems statewide.
HB 406 failed to get the majority vote needed to pass the Senate and was sent back to the Senate Rules Committee, where it can be taken up again next year.
Bill to Eliminate Judges’ Ability to Neutrally Interpret Environmental Laws Fails. SB 229, sponsored by Senators Tolleson, Williams, and Johnson, would have fundamentally changed the administrative appeals process for all environmental appeals in Georgia by taking away the ability of a judge to act as a neutral interpreter of the law.
SB 229 was defeated when it failed to get the majority vote needed by the Senate.
Amendment To Open The Door To Water Permit Trading Stopped. HB 169 was written to require notice to landowners if their property is classified as a floodplain on new FEMA Flood Maps. But an amendment was proposed to require EPD to allow water to be shifted from one water withdrawal permit to another permit held by the same permittee, opening the door to permit trading and the end of water regulation.
The amendment was removed when HB 169 was considered and passed by the Senate Natural Resources Committee.
Stream Buffer Destruction Bill Passes. SB 155, sponsored by Senators Pearson, Tolleson, Williams, Rogers, and Chance, exempts what they are defining as “ephemeral streams” from having state mandated buffers, creating uncertainty and confusion around which streams require buffers. This bill was unnecessary because property owners are already protected under existing Georgia law and Department of Natural Resources rules, which allow for variances from buffer requirements for all waters.
The bill passed the House and Senate now awaits the Governor’s signature.
Bill Creating Legal Uncertainty Around Buffers Fails to Move Forward. SB 228, sponsored by Senators Tolleson, Grant, and Bulloch, aimed to protect buffers along Georgia’s coastal marshes. However, it would have also created a broad statewide exemption from buffers for stormwater detention basins and water amenity features.
The bill was amended and passed by the Senate but failed to pass the House Natural Resources & Environment Committee, where it can be taken up again next year.
Get Involved!
Join us! Grow Green members are working on a variety of land use issues: the local elections, TDRs, affordable housing, and greenspace protection, to name a few. You can download a membership form and mail it and a check for annual dues to:
Thank you!
Check out "Thinking About Getting Involved In Government And Community Issues?" by John Huie. If you haven't already joined our listserve, please sign up!
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