Energy & Environment
Attacks on power substations elsewhere spur Georgia House to stiffen penalties for infrastructure sabotage
House lawmakers have approved extra prison time for anyone who intentionally attacks – physically or electronically – a utility substation or any other “vital public service.” The bill, sponsored by Elberton Republican Rep. Rob Leverett, could mean as much as an additional 10 years in prison if a prosecutor can prove the attack was carried […]
Sierra Club study finds Georgia Power’s Bartow County coal-fired plant among country’s dirtiest
A new Sierra Club study estimates that coal-fired power Plant Bowen in Bartow County is one of the nation’s most out-of-control polluters with its smokestacks to blame for 59 premature deaths in the last few years. The Sierra Club report ranks Bowen as the 17th most dangerous in the nation, primarily caused by the soot-emitting […]
Georgia House poised to set new regulations, oversight for state’s growing rooftop solar market
The Georgia House could cast a vote on as early as this week on a bill that would give the Public Service Commission the sweeping power to regulate solar panel installers and set guidelines designed to weed out companies that saddle customers with overpriced equipment and make false claims about how much the solar panels […]
Georgia Power got the ‘gold mine’ … we got the ‘shaft’
The headline read: “Southern Co. reports huge rise in profits.” The subhead reported: “$1.1 billion jump noted despite big financial hit from Vogtle delays.” I am not against seeing Georgia Power or its parent, the Southern Company, make ample money. Profits are essential for staying in business. And in their case, keeping investors happy. The […]
Federal-state task force grapples with grid protection
A federal task force wrestled with the costs and benefits of better shielding the nation’s tens of thousands of electric substations from a growing number of attacks, like a neo-Nazi plot the FBI says it foiled earlier this month in Maryland, another that knocked out power to thousands in North Carolina in December and more […]
Longtime tensions over federal wetlands rule return in U.S. House WOTUS hearing
A U.S. House panel renewed the decades-long fight Wednesday over how standing waters on farmland and other private property should be defined and regulated by federal authorities, with Republicans calling for a pause until the U.S. Supreme Court can provide more clarity. The definition of so-called Waters of the United States, or WOTUS — wetlands […]
Camden County spaceport dream scuttled by Georgia Supreme Court ruling
The Supreme Court of Georgia appears to have zapped Camden County’s plans to build a site to launch spacecraft near the state’s southeast corner. “The county has been told – and this slaps ‘em good and hard – that the county is not going to be the one to do it,” said Camden County Commissioner […]
Rural Georgia lawmaker wants Legislature to settle stink raised by casting sludge upon the soil
Tankers hauling mystery sludge have been a common – and unwelcome – sight in rural Wilkes County for more than a decade, regularly filling the country air with a putrid aroma. But those haulers have been skipping past Wilkes County lately. That probably has something to do with a fish kill last summer that attracted […]
New U.S. House Natural Resources chair opposes limits on fossil fuel development
The incoming chairman of the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee wants to allow more mining and believes technology — not limitations on fossil fuel production — is the best way to address climate change. As part of their organization of the chamber they now control, U.S. House Republicans selected Arkansas’ Bruce Westerman to lead the […]
USDA to use outdoors recreation to boost economy around national forests, grasslands
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture began planning this month to develop outdoor recreation opportunities near national forests and grasslands, part of a broader Biden administration push to help communities reap economic rewards from the growing recreation sector. Three USDA agencies — the U.S. Forest Service, the National Institute of Food and Agriculture and […]
Georgia’s big bet on electric vehicle rollout rides heavily on state and federal backing
Gov. Brian Kemp is on a mission to make Georgia the undisputed electric vehicle capital of the nation. The Republican governor’s ambitious plan doesn’t seem too far-fetched after the significant strides made by the state on the economic development front in the last two years, which includes four multibillion-dollar investments into building electric vehicles and […]
White House launches new push to help states remove lead pipes that carry drinking water
WASHINGTON — The White House on Friday announced plans to speed up the use of infrastructure law funds to replace lead pipes in underserved communities, with a focus on Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin beginning this year. The four states, each led by Democratic governors, will be part of what’s called the Lead Service […]