Fresh Loaf

On Oct. 28, Gov. Sonny Perdue named King & Spalding partner Allen Barnes the new state Environmental Protection Division director. Environmental advocates cried foul over Perdue’s decision, as Barnes’ former employer represents two proposed coal plants, as well as the state of Georgia in the ongoing “water wars” debacle with Alabama and Florida.

“Generally, if you get a partner coming over from a big firm when there is activity going on between the firm’s clients and that agency, there is a lot of potential for conflict.”
— Environmental lawyer Gil Rogers, in an Oct. 27 Fulton Daily Report article

“[Proposed coal plants Longleaf and Washington] are both being handled by a team at King & Spalding, and now a member of that team is going to be making the decisions [as to whether those plants will be built]. How is the public going to have any faith that the decisions made about the two biggest new pollution sources ever to come into Georgia have been made impartially?”
— Environmental lawyer Justine Thompson, in the same Fulton Daily Report story

“A single law firm that represents a large number of polluters is suddenly moving personnel into state government positions that directly affect its clients. It’s hard to put it in a happy light if you care about natural resources and the public interest in them.”
— Sierra Club lobbyist Neill Herring, in an Oct. 27 interview with the Savannah Morning News

“I need to sit down with the counsel and make a very thoughtful and deliberative decision as to what’s proper and what is required in that area. We’ll certainly make that decision.”
— Barnes on if he’d recuse himself from decisions involving King & Spalding, in an Oct. 28 interview with Capitol Impact’s Tom Crawford

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Gov. Sonny Perdue has tapped Allen Barnes, a partner at King & Spalding, to head the state Environmental Protection Division. Director Carol Couch resigned last week to take a job at the University of Georgia.

From the Atlanta Business Chronicle:

Before joining Atlanta-based King & Spalding, Barnes served as chief of staff for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Region Four, which has jurisdiction over eight Southeastern states, including Georgia. Prior to that, he taught natural resource policy and law as an associate professor at Mississippi State University. [...]

Barnes’ professional career also includes stints as a prosecutor in the Florida State Attorney’s office and as a special assistant U.S attorney handling criminal, tort and environmental litigation.

But Georgia Public Broadcasting’s John Sepulvado says some environmentalists aren’t happy with Perdue’s choice.

(more…)

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Carol Couch

After nearly six years on the job, Georgia Environmental Protection Division Director Carol Couch will step down from her post on Oct. 26 and move into academia.

In an email to colleagues, Couch thanked the men and women of the agency tasked with monitoring and protecting the state’s water, air and land. She also noted the challenges the state has faced — droughts, floods and budget crunches — in her last few years.

“On behalf of the [Georgia Department of Natural Resources board], I want to thank Dr. Couch for her service,” DNR board Chair Bill Carruth said in a statement released by the EPD. “Her technical expertise, professionalism and dedication to environmental stewardship have been an asset to the Department of Natural Resources.”

In December, Couch will join the University of Georgia’s College of Environment and Design. Gov. Sonny Perdue and the DNR board are expected to appoint her successor next week.

(Courtesy EPD)

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The AJC’s Alison Young had a great piece this weekend about a now-defunct smelter that for decades burned lead at an industrial site just blocks from Morningside. The site where the smelter was located — right where Piedmont Road crosses under I-85 — is now a concrete plant. But the residual pollution caused by the smelter has largely been forgotten by state and federal regulators.

How much lead dust rained down over the years and how far the winds blew is not currently known. But experts say that, despite the passage of decades, the lead would remain relatively near the surface unless the soil has been removed or buried under clean fill dirt. [...]

Tests conducted privately in 2003 show large swaths of the smelter property contained potentially dangerous levels of lead, above 400 parts per million (ppm), according to site plans and a soil removal permit issued by the city of Atlanta to contractors for the property’s owner at that time, Metalico of Georgia Inc. The testing was within the boundaries of the smelter property at 740 Lambert Drive NE.

After reading the story, a source who keeps a close eye on Georgia’s environment told CL this weekend that he’s curious about the smelter’s proximity to Peachtree Creek. If floods seeped up toxins in nearby soil, they could have spread downstream.

Thanks to Young, the Environmental Protection Agency is  investigating the matter. Kudos to the journalist for taking on this story on her own initiative and effecting some government action. Snippets don’t do it justice, so go check it out in full.

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Number of Georgia rivers, lakes and streams with fish that, according to the state, people should never eat: 7

Percentage of “do-not-eat” fish advisories Georgia issued in 2008 because of mercury contamination: 74

Percentage of Chattahoochee River’s analyzed area that exceeds acceptable levels of fecal coliform bacteria: 39

Number of places in Georgia the state has deemed contaminated and harmful to humans and animals: 566

Number of illegally dumped scrap tires the state recovered in 2007: 268,000

Number of days in June that air has been considered unhealthy for sensitive groups: 2

Average pounds of trash a Georgian disposes of each day: 6.4

Average pounds of trash an average American disposes each day: 3.08

Percentage of trash Georgians toss in landfills that could be recycled: 40

Sources: Georgia Environmental Protection Division, YouGottaBeKidding.org

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The Georgia Environmental Protection Division, as part of the statewide water plan, has released a draft of its conservation goals and is now accepting comments. At 162 pages, the report makes for great holiday reading, and covers conservation measures for agriculture, golf courses, state agencies, and the like.

If you’re so inclined, peruse the draft and give the state your take on what parts need improvement. (Here’s a PDF of the conservation plan.) While things like this are usually rife with opportunity for pranks, sadly, you have to register to comment. The deadline to chime in is Jan. 31.

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Dale Russell of Fox 5 Atlanta reports that Carol Couch, director of the state Environmental Protection Division, may have engaged in a little favor dishing for Mike Evans, the state Department of Transportation board chairman.

Evans and some of his developer buddies had a proposed Wal-Mart project in Forsyth County. A stream ran through the land. With time running out on the development group’s contract with the big-box retailer, going through the EPD’s permitting process to build on it — you know, doing the right thing — would’ve been too time-consuming, they thought. So, according to the documents Russell obtained, Carol Couch — after a little prodding from U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, R-Ga., and Sen. Judson Hill, R-Marietta — overrides the variance and gives ‘em a pass. What ensues is confrontation journalism at some of its most awkward and delicious, although sadly there are no middle fingers or hands over lenses here.

Check it out. I’d heard that Russell had been holding this report until after the DOT election. I’m glad it’s out now. It’s a sad, sad state of affairs when the person looking out for the environmental well-being of the state has to be concerned with politicians’ business interests as well.

Oh, and the Wal-Mart planned for the site? Never built.

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After three years of changes, edits and debate, the Georgia Water Council unanimously passed the state’s first comprehensive water plan this morning. According to the approved plan, the state will be divided into 12 water-planning districts drawn along county lines and each served by 25 council members.

The statewide water plan has been the subject of scrutiny and debate since its inception, and the outrage protested by the environmental community was joined by editorial boards and elected officials outside of Atlanta after a last-minute edit by the EPD that drew water-planning districts by county lines rather than natural watersheds. Critics claimed that one region could draw from many different watersheds, potentially upsetting the natural supply. Critics of the plan also voiced concern about the council’s member-selection process, as the ultimate appointments would be decided by the governor, lieutenant governor and the House speaker.

Members of the Water Council signed off on a plan that wiggled just a tad: Of the 25 members in each water-planning district, 13 would be selected by the governor and six each by the lieutenant governor and House speaker. Of those members, at least eight would have to be a locally elected official, such as either a county commissioner, mayor or council member.

Water-planning districts are based around watersheds, but notice my use of the plural form. The Metropolitan North Georgia Water District, the 16-county entity that oversees the metro region’s water management, sits on five watersheds. The approved plan’s critics have labeled this tactic as just another move by metro Atlanta to sustain its notorious growth. One environmentalist told me today that until the district is broken up, there will be no equitable water-sharing strategy in Georgia.

Yet EPD Director Carol Couch, who is chairwoman of the Georgia Water Council, says the plan has teeth and will be enforced. During comments with reporters after the vote, Couch said she was “mystified” by critics of the plan who claim that it just allows for more water for metro Atlanta.

Members of organizations such as the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, Georgia Chamber of Commerce, the Georgia Poultry Association and the Georgia Traditional Manufacturers Association all voiced their support of the plan and agreed it was the best possible solution.

Jennette Gayer of Environment Georgia applauded the council for its hard work and dedication, but stated that the plan was vague and did not meet her group’s and the Georgia Water Coalition’s recommendations for a sound water plan, which included downstream community protection, provided adequate funding for implementation, laid out sound conservation strategies, ensured water quality, and would have been based on public input and enacted locally.

“This plan reads like a plan to make another plan,” Gayer said.

Joe Maltese of the Middle Chattahoochee Water Coalition said the plan concerned him because district boundaries were based on political rather than nature’s design.

“Mother Nature formed boundaries,” he said to the council. “And no matter what we do to form political boundaries, Mother Nature will always win.”

The plan will now be delivered to the General Assembly, where the legislative body can either approve it, concoct its own, or send it back to the Water Council for revision. If approved as is, it would be passed as a resolution. In other words, it would not be law, but policy.

The approved plan has not been posted yet, but I’ll provide a link once it comes online.

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