Come learn about coal ash and
bills in the Georgia legislature right now.
Rev. Deacon Leeann Culbreath
of
Georgia Interfaith Power & Light (GIPL)
has organized two meetings,
in Tifton and Valdosta.
WWALS will be speaking at each of these meetings.
When, Where, and Who
Tifton
When: 6-7 PM, Tuesday, February 28, 2017
Where:
Dayspring Inspirational Church
620 Martin Luther King Jr Dr, Tifton, GA 31794
(229) 472-1063
Who: Learn about coal ash pollution and what you can do right now to help protect our drinking water and waterways in South Georgia. Presenters include Rev. Dcn. Leeann Culbreath with GIPL, Dave Hetzel with WWALS Watershed Coalition, and No Ash at All, a citizens’ group in Jesup.
Event: facebook
Valdosta
When: 12-1PM, Wednesday, March 1, 2017
Where:
Academy of Excellence
(across from Serenity Church)
1618 N Lee St, Valdosta, GA 31602
Who: Join us at Valdosta’s Academy of Excellence for a brown bag lunch-and-learn about coal ash pollution, and find out what you can do right now to help protect our drinking water and waterways in South Georgia. Presenters include Rev. Dcn. Leeann Culbreath with GIPL, John S. Quarterman with WWALS Watershed Coalition, and No Ash at All, a citizens’ group in Jesup.
Event: facebook
The Goal
South Georgia relies on one of the best underground sources of drinking water in the world, and many in our communities enjoy fishing and recreating in local rivers, lakes, and streams. Coal ash, a dangerous byproduct from burning coal for energy, threatens to pollute our water with arsenic, mercury, lead, and other heavy metals—toxins linked to lung, heart, brain, and stomach ailments.
As utility and waste companies seek permanent storage for coal ash
in landfills, citizens and elected officials are working together to
protect South Georgia communities from coal ash contamination.
Currently, there are three bills in the Georgia legislature that
address coal ash:
- House Bill (HB) 387 (to ensure testing and treating of water pumped from ash ponds into waterways),
- HB 388 (to require municipal landfills to prepare a special management plan for coal ash) and
- Senate Bill (SB) 165 (to hold out-of-state companies liable for damages when they dump coal ash in Georgia).
See also PDF factsheet.
Two members of the relevant House committee are in south Georgia. Five landfills in south Georgia already receive coal ash from TVA several years ago, including the landfill in Lowndes County, which also received coal ash from Florida. See previous post for details, including contact information for the relevant south Georgia legislators.
GIPL, a Georgia Water Coalition partner, is sponsoring these two events, which are free and open to the public. For more information, contact leeann@gipl.org.
Disposing of Coal Ash
It is the position of the Georgia Water Coalition (GWC), of which WWALS is a member, that these bills are what is needed. WWALS is a partner of GWC and agrees that these bills are better than the current situation. WWALS has the further position that we’d prefer no more coal ash in any landfills in our watersheds, and that those companies that produced this toxic waste be responsible for disposing of it safely on their own land at their own expense.
-jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®
You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!
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