Category Archives: Law

Activating Resolution for the Local Development Authority of Irwin County, GA 2026-06-03

Here is the Activating Resolution for the Development Authority of Irwin County.

It is quite thorough. Almost more thorough than the Irwin County Datacenter Ordinance.

This Activating Resolution does not mention Datacenters or Solar or private prisons or any other specific proposal for “new industry, trade, and commerce.” It does not mention Project Arrowhead, the very large hyperscale AI datacenter near the Alapaha River and planning to withdraw water from the Floridan Aquifer, for which the Irwin County Commission passed a Special Exception on May 20, 2026.

It includes a provision saying the Secretary and Treasurer do not have to be board members. Such a provision was also incorporated into the bylaws of the newly created Authority.

[Activating Resolution for the Local Development Authority of Irwin County, GA --Irwin County Commission 2026-06-03]
Activating Resolution for the Local Development Authority of Irwin County, GA –Irwin County Commission 2026-06-03

However, it is puzzling that the Irwin County Commission meeting minutes for June 3, 2026, which is the date on this resolution, do not mention the resolution.

We never got the board packet for this June 3 meeting, despite an open records request.

The board packet for the preceding June 1, 2026 Irwin County Commission meeting also does not include this resolution.

So how was anyone to know that the County Commission was going to vote on this resolution?

Activating Resolution

Since the bylaws prominently referred to this Activating Resolution I sent another open records request for it. Thanks to Chair Vince Thompson for sending it. Continue reading →

Officers and Bylaws of the Local Industrial Development Authority of Irwin County 2026-09-08

Update 2026-09-18: Activating Resolution for the Local Development Authority of Irwin County, GA 2026-06-03.

On September 8, 2026, the Local Industrial Development Authority of Irwin County met and elected officers and finalized its bylaws. One of the officers is not on its board.

As we saw in the minutes of the July 6, 2026, Irwin County Commission, they appointed these nine people to Walter Hudson, D W Harper, Kendall Edwards, Paige Wynn, Scott Hudson, Rhett Royal, Vince Thompson, Warren Manley, and Charlotte Middlebrooks.

Thanks to Vince Thompson for sending this on September 14, 2026:

The elected officers for the Irwin County Dev Authority are as follows;
Vince Thompson Chair
Walter Hudson Vice Chair
DW Harper Treasurer
Becky Cook Secretary

[Officers and Bylaws of the Local Industrial Development Authority, of Irwin County, Georgia, Elected and Adopted September 8, 2026]
Officers and Bylaws of the Local Industrial Development Authority, of Irwin County, Georgia, Elected and Adopted September 8, 2026

One of them, Becky Cook, is not on that board. I believe that is her in the pink in this picture from August 18, by the window to the right of Chair Vince Thompson, who is at the end of the table. Vice Chair Walter Hudson is to Thompson’s left (our right), and Treasurer DW Harper is to his right in the middle of that side of the table.

The Bylaws say how that can happen, on page 8 of 16, in Section 4.2, see especially (c) and (d):

Section 4.2, OFFICERS, NUMBER, SELECTION, QUALIFICATIONS, TERMS, VACANCIES:

(a) Officers of the Board: The Board shall have a Chairman, a Vice-Chairman, a Secretary, and a Treasurer to serve as Officers (the “Officer” when referring to singular, or “Officers” when referring to plural) of the Board. No Officer shall serve multiple roles on the Board, except in the instance of the Secretary-Treasurer.

(b) Officer—Chair Members: The Board shall elect one (1) of their Directors to act as the Chairman and one (1) of their Directors to act as the Vice-Chairman. The Chairman and the Vice Chairman shall be Directors.

(c) Officer—Secretary & Treasurer: The Board shall elect a Secretary and Treasurer, either of whom may be, but need not be, a Director. The Secretary and Treasurer may be the same person if the Board so chooses. If the Secretary/Treasurer is not a Director, then he or she shall not have voting rights.

(d) Terms & Successors: All Officers who are members of the Board shall serve for a term of two (2) years. All Officers who are not members of the Board (e.g., the Secretary and Treasurer) shall serve for a term of two (2) years.

(e) Vacancies: A vacancy of the Office of Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary, or Treasurer shall be filled for the unexpired portion of the term by the Authority.

Thanks to Vince Thompson for sending the bylaws on September 14, 2026, in response to an open records request from WWALS on September 4, 2026. He did respond that same day saying he would send the final draft after their next meeting, the one on September 8, 2026.

The Bylaws he sent are on the WWALS website:

https://wwals.net/pictures/2026-09-08-officers-bylaws-irwin-county-lida/DAIC-Bylaws-FINAL.pdf

Images of each page are below.

See also: Continue reading →

Irwin County Commission 2024 and 2025 minutes

Here are the minutes from Irwin County Commission regular meetings in 2024 and 2025, received in response to a WWALS open records request:

https://wwals.net/pictures/2026-08-31-irwin-county-commission-minutes-2025

[Irwin County Commission, 2024 and 2025 minutes, County Attorneys, Solar moratoriums]
Irwin County Commission, 2024 and 2025 minutes, County Attorneys, Solar moratoriums

See also the 2026 minutes:

https://wwals.net/pictures/2026-08-18-irwin-county-commission-minutes-2025-2026

You may wonder, as I do, why doesn’t Irwin County put these minutes on its own website?

https://irwincounty-ga.gov

I don’t know, but it would be less difficulty for everybody if they did.

They do have agendas for many of these same meetings here:

https://irwincounty-ga.gov/county-commission-meetings/

But no minutes on the county website that I can find. And no board packets.

As is common with many county commissions, these minutes mostly record appointments to boards, expenditures on paving, roofs, etc., grant requests, and the like.

Here are a few notes of things that caught my eye, about Officers and Staff, County Attorney Churn, Data Center, Called Meetings, Public Hearings, Solar Moratoriums and Ordinance, and Other items.

You can read these minutes for yourself and see what you see.

Officers and Staff

Continue reading →

Irwin County Commission 2026 minutes through 2026-08-03

Update 2026-09-15: Officers and Bylaws of the Local Industrial Development Authority of Irwin County 2026-09-08.

Update 2026-09-05: Irwin County Commission 2024 and 2025 minutes 2026-08-31.

Here are almost all the minutes from Irwin County Commission meetings in 2026, through August 3, received in response to a WWALS open records request:

https://wwals.net/pictures/2026-08-18-irwin-county-commission-minutes-2025-2026

[Irwin County Commission 2026 minutes through 2026-08-03, Special Called Meetings missing]
Irwin County Commission 2026 minutes through 2026-08-03, Special Called Meetings missing

In the June 1, 2026, minutes, “Commissioner Tyson made a motion to not create a county only Industrial Development Authority. Commissioner Paulk seconded the motion. Commissioners Tyson, Hickey and Paulk were against. Commissioner McIntyre were in favor. Motion carried.”

That’s right, to not create a new county-only Industrial Development Authority.

At a special called meeting on June 3, one of the above flipped and they did approve the new Authority. But we did not get the minutes for that June 3 meeting. We already observed back in June, “For the June 3 meeting where they finally approved that ordinance, we got nothing but a Public Notice: no agenda, no board packet.”

No public notice, no agenda, no board packet, and no minutes: was that June 3, 2026, meeting even legal?

The July 6, 2026, minutes show who is on the newly-created Irwin County Industrial Authority (if it legally exists): Walter Hudson, D W Harper, Kendall Edwards, Paige Wynn, Scott Hudson, Rhett Royal, Vince Thompson, Warren Manley, and Charlotte Middlebrooks.

That new Authority met on Continue reading →

Local Development Authority of Irwin County 2026-08-18

Update 2026-09-15: Officers and Bylaws of the Local Industrial Development Authority of Irwin County 2026-09-08.

Update 2026-09-03: Irwin County Commission 2026 minutes through 2026-08-03. The July 6, 2026, minutes show who is on the newly-created Irwin County Industrial Authority (if it legally exists): Walter Hudson, D W Harper, Kendall Edwards, Paige Wynn, Scott Hudson, Rhett Royal, Vince Thompson, Warren Manley, and Charlotte Middlebrooks.

The Local Industrial Development Authority of Irwin County on August 18, 2026, apparently for the first time. Supposedly there are nine members, but they were not all present.

They didn’t say anything until the very end about datacenters, which was why this board was formed. This meeting was entirely about attorney, officers, bylaws, training required by the state, and next meeting: 8 AM, Tuesday, September 8, 2026.

[Local Development Authority of Irwin County 2026-08-22, Apparently its first meeting, Maybe appointed July 6]
Local Development Authority of Irwin County 2026-08-22, Apparently its first meeting, Maybe appointed July 6

This Authority was approved by the Irwin County Commission on June 3, 2026.

As near as I can tell, the members were appointed at the July 6 County Commission meeting. I cannot find any agenda nor minutes on the Irwin County website for that July meeting.

Will Spicer sent this report and video from the August 18 meeting. My edits are marked with [square brackets].

The video:

https://youtu.be/_6cc70LBtFE

The report:

All,

I went to the inaugural meeting of the Development Authority of Irwin County tonight. It was held in a small board room in a building about 1 block from the hospital. I gather this space belongs to the Hospital Authority and it is used for hospital board meetings.

In attendance were [7 of 9 of the new board’s members. Clockwise from the end of the table: Continue reading →

Update: Clay silt runoff down St. Augustine Road to Withlacoochee River 2026-08-07

Update 2026-08-14: Ashburn sewage spill 2026-08-02, Clean Alapaha River 2026-08-08 but dirty Town of Alapaha, Clean Withlacoochee River 2026-08-12.

Following up on the August 3 clay silt runoff down St. Augustine Road into the Withlacoochee River, we already posted that there was no effect on the Withlacoochee River detectable in E. coli measurements by Valdosta Utilities or WWALS.

[Update: Clay Silt Runoff, St. Augustine Road into Withlacoochee River, Valdosta, GA 2026-08-07]
Update: Clay Silt Runoff, St. Augustine Road into Withlacoochee River, Valdosta, GA 2026-08-07

Valdosta City Engineer Ben O’Dowd sent this update on August 7:

The property owner is required to install and maintain a series of BMPs (silt fencing, check dams, sediment storage basins, etc.) to prevent the escape of sediment from the permittee’s property throughout construction.

Sometimes those components of the construction plan are not maintained appropriately or the fail during severe inclement weather and need to be repaired, replaced, or supplemented in order to prevent the escape of sediment from the permittee’s property.

Following receipt of the report of sediment escape from the property, we had our ESPC inspector visit the subject property, document the deficiencies which resulted in the escape of sediment from the property, and notify the owner and their contractor of the deficiencies.

We also reached out to the owner’s design professional and recommended a modified construction phasing approach which would reduce the risk of repeat occurrences.

If the incident occurs again, or if the identified deficiencies are not rectified within the required timeframe, we will progress through the City’s enforcement procedures for locally issued permits.

Please let us know if you identify any other deficiencies or if you have any more questions.

Have a good weekend!

You may wonder why it took WWALS so long to post this update. Continue reading →

Clay silt runoff down St. Augustine Road to Withlacoochee River 2026-08-03

Update 2026-08-14: Update: Clay Silt Runoff, St. Augustine Road, into Withlacoochee River 2026-08-07.

Update 2026-08-07: Clean Withlacoochee, Little, and Santa Fe Rivers 2026-08-05.

A WWALS member on Monday reported clay silt running out of a construction site, down St. Augustine Road, to the Withlacoochee River.

[Clay silt runoff down St. Augustine Road to Withlacoochee River, 2026-08-03 stopped 2026-08-04]
Clay silt runoff down St. Augustine Road to Withlacoochee River, 2026-08-03 stopped 2026-08-04

I reported it to GA-EPD and the City of Valdosta.

City Engineer Ben O’Dowd responded within minutes, saying the City was “addressing the compliance issue directly with the permittee”.

As of 3 PM Tuesday, the runoff had stopped.

We don’t know what measures have been put in place to make sure it does not happen again in the next rain.

The location is:
1660 N Saint Augustine Rd, Valdosta, GA 31601. Continue reading →

Florida State House District 9: Political Candidate Clean Water Questionnaire –WWALS 2026-08-03

Update 2026-08-04: Florida State House District 10: Political Candidate Clean Water Questionnaire –WWALS 2026-08-04.

Here’s what candidates have to say about clean water, those running for Florida State Representative District 9: Allison Tant, Jibri Knight, and Tracy Robinson.

WWALS Watershed Coalition (WWALS) is conducting a Political Candidate Clean Water Questionnaire: #WWALSCleanWaterQuestionnaire

So far we have responses from all the candidates for this district, so that’s what we are reporting today.

If you are a candidate for state or national office in Florida this year, in the Suwannee River Basin, we sent you a questionnaire. If you didn’t get it, please let us know.

https://wwals.net/donations/contact/

[Florida State House District 9, Political Candidate Clean Water Questionnaire, by WWALS 2026-08-03]
Florida State House District 9, Political Candidate Clean Water Questionnaire, by WWALS 2026-08-03

Thus far, Water First North Florida (WFNF) does not seem popular among candidates.

https://wwals.net/issues/wnf

Nor does the Suwannee River Water Management District (SRWMD) in its current form.

Hyper-scale datacenters the candidates think at least need many constraints.

https://wwals.net/issues/datacenters

Right to Clean Water (RTCW) apparently needs more education of candidates.

https://wwals.net/issues/right-to-clean-water/

These candidates do favor having the State of Florida water quality testing all rivers.

https://wwals.net/issues/testing

Early voting for the primary starts this Saturday August 8, and Election Day is Tuesday, August 18, so we will be reporting answers for more districts whether all the candidates respond or not.

Our source for who is running is the Florida Department of State Candidate Tracking System.

https://dos.elections.myflorida.com/candidates/Index.asp

State Representative District 9

Includes Madison County and parts of Jefferson and Leon Counties.

Continue reading →

Moratorium on solar farms, AI facilities, and Bitcoin operations –Cook County BOCC 2024-12-02

Cook County, Georgia, was ahead of everybody else in passing a datacenter moratorium, way back on December 2, 2024.

Commissioner Rowe moved to approve a moratorium on solar farms, AI facilities, and Bitcoin operations in Cook County. Commissioner Daughtrey seconded the motion; the motion carried unanimously.

[Moratorium on solar farms, AI facilities, and Bitcoin operations --Cook County BOCC 2024-12-02]
Moratorium on solar farms, AI facilities, and Bitcoin operations –Cook County BOCC 2024-12-02

According to Cook County Manager Randall Lane, the motion itself is the entire text of the moratorium.

He wrote, “It was added to the Agenda by a Commissioner, and it was voted on unanimously to approve until lifted by the Board.”

Cook County is bounded on the west by the Little River, and on the east by the Withlacoochee River and its tributary the New River. Like everywhere else in the Suwannee River Basin, Cook County drinks from the Floridan Aquifer, for home, industry, and agriculture.

The county seat, Adel, on July 6, 2026, passed its own datacenter moratorium.

Adel’s moratorium is two pages compared to Cook County’s one sentence.

Downstream on the Withlacoochee River, the datacenter moratorium that Madison County, Florida, passed on July 23, 2026, is intermediate in length and complexity.

In between, Lowndes County, Georgia, has passed nothing: no moratorium, and no datacenter ordinance.

For much more about detacenters, see:

https://wwals.net/issues/datacenters Continue reading →

Adel, GA, Datacenter Moratorium 2026-07-06

Here is the 180-day datacenter moratorium that the City of Adel, Georgia, passed on July 6, 2026.

[Adel, Georgia, Datacenter Moratorium, 180 days, July 6, 2026]
Adel, Georgia, Datacenter Moratorium, 180 days, July 6, 2026

RESOLUTION No. 26-02

RESOLUTION FOR A MORATORIUM ON THE CONSIDERATION, PROCESSING, AND ACCEPTANCE OF APPLICATIONS OF NEW BUSINESS LICENSES, BUILDING PERMITS, OR OTHER APPROVALS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OR DEVELOPMENT OF DATA CENTERS WITHIN THE CITY OF ADEL

WHEREAS, the Constitution of the State of Georgia provides that the City of Adel enjoys and possesses home rule powers, police powers, zoning/land development powers and the ability to license and regulate certain businesses and occupations within the boundaries of the City; and

WHEREAS, the City of Adel shall have, inter alia, the full power and authority to license, regulate, control, or prohibit all businesses (Adel City Charter, Sec. 26);

WHEREAS, the City of Adel may, in the interest of public health, safety, order, convenience, comfort, prosperity, or general welfare, adopt by ordinance a plan or plans for the districting or zoning of the City for the purpose of regulating the location of trades, industries, apartment houses, dwellings, or other uses of property (Adel City Charter, Sec. 24);

WHEREAS, the City of Adel may define and prohibit nuisances within the corporate limits of said City (Adel City Charter, Sec. 27);

WHEREAS, the Mayor and Council of the City of Adel may enact and revise ordinances to regulate the issuance of licenses and permits for the construction, development, establishment, and operation of data centers within the City;

WHEREAS, the Mayor and Council of the City of Adel find there is a present need to review and revise the ordinances, zoning regulations, land development standards, licensing requirements, and nuisance regulations relating to the construction, location, placement, and operation of data centers within the City;

WHEREAS, data centers are a relatively new and evolving land use consisting of Continue reading →