Legislative session ends with few wins for Georgia environmentalists

This year, two bills concerning the swamp were introduced, both by Rep. Darlene Taylor, R-Thomasville. Like past Okefenokee protection measures, both pieces of legislation had significant bipartisan support.

Neither bill would have prevented state regulators from green-lighting the mine that Alabama-based Twin Pines Minerals is seeking permits for on the swamp’s doorstep. But the measures would have put at least a temporary stop to any mining expansion along Trail Ridge, the line of sand dunes on the swamp’s eastern edge.

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

The two bills — House Bill 561 and 562 — received a hearing in the House Natural Resources & Environment Resource Management Subcommittee, but did not receive a vote or any other action.

Now, with the session over, environmentalists will continue the wait to see if the Georgia Environmental Protection Division grants final approval to the Twin Pines mine. In the meantime, the project’s opponents are continuing to pressure Gov. Kemp to intervene.

Josh Marks, the president of Georgians for the Okefenokee, said it was “outrageous” the Legislature refused to allow a vote on either bill, despite warnings from scientists that the mine could irreparably damage the ecosystem. Twin Pines and its hired hydrology consultants have said their analyses show the mine poses no risk to the Okefenokee.

Marks said if Kemp “wants to be considered a true conservative, there’s no better way to start than by finally denying the permits for Twin Pines Minerals’ dangerous project and instead helping conserve our state’s greatest natural treasure.”

Kemp’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Data centers and power bills

Metro Atlanta is the hottest market in the country for the leasing of data centers, the energy-hungry, computer server-filled warehouses that power the digital economy and artificial intelligence.

But the facilities’ proliferation around the region is raising worries about the strain they could place on the electric grid, among other concerns.

This session, two pieces of legislation emerged targeting data centers’ energy costs and the protection of customers from rate increases that could result from the rush to serve them.

Senate Bill 94, introduced by Sen. Chuck Hufstetler, R-Rome, would have revived the Consumers’ Utility Counsel’s office — an independent division that was created in the 1970s but was defunded during budget cuts during the Great Recession — to advocate for customers in utility rate cases, including ones involving Georgia Power.

Georgia Power customers have faced a slew of Public Service Commission-approved rate increases since late 2022. Hufstetler said the rising bills were evidence consumers need an independent party to argue on their behalf.

The measure cleared the Senate Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee, but was tabled by the chamber’s Rules Committee and never emerged.

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Another Hufstetler bill, Senate Bill 34, dealt with the cost of new infrastructure being built to serve data centers.

Georgia Power is already building new power plants, costly transmission lines and more to serve the data center influx. The bill would have required the utility to charge data centers for any costs “substantially related to” serving the facilities, or that “would not have been incurred” otherwise.

Georgia Power opposed the bill, arguing that new rules passed by the Public Service Commission give it the flexibility to charge data centers for their fair share.

The bill cleared the Senate Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee, but it, too, was left sitting in the chamber’s Rules Committee by its chairman, Matt Brass, R-Newnan.

Georgia Power’s solar dominance

A push to open Georgia Power’s territory to competition from independent solar power generators fizzled again this year after initially gaining traction.

The Georgia Homegrown Solar Act, filed under House Bill 507 and Senate Bill 203, would create a regulatory framework for residents, businesses and private investors to team up to build small solar power plants that can supply electricity to surrounding communities while bringing down customer power bills.

Georgia Power opposed the proposal, arguing that independent generators would not pay their fair share of infrastructure costs, even though the bills themselves leave those specifics to elected regulators to decide.

The bills, which had bipartisan backing at first, saw their standing diminish after some Democrats pulled their support. Don Moreland, the executive director of the Georgia Solar Energy Association, said the Democratic defections were surprising.

“Both of (the bills) seemed like they were making progress, and then suddenly the floor dropped off from underneath,” Moreland said. “We’re still not exactly sure why.”

Still, both bills will live on into the next session, when solar advocates hope lawmakers will follow the example of at least 20 other states that have adopted similar “community solar” programs.

Roundup maker production

A bill that shields chemicals that make pesticides, fertilizers and herbicides for crops from liability for failing to warn consumers of health risks passed both chambers and now awaits a decision by Gov. Brian Kemp.

The bill, Senate Bill 144, resembles measures introduced in a handful of other states around the country with the support of Bayer, the parent company of Monsanto, maker of Roundup. The company is facing billions of dollars in lawsuits from people who claim Roundup gave them cancer, including in Georgia, where a jury recently awarded a plaintiff $2.1 billion.

Backers of the bill said farmers and crop chemical manufacturers rely on vetting by U.S. federal regulators, who have diverged from international bodies in their assessment of the cancer risk posed by certain substances. The bill stipulates that a product label approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency must be considered sufficient warning of potential harm.

Critics of the proposal said it would make chemical companies unaccountable for the harm their products might inflict. They accused Bayer of trying to use state legislatures to shield themselves from liability they acquired when they bought Monsanto in 2018 — after the first lawsuits had been filed and a major health organization raised concerns of Roundup’s cancer risk.

Kemp has 40 days after the end of the session to veto the bill, sign it into law or do nothing and let it become law automatically. His office has not given any indication of which way Kemp is leaning.

PFAS liability

This session, environmentalists notched a win by torpedoing a bill that could have offered carpet companies and municipalities protection from pollution claims.

The legislation focused on a class of human-made chemicals called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals” for their resistance to breaking down in the environment, have been used for decades in dozens of products, from nonstick pans and clothing to food wrappers and firefighting foam. The compounds have been linked to a host of negative health effects, including fertility problems and certain cancers.

Flooring manufacturers in Northwest Georgia have also used them for decades, and the area’s carpet industry is facing several lawsuits claiming they contaminated local drinking water with PFAS.

A group of Northwest Georgia Republicans introduced House Bill 211, which would have given carpet companies and municipalities broad immunity from accusations they’ve tainted public water supplies.

Proponents of the measure said carpet manufacturers were unaware that PFAS were dangerous and that liability ultimately falls on the chemical’s manufacturers. But environmentalists denounced the proposal, arguing it would disincentivize carpet companies from cleaning up their wastewater, among other criticisms.

A House committee held a hearing on the bill, but it saw no further action.

— Reporter Dylan Jackson contributed to this report.