by Dave Williams | Sep 4, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – The Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) voted Wednesday to let Sandersville Railroad Co. condemn 43 acres of privately owned land in Sparta through eminent domain.
The unanimous vote upheld a recommendation from a hearing officer last spring to make way for a spur the freight rail line plans to use to ship locally mined granite, farm products and timber along a CSX line to markets.
The case began in March of last year when Sandersville moved to condemn and take land owned by Don and Sally Garrett, which has been in Don Garrett’s family for generations.
In May of last year, the Garretts, Blaine and Diane Smith, and Marvin and Pat Smith teamed up to challenge the condemnation. In July 2023, more property owners joined the suit.
The Institute for Justice, a nonprofit public interest law firm, vowed to appeal Wednesday’s decision to Fulton County Superior Court on behalf of the property owners.
“Georgia law does not permit a private company to take land through eminent domain unless the land will be put to public use,” said Bill Maurer, a senior attorney for the institute. “Building a rail spur that will only be used by a few private companies, and not the public at large, is not a public use.”
Robert Highsmith, a lawyer representing Sandersville Railroad, argued last month during a hearing before the PSC that eminent domain reform legislation the General Assembly passed in 2006 law states that business conducted by railroads qualifies as a public purpose.
Five business owners who plan to use the spur provided testimony to the hearing officer.
The Hanson Spur is expected to generate more than $1.5 million in annual economic benefits for Sparta and Hancock County, Sandersville Railroad wrote in a news release following Wednesday’s vote.
“Although we do not take the use of eminent domain lightly, without it we would not have roads,
airports, electrical lines, gas lines, or a host of other infrastructure that allows our communities
to thrive,” said Ben Tarbutton III, president of Sandersville Railroad.
“We are grateful for the PSC’s decision, which not only supports the Hanson Spur project but also upholds the vital role of railroads in Georgia’s economic future.”
by Dave Williams | Sep 4, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – Two years ago, chemical producer The Chemours Company stated publicly it had no plans to mine titanium near the environmentally fragile Okefenokee Swamp.
Now, 20 investors representing nearly $700 billion in assets are asking Chemours to make that commitment permanent.
A letter spearheaded by mutual fund company Green Century Capital Management and signed by 19 other investors praises Chemours for its 2022 pledge not to do business with Twin Pines Minerals, the Alabama-based company planning to mine titanium oxide at a site along Trail Ridge near the largest blackwater swamp in North America.
The letter points out that since then, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) has released draft permits for the project for public comment, potentially raising the stakes.
“Investors agree that the Okefenokee is the last place Chemours should set up shop,” said Leslie Samuelrich, president of Green Century. “Mining at this ecological gem would expose the company to a whole lot of business risks that, quite simply, aren’t worth the reward.”
Specifically, the letter cites scientific studies released since Chemours made its 2022 commitment that show the proposed mine would significantly damage the Okefenokee by drawing down its water level, increasing the frequency of drought and wildfires.
The investors also argue the project could be blocked in the General Assembly by legislators who have introduced a bill prohibiting mining on Trail Ridge. While the measure made no headway this year, supporters are expected to reintroduce it in 2025.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has put the EPD on notice that federal law prohibits diverting water from the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.
Another potential obstacle to opening a mine near the swamp is that the Okefenokee was nominated last year as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
“The Okefenokee is a precious resource worthy of protection over profit,” said Sister Jean Sliwinski, provincial sustainability coordinator for the Felician Sisters of North America, a co-signer of the letter. “We are grateful for Chemours’ commitment and ask that they take the next step to prevent mining in this area.”
Twin Pines executives have said the proposed mine would not harm the swamp.
by Dave Williams | Sep 3, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – The Democratic Party of Georgia is appealing Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s decision last week to include independent Cornel West and socialist Claudia De la Cruz on Georgia’s presidential ballot.
In putting West and De la Cruz on the Nov. 5 ballot, Raffensperger overruled an initial decision by an administrative law judge to keep the two off the ballot because of improper nominating petitions.
“It is contrary to a federal court order permanently enjoining the secretary from requiring more than a total of 7,500 signatures on a nominating petition for a candidate to obtain ballot access for the office of president of the United States,” Raffensperger wrote Aug. 29 in his decision.
The secretary’s ruling put six candidates on the presidential ballot: Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, former Republican President Donald Trump, Libertarian Chase Oliver, the Green Party’s Jill Stein, West, and De la Cruz.
With West and De la Cruz running to the left of Harris, Democrats are concerned they could siphon votes away from Harris in Georgia, a battleground state where polls show Trump and Harris in a virtual tie.
“A judge affirmed that none of these candidates were qualified to be on the Georgia ballot,” said Tolulope Kevin Olasanoye, executive director of the Democratic Party of Georgia. “The secretary of state ignored the judge’s ruling that found each party failed to play by the rules. State election law is clear.”
by Dave Williams | Aug 30, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – Former Hall County Solicitor General Stephanie Woodard pleaded guilty Friday to unlawfully using funds from the county and the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia (PAC) to cover personal expenditures.
Woodard was charged with one count of unprofessional conduct for claiming a number of travel expenditures for which she was not entitled and misusing Local Victim Assistance Program funds.
“Mrs. Woodard took advantage of our state by violating the same laws that she was elected to uphold,” Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr said. “She has now been held accountable for her actions.”
“Hall County citizens entrusted Solicitor General Stephanie Woodard to serve the community with honesty and integrity,” added Chris Hosey, director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. “However, Woodard betrayed that trust for her personal gain.”
Woodard was sentenced under the First Offender Act to 12 months of probation and ordered to pay $1,190.48 in restitution to the PAC and $1,028.80 to Hall County. As part of her plea, she was also required to resign as Hall County solicitor general, backdated to Aug. 9.
The case was investigated by the GBI and prosecuted by Senior Assistant Attorney General Laura Pfister, who head the attorney general’s White Collar and Cyber Crime Unit.
by Dave Williams | Aug 30, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – An energy supply resource generally considered renewable and in plentiful supply in Georgia is running into opposition from environmental groups.
Atlanta-based Georgia Power is seeking approval from the state Public Service Commission (PSC) to buy about 80 megawatts of electricity from three plants in South Georgia that burn wood pellets and other forms of biomass.
Most of that power – 70 megawatts – would come through a 30-year power-purchasing agreement (PPA) with Altamaha Green Energy LLC, which operates a mill in Wayne County. Two other 10-year PPAs with International Paper Co. would yield the rest of the biomass from mills in Port Wentworth and Macon County.
Georgia Power officials are pitching the proposal as a way to create jobs in rural parts of the state and give a forestry industry with an oversupply of trees another market for Georgia timber.
It’s an argument that resonates with members of the PSC, who have historically backed Georgia Power’s efforts to ensure a diverse portfolio of energy supply sources including coal, natural gas, nuclear, and solar.
“Biomass is produced in Georgia. The trees are grown in Georgia and transported by local trucks,” Commissioner Lauren “Bubba” McDonald said Thursday during a hearing on the plan. “I see that as part of the total picture.”
But environmental groups argue burning biomass spews harmful pollution into the atmosphere.
“Burning wood pellets releases more greenhouse gas emissions per unit of energy than burning fossil fuels like gas, oil, or even coal, accelerating climate change,” the North Carolina-based organization Dogwood Alliance writes on its website. “We need to use low-carbon technologies like solar and wind to produce energy, not wood pellets or fossil fuels.”
However, Thursday’s hearing focused more on the cost of the three biomass projects than on pollution.
“Customers will be paying for more than three times the value of the energy they will be receiving,” said Aradhana Chandra, a lawyer for the Southern Environmental Law Center, which represents the environmental group Georgia Interfaith Power and Light in the case.
Georgia Power officials who testified Thursday conceded biomass is significantly more expensive than other sources of energy generation in the utility’s arsenal.
“Biomass is not the least expensive resource,” said Jeffrey Grubb, director of resource planning for Georgia Power. “I think everyone knows that.”
But Grubb said finding the least expensive way to generate electricity wasn’t the point of the Request for Proposals the company put out for the biomass projects.
“(The cost) doesn’t take into account the other things the commission will consider in this hearing, which is the economic development and forestry support aspects,” he said.
“It was not a price-driven evaluation,” added Harold Judd, president of New Hampshire-based Accion Group, who conducted an independent evaluation of the projects. “We did not have a price cap.
“There are different considerations here. There’s the cost issue. There’s also the issue of a determination by this commission whether it is a benefit not only to the state but to ratepayers to have diversified generation.”
Chandra also questioned the reliability of biomass. She said Georgia Power had 303 megawatts of biomass in its system when Winter Storm Elliott hit Georgia on Christmas Eve, 2022, setting record-low temperatures in many areas. However, 267 of those megawatts were unavailable, she said.
“Biomass didn’t perform very well during Winter Storm Elliott,” she said.
Chandra dismissed arguments that the storm was particularly ill-timed for utilities to respond, striking on a holiday weekend.
The PSC’s Public Interest Advocacy Staff has recommended that the commission certify the three biomass projects based both on the economic benefits they would bring to the forestry industry and the benefits of diversifying Georgia Power’s energy generation mix.
Judd, however, took no position on the plan.
The commission is scheduled to hold a final hearing on the projects Sept. 12 and vote on them Sept. 17.
