Georgia Interfaith Power and Light Blog

GA Legislative Update

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

The pace of legislation here in Georgia has picked up this week, and three bills need your attention. Keep reading and contact your legislators, and then share this information with your networks. You can find your elected official by inputting your information here.

SB 401 SB 269 SB 362

SB 401

On February 7, 2012, State Senator Buddy Carter (R-Pooler) introduced SB 401, the Georgia Cogeneration and Distributed Generation Act. This bill seeks to expand consumer choice and economic competition in power production and remove artificial barriers to renewable energy development in the state. Despite broad support, the bi-partisan bill is languishing without a hearing in the Senate Natural Resources Committee.

The Problem: The 1970's law that granted Georgia power companies monopoly rights is out-of-date and has stifled consumer choice and innovation, and the accompanying economic growth and job production. As a result, only minimal renewable energy development has occurred here, while other states reap huge investments of capital and the creation of high-paying jobs in renewable energy.

The Solution: SB 401 allows consumers and business in Georgia to enter into private contracts called Power Purchase Agreements, or PPAs. Under a typical PPA, a developer installs a system on a customer�s premises and retains ownership of the system, and the customer makes monthly payments to the developer based on the amount of electricity generated. The bill would also remove existing artificial caps on the size of individual projects, as well as add biomass, municipal solid waste, landfill gas, and hydropower as eligible resources. SB 401 also prohibits unreasonable charges for connecting with the utility system and provides that charges by the monopolies for metering services must be �commercially reasonable.� Consumers are allowed to choose, business is allowed to innovate, and jobs are created as a result.

Take Action: Please contact your State Senator and demand that they support consumer choice, technological innovation, and jobs for Georgians by being allowed to vote for SB 401. Sen. Tolleson, District 20, is the chair of the Natural Resources committee. If you are in his district, please call him and tell him you would like him to support SB 401.

SB 269

Introduced by Sen. Rick Jeffares (R - Locust Grove), SB 269, the Rollback of EPD Clean Water Enforcement, passed out of the Senate Committee and was put up for consideration by the full Senate on February 15. However, presumably due to lack of support and/or pressure to fix the bill's problems, it was pulled from consideration, but it may be considered again if issues with the bill are addressed. 

The problem: Georgia has suffered several large spills and massive fish kills over the last 18 months, and the last thing our state needs to do is relax enforcement of its clean water laws. One recent offense was in the Ogeechee River, where King America Finishing illegally polluted the river for years. The pollution resulted in the state�s largest fish kill in history, with over 38,000 fish killed.

The bill will allow EPD to give violators of clean water laws - including large industries and municipal utilities � permission to take voluntary action to fix their problems instead of being fined. The bill also allows EPD to grant 6 month extensions to get the problems fixed without limiting how many extensions can be given or accounting for emergency situations where problems need to be fixed immediately.

Take Action: Keep up the good work! Keep telling your State Senators to VOTE NO on SB 269 unless these problems with the bill are fixed.

SB 362

Introduced by Sen. Tommie Williams (R - Lyons), SB 362, Mining Logs from Georgia Rivers , passed the Senate last Friday and now moves to the House.

The Problem: This bill would allow the few people who want to mine submerged logs from river beds to set their own price rather than pay a fair price set by the state for the logs. Similar bills have been introduced and defeated in the legislature before.

Take Action: Contact your State Representative and tell them to VOTE NO on SB 362.

Conclusion

Thank you for your calls, letters, and willingness to pass this along to your friends. We are the ones who must hold our lawmakers accountable, and your voice will be heard!

Silent Auction at the GIPPY's

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

This year, we're introducing a Silent Auction at the Sixth Annual GIPPY Awards.

We'll have a wide variety of goodies up for grabs, including a hand-painted rain barrel, a green cleaning kit, and a bag of GIPL resources.

The rain barrel is also a shameless advertisement for our new Rain Barrel Workshops, which are just one component of our our new Water Wise program.

The green cleaning kit is the perfect starter for our Buy Wise guide. It has all the makings of your own homemade, non-toxic cleaning products for your home or congregation.

There are other prizes in store, so join us next Thursday as we celebrate creation care across the state of Georgia.

Sponsor the GIPPY's

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

The Sixth Annual GIPPY Awards are on March 1, and now's your chance to sponsor the event.

There are three levels of sponsorship available for corporations, and an additional level for non-profits and congregations. Check them out on the GIPPY's page.

We are deeply grateful to all the sponsors who contribute each year to make our GIPPY Awards a success.

Sponsorship levels are available for corporations, non-profits, and congregations. Benefits include recognition at the GIPPY's and other exclusive opportunities.

Click here for more details.

Lenten Carbon Fast Calendar

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Ash Wednesday is next week, February 22, and Greater Washington Interfaith Power & Light's Lenten Carbon Fast Calendar is ready for download!

The calendar is designed to be photocopied double-sided as an insert in church bulletins this Sunday, February 19th (Ash Wednesday is the 22nd). Click here to access the resource.

A big thank you to Greater Washington Interfaith Power & Light for putting together this resource.

Show Some Love for your Favorite Congregation

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Happy Valentine's Day, from us to you!

Do you know a faith community that's incorporating creation care into the life of their faith community? Maybe they've hosted a lot of classes or started a garden or just really love their insulation.

Whatever the reason, show some love to the winners in your life by nominating them for a GIPPY Award.

The deadline is this Friday, February 17.

We can't wait to hear from you!