2012 Legislative Session

Check back here regularly, we will keep this site updated with information about bills were tracking throughout the session

SB 269 – Rollbacks of EPD Clean Water Enforcement
Status: Introduced by Sen. Rick Jeffares (R - Locust Grove). The bill passed out of Senate Committee on Wed. Feb. 1 and now goes to the Senate Rules committee which will decide if and when it will go to the full Senate for a vote.

What it does: 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.

The problem: On the heels of several large spills and massive fish kills over the last 18 months - including the Ogeechee River where King America Finishing illegally polluted the river for years resulting in the state’s largest fish kill in history with over 38,000 fish killed, Trail Creek in Athens where a fire resulted in a massive spill and fish kill, and spills on Commissioner Creek, Brier Creek, and Reedy Creek in middle Georgia - the last thing the state needs to do is relax enforcement of its clean water laws.

Action Needed: Contact your Senators and tell them to VOTE NO on SB 269 unless these problems with the bill are fixed.


HB 811 – Put the Trust back in Trust Funds
Status: Introduced by Rep. Jay Powell (R - Camilla). The bill has been introduced and assigned to the House Governmental Affairs Committee. The committee has not yet brought the bill up for discussion or a vote.

The problem: Several fees have been established to fund various state programs – including a fee collected on tires that is supposed to go to the Solid Waste Trust Fund to clean up illegal tire dumps and other solid waste problems, and landfill tipping fees and other fees that are supposed to go to the Hazardous Waste Trust Fund to clean up old hazardous dump sites that threaten ground water. However, the state often spends these funds for other purposes and constitutionally there is no way to make them stop. This bill aims to stop the raiding of these funds by only allowing the state to collect fees equal to the amount that was actually spent for the intended purpose. In other words, if you don’t spend it on what you said it’s for, you can’t collect it.

Action Needed: Contact your Representatives and tell them to VOTE YES on HB 811 and pass a budget that appropriates the full amount to the trust funds so that they can continue fund important, needed projects.


Interbasin Transfers
Status: For many years, the GWC has called on Georgia's Governor and General Assembly to adopt laws that strictly regulate any current and future interbasin transfers of water. Our efforts have resulted in the introduction of numerous bills that enjoyed widespread support in both the House and Senate over the course of several years. We are continuing that advocacy this session and will again support opportunities to pass IBT legislation this year – stay tuned.

The Problem: The Chairs of both the House and Senate Natural Resources Committees continually kill the popular IBT bills by not bringing them up for a vote in their committees, presumably due to pressure from the metro Atlanta growth industry which is opposed to IBT regulation.

Action Needed: Let both your Representatives and Senators know that you continue to support the adoption of regulations that protect all Georgia communities and waterways from water grabs and encourage them to support legislative efforts this session to put common-sense IBT regulation in place.

Reservoirs & Water Supply

Gov. Nathan Deal is underway with plans to create a bond package to fund new water supply development. The Georgia Water Coalition believes that any new water supply funding should prioritize water efficiency. Click here to learn more.

Interbasin Transfers of Water

Read the GWC's IBT Briefing Document

SIGN! "No Water Grabs" Petition
Nearly 3,000 Georgians have now signed the petition www.nowatergrabs.com. We need your help to get even more.

Here is how YOU can help:
1. Sign the petition yourself at www.nowatergrabs.com

2. Send a message to your members and board members and ask them to sign on. Contact April Ingle at ingle@garivers.org if you need a sample message.

3. Post the petition on your website. Click the link on the bottom of www.nowatergrabs.com to embed the petition on your website.

4. Post the petition on your Facebook pages and ask your friends and supporters to do the same.

Tri-State Water War and Metro Atlanta Water Issues

GWC resource pages on Metro Atlanta water supply, the Tri-State Water War, the most cost-effective solutions for water supply in Metro Atlanta, and more.

Water Efficiency & Conservation

Metro Atlanta could save between 120 and 200 million gallons of water per day by implementing water efficiency and conservation. Pursuing water conservation and efficiency is the least expensive and quickest way to meet our water supply needs. Read more...

Regional Water Planning

The Regional Water Planning Councils created by Georgia's State Water Plan are aiming to finalize their water plans by September 2011. Click here for the latest news.

Environmental Flows and Healthy Rivers

It’s critical that Georgia establish and implement policies that sustainably address the quantity of water flowing in our rivers and the ways in which river flows are altered by various human activities. Click here to learn more.

2011 Legislative Session

The 2011 session of the Georgia General Assembly was another important one for water policy issues. Click here for the Georgia Water Coalition's round-up of activity at the Capitol in 2011.