By Larry Laseter 

6:46 p.m. Wednesday, July 28, 2010

We are closer than ever to moving the needle in an area where we could and should be more independent — consumer energy savings.

On May 6, the U.S. House of Representatives, as an important first step, approved S. 3434, the “Home Star Energy Retrofit Act of 2010.”

The proposed Home Star program, dubbed “Cash for Caulkers,” is now working its way through Congress, and could any day make additional incentives available to homeowners for weatherization or energy efficient improvements to their homes.

This would allow for even more money to stay in the pockets of hard-working Americans and increase our energy independence.

Currently, state and federal tax credits, utility rebates and other incentives are available to help homeowners pay for home efficiency improvements.

Yet, we need much more, and the Home Star legislation creates the necessary processes and resources to maximize the impact and ensure it’s accessible to all, while allocating $200 million for state-sponsored programs.

But it’s all a question of timing. Our own customer data shows that since the legislation was first introduced back in November 2009, twice as many homeowners are delaying energy retrofit work in anticipation of the Home Star incentives. At the same time, many middle-class Americans are squeezed by the economy and credit crisis, which makes efficiency improvements a difficult investment to make. But make no mistake. Home Energy retrofits are a good investment!

For the average American homeowner, efficiency retrofits will result in 20-40 percent annual energy savings. These savings are equivalent to a $500 stimulus check every year, for years to come.

And, of course, energy efficiency improvements will support energy independence and the environment. Home energy represents 22 percent of our carbon output — twice that of automobiles — and more than two-thirds of America’s 130 million homes were built before modern energy codes. There is a need and Home Star can simplify and lower the costs of these improvements.

In these dog days of summer, 62 percent of households complain of a room that is too warm. As homeowners look to retrofit their homes, improved insulation and sealing combined with efficient heating/cooling systems can ensure comfort as well as significantly reduced energy consumption.

In fact, something as easy as reducing air leaks in our homes could cut up to 10 percent from an average household’s monthly energy bill.

In addition to immediate cost savings to homeowners, Home Star will put an estimated 168,000 skilled Americans back to work in the hardest-hit part of our economy — construction — and drive increased demand for manufactured products and building materials that are almost universally made in the U.S., supporting further job growth and economic impact.

Larry Laseter is president of WellHome, a subsidiary of Masco Corp., a home improvement company, and a founding member of the Home Star Coalition.

Find this article at:

http://www.ajc.com/opinion/a-chance-to-move-580599.html

Rome News-Tribune

by Walter Jones, Morris News Service

ATLANTA -- Environmentalists are citing approval last month by the Public Service Commission of a Georgia Power Co.’s long-range plan as a turning point.

In it, the commission approved the giant utility’s intention to rely less on coal and more on other energy sources -- including conservation -- as the way to prepare for electricity demands over the next 10-20 years. Two-thirds of the company’s power comes from coal now.

The integrated-resource plan calls for the company to begin its first large-scale operation of solar energy generation and the exploration of wind energy off the coast of Georgia. It will also launch seven campaigns designed to encourage greater consumer conservation.

“It’s a huge deal,” said Justine Thompson, executive director of GreenLaw in Atlanta, an organization that takes on legal fights for environmental issues. “Southern Company (Georgia Power’s parent) is the largest energy producer in the country. The fact that they’re moving away from coal is the end of an era.”

Read more at: http://romenews-tribune.com/view/full_story/8896839/article-Georgia-Power-aims-to-rely-less-on-coal?

By Rob Pavey and Walter Jones, Augusta Chronicle

Staff Writers

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

ATLANTA --- A judge's ruling Monday in a Washington County power plant case will make it more difficult to pipe water from one Georgia water basin to another.

Administrative Law Judge Ronit Walker was ruling generally with groups challenging the methods of obtaining water permits for a coal-fired power plant proposed near Sandersville.

In making his decision, however, the judge said the state's Environmental Protection Division failed to follow proper procedure for interbasin transfers because it allowed the withdrawal of 13.5 million gallons a day from the Oconee River for use at the proposed plant in the Ogeechee River watershed.

The operation would return just 11 percent, or 1.5 million gallons a day, of that water to the Oconee.

Interbasin transfers have become more of a statewide issue since a committee appointed by Gov. Sonny Perdue to study ways to supplement metro Atlanta's water supply evaluated options that included moving water from the Savannah River Basin to Gwinnett County. That option ultimately was not recommended as viable because of expense and the potential for "contentious stakeholder sensitivity."

In the case ruled on Monday, developers had contended piping water 30 miles into a different river basin did not fall under Georgia's interbasin transfer guidelines because some of the water was being returned to its basin of origin.

The existing law, they said, defines such a transfer as "a withdrawal in which water is returned to a different basin than that from which it is withdrawn."

Read more at: http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/metro/2010-07-27/ruling-clamps-interbasin-flow

	Press Release from GreenLaw and Southern Environmental Law Center

Administrative Law Judge Order July 26, 2010 Contacts:  Justine Thompson, GreenLaw, 404-659-3122 Brian Gist, Southern Environmental Law Center, 404-521-9900 Court Rules Plant Washington Water Permits are Invalid Judge Says EPD Must Consider Impacts of Interbasin Transfer ATLANTA— Public interest groups have won a key legal challenge to two state water permits for the proposed 850-megawatt Plant Washington coal-fired power plant in Sandersville, GA. A Georgia administrative court has ruled that the water withdrawal and water pollution discharge permits issued by Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) for the proposed power plant are both legally flawed. In a ruling issued Friday evening, Administrative Law Judge Ronit Walker said EPD failed to follow proper procedure for interbasin transfers in allowing Power4Georgians, LLC to withdraw an average of 13.5 million gallons per day from the Oconee River for use at the plant, located in the Ogeechee River watershed, and return only 11 percent of that water to the Oconee. On the wastewater permit, the judge ruled that EPD erred in allowing pollutants to be monitored and regulated within the facility, rather than at the point of discharge into the Oconee River as required by the Clean Water Act. Chlorine, chromium and zinc are among the pollutants of concern from the coal plant. Plant Washington is a project of Power4Georgians, a company organized by Cobb Electric Membership Corporation (EMC) and four other electric cooperatives. In the challenges to the state water permits, GreenLaw and the Southern Environmental Law Center are representing the Altamaha Riverkeeper, the Fall-line Alliance for a Clean Environment, and Sierra Club’s Georgia Chapter. “Exactly how valuable our water resources are has been brought home to Georgians in recent years,” said Brian Gist, senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center. “For all of us who rely on the ready availability of clean water, it’s critical that large industrial users comply with laws meant to protect shared water resources and ensure fair, efficient use.” “This decision will have a profound impact on water use in Georgia. We must engage in growth that is based on the resources we actually have, not the resources we wish we had. No longer can one water user take water from one basin and use it in another basin without considering whether or not there is better use of those water resources in the basin,” said Justine Thompson, executive director of GreenLaw. “Downstream communities like Dublin, local farms, and wildlife all depend on clean water and a healthy flow in the Oconee River system,” said Deborah Sheppard, executive director of the Altamaha Riverkeeper. “We’re very encouraged that the judge looked closely at these issues and ruled in our favor.” “Withdrawing millions and millions of gallons of water will devastate this river ecosystem over time. We have to make smarter choices about managing our water resources, including how we get and use electricity,” said Katherine Cummings, board member of the Fall-line Alliance for a Clean Environment. "We are grateful that the Judge ruled against this attempt to take water from the Oconee River Basin and use it to build an expensive and unnecessary dirty coal plant in the Ogeechee River Basin. It is time for Cobb EMC and the other co-ops to stop pushing this coal plant on rural Georgia, and time to start saving money through water and energy conservation measures. Efficiency can meet our water and energy needs," said Erin Glynn, Associate Field Organizer for the Georgia Sierra Club. The order addressed a number of issues pending before the court. Any appeals must be filed within thirty days.



July 26, 2010

By Margaret Newkirk 

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

State water permits at a planned Middle Georgia coal plant don't meet the requirements of state and federal law, an administrative judge ruled late Friday.

It's unclear whether the ruling will delay the plant, which is being built near Sandersville by a coalition of five electric cooperatives led by Marietta-based Cobb EMC.

The Southern Environmental Law Center, GreenLaw, the Altamaha Riverkeeper and the Sierra Club called the ruling a victory for plant opponents.

But the co-op coalition, called  Power4Georgians, dismissed it as procedural.

The judge said the state Environmental Protection Division erred by allowing water monitoring to be done inside the plant, instead of where discharges meet the river.

The EPD also allowed water to be transferred between river basins without following legally-mandated procedures, the ruling said.

SELC attorney Brian Gist said Monday that the plant would take 13.5 million gallons of water per day from the Oconee River, to use in another river basin.

Read more at: http://www.ajc.com/business/coal-plant-permits-improper-578829.html