WELCOME

Washington County classified as "exceptional drought"
May 8, 2012

Washington County is now considered to be in exceptional drought, and it isn't even the middle of May. The Georgia Farm Bureau web site has this from the National Weather Service, "Mostly dry weather coupled with record heat (maximum temperatures into the 90s) during the first week of May is expected to result in worsening of drought conditions across Georgia and South Carolina. Persistence is forecast for this area of protracted drought across most of Georgia and South Carolina where no wet signals are apparent among precipitation tools at the seasonal time scale."

The Oconee is low, and our groundwater recharge area here is now in exceptional drought. Who has 16M gallons of water to spare for a coal plant that no one needs?

New coal plant in Michigan remains on hold, Texas developer says it can't meet new standards
May 7, 2012

Eric Baker, the CEO of Wolverine Power in Michigan, is convinced that no vendor can engineer a coal plant to meet the new mercury and air toxins standards, and as a result a proposed plant continues to be on hold. The Pesque Isle County Advance reports that the new mercury emission standards (which were over 20 years in the making), coupled with the proposed carbon pollution rule, have made the company place the project on hold. The paper reports that, "Wolverine officials confirmed this week that they don’t believe there are any vendors willing to guarantee they could meet the new MATS and the plant remains on hold."

Last month Randy Bird, the CEO of White Stallion Energy in Texas, told Politico Pro he wishes someone would tell him how to meet the engineering requirements for a proposed coal plant they have already spent $15M on to develop. Bird said the plant may be impossible to finance due to the standards it must meet.

Plant Washington must meet these same standards that Wolverine Power is held too because Power4Georgians, led by Dean Alford, had failed to secure a final permit for construction when the carbon pollution rule was announced in mid-April.

Wall Street Journal: companies are giving coal the "heave-ho"
May 2, 2012

The Wall Street Journal reports that power companies aren't just quitting coal, some, including American Electric Power, actually saw their costs rise due to soaring costs of coal. In fact, the article makes no mention of pollution regulations. Producing electricity from coal is more expensive because coal costs more per ton than in the past.

This raises an important question for WEMC members; if P4G intends to sell the permits for Plant Washington (Dean Alford has said the intent was always to sell the permits, but he has also said the EMCs will own and operate the facility), and coal costs are increasing steadily, why would a buyer find an expensive fuel source to be an attractive or sound investment? Add the surplus of energy on the market and record low natural gas prices, and the financial soundness of Plant Washington continues to be non-existent.

Sweet! GA Power customers will get a rate decrease due to natural gas prices just in time for summer temps (which are already here)
May 2, 2012

The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that GA Power customers will see an average $8 decrease in their power bills in July as a result of record low natural gas prices. The Southern company, which owns GA Power, is cutting its coal use in half according to the article. The company is now the third largest buyer of natural gas in the country.

WEMC member urges co-op to stop spending money on coal plant
April 23, 2012

This letter was send to The Sandersville Progress and other local papers:

To the editor:

I appreciate the time local papers spend reporting on a complicated issue like Plant Washington. The project has had serious setbacks and I do not think the plant is “full steam ahead.”

This coal plant has some big roadblocks to clear before it can ever break ground. Power4Georgians does not have a final permit, and that is still weeks from happening. When they do get the permit, Washington EMC and the other three co-ops will have to spend millions more on engineering and equipment. They also don’t have any customers signed up to buy the power, which Mr. Alford says is what they will use to try and get financing.

When the EPA announced the carbon pollution rule about green house gases on Friday, April 13, a clock started running on this project. Power4Georgians must now make significant headway towards construction by April 13, 2013. If they don't, they will also have to meet the carbon pollution control rule requirements.

This proposed coal plant has never made sense to me and I have been following this since it was announced over four years ago. With all the strikes against it, we need to tell Washington EMC and local leaders to give up on this project. We don’t have the 16M gallons of water it will require each day, let alone the money it will take. We need to quit spending the hard earned dollars of local EMC members and taxpayers on this project.

Buford Cummings
Washington EMC member

Colorado Partner Brings History of Workplace Deaths and
Millions in Electric Bill Increases
April 20, 2012

Power4Georgians (P4G) representative Dean Alford has announced the addition of a Colorado investor to its Board but failed to include that Tim Taylor’s track record in the energy industry includes serving as the President and CEO of Public Service Company in Colorado (an Xcel Energy company) when a workplace accident resulted in the death of five employees at Cabin Creek power plant. One worker was 19 years old.

Taylor was also the President and CEO of Xcel Energy when it requested rate increases of $180.2M for customers in order to pay for coal plant construction in advance at its Comanche #3 facility. Current Xcel CEO Dick Kelly has said he thinks that the Comanche unit will be the last coal Xcel builds.  

Alford’s release also failed to identify what financial resources Taylor Energy Fund LLC brings to the group of four Georgia EMCs. With the cancellation of Plant Ben Hill, the lack of a final permit for Plant Washington and increasing costs associated with the project, Alford and P4G face steep hurdles in order to secure funding and begin construction to be in compliance with pollution standards.

Katherine Helms Cummings, the Executive Director of the Fall-line Alliance for a Clean Environment (FACE) and a Washington EMC (WEMC) owner-member, said   "I urge my fellow Washington EMC owner-members to watch their wallets. Mr. Taylor's legacy in Colorado includes a rate increase request of $180.2M to the Colorado Public Utilities Commission to finance construction of a 750 MW coal fired unit. Based on Mr. Taylor’s history of expecting rate payers to cover construction costs prior to putting a coal unit into service, EMC ratepayers should begin to figure out how they can manage at least $12,575 per customer based on the four year old cost estimate for Plant Washington. Financing a coal plant through EMC customers’ bills is one of the worst ideas out there. It’s just another reason why investors won’t buy in to Plant Washington and this plant will not see the light of day”

“This is another Dean Alford stunt,” said Seth Gunning, a Cobb EMC owner-member and Sierra Club Conservation Organizer, "Developing Plant Washington is a ploy for Alford and his indicted business partner Dwight Brown to line their pockets with rate-payer dollars. Mr. Taylor's contributions hardly move the project forward. Power4Georgians must still obtain final permits, prove it can produce power competitively, find a market to sell that power, find financing during a time where investors are fleeing risky coal investments, AND minimize harmful greenhouse pollution to meet new federal rules. More than half of the EMC's originally financing Power4Georgian's have drawn that same conclusion, cut their investments in Mr. Alford, and protected their members from wasteful spending. I suspect other EMC's and large potential financiers will be likely to do the same. The writing is on the wall: It’s the end of the road for Plant Washington.”

FACE President Larry Warthen said, “How can our EMC say Plant Washington is all about jobs and lower power bills when the new partner has a questionable work safety record and his customers spent millions to support a coal project? It is time our EMC leaders got smart like the other five co-ops who have already withdrawn from this project.”

Plant Washington still lacks necessary permit to move forward
April 17, 2012

The Sandersville Progress's coverage (April 16, 2012) of a pending settlement concerning the construction and air permit for Plant Washington omitted some important facts:

1. P4G does not have a final permit, and the amended permit must stand for public comments before it can be final. This will take weeks to complete.


• 2. The carbon pollution rule (also called Green House Gas or GHG rule), was announced on Friday, April 13.  Plant Washington needed a final and complete permit before April 13th to be considered exempt from the rule.  In addition, P4G must commence construction before April 13, 2013 in order to avoid this additional pollution control rule. The clock is running now on this project. 
  
  
• 3. If Plant Washington fails to meet the exemption criteria announced by the EPA, it will have to meet the new carbon pollution rules.  
  
  
• 4. "Commence construction" requires more than moving some dirt around. It might be demonstrated by a contract for a boiler for the facility. For a facility of this size experts estimate the cost to be about $400M, with additional cancellation penalties ranging from $20M-$80M. There is no indication that P4G has done any of the engineering work required to order a boiler. There is also no indication that P4G has lined up the financing that would allow it to enter such a significant contractual commitment.
  
  
• 5. No company has built a new coal plant to meet the new Mercury and Air Toxins rules which were finalized earlier this year. Dean Alford, the project developer, has never built a coal plant.  
  
  
• 6.The remaining four co-ops in P4G do not have any agreements in place for customers to purchase electricity generated by Plant Washington.
    
• 7. Dean Alford has said that the PPAs will be used to help acquire financing loans for the project in addition to the bonds it expects the county to issue. Therefore, there is no indication that P4G has the necessary financing in place for the project.         

Plant Washington is not a "done deal" by any stretch of the imagination. Washington EMC still can and should withdraw from this expensive and unnecessary project just as five other EMCs have done. FACE and our partners are still working every day to stop Plant Washington. You can help by asking your WEMC board representative to withdraw from P4G. Washington County citizens should ask their county commissioner to oppose any bonds being issued for this project. Spending one more dollar on this project does not make good business sense for our community.      

Cobb EMC says "We are ripe" for solar power
April 16, 2012

The Atlanta Journal Constitution coverage of the Azalea Solar Facility slated for Davisboro, GA in Washington County, focused on Cobb EMC's decision to buy the 10MW of power the farm will produce sometime next year. Chip Nelson, the CEO of the co-op, told the AJC, " "The way things have been moving in the utility industry, particularly the last two or three years, I find that we're just ripe for it."

Davisboro city council member Valerie Brown told FACE's Executive Director after the announcement today, "I wanted to bring something to Davisboro that wouldn't harm us." She is pleased the facility won't require water or add pollution to the community airshed. The facility will cost $30-35M to build, providing a pollution free benefit to the local tax base.

Largest solar farm in Georgia coming to Davisboro, and it will supply power to Cobb EMC
April 13, 2012

On the heels of the Green House Gas rule announcement today (see below), developers have announced plans to build Georgia's largest solar farm just miles from the proposed coal fired power plant. The Atlanta Business Chronicle reports that Cobb EMC will purchase clean, renewable, solar power from the facility generated right here in Washington County. Cobb had been the lead partner in Power4Georgians until it withdrew from the co-op collaborative in January.

An announcement will be made in Davisboro on Monday, April 16 at 1:00 at the fire department. The Chamber of Commerce said anyone may attend. Lunch will also be served.

We will update news about this project as we talk with Smart Energy Capital and Jacoby Development.

Greenhouse Gas Rule complicates Plant Washington
April 13,2012

Because P4G does not have a final construction permit for the proposed coal plant they continue to promote as viable, the developer now has to consider a strong carbon pollution requirement which was announced today. The Environmental Protection Agency announced a Greenhouse Gas (GHG) rule which shortens the time P4G has to begin plant construction, once the small group of four EMCs receives a finial construction permit.

P4G will have to commence construction within a year. Commence construction will require much more than simply moving some dirt around at the plant site. As we review this announcement more information will be posted here.

Proposed Plant Ben Hill Coal Plant Cancelled
Power4Georgians in Tenuous Position on Plant Washington After Legal Agreement
April 10, 2012

The Fall-line Alliance for a Clean Environment (FACE), together with our partners The Ogeechee Riverkeeper, Sierra Club, and the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, have claimed a huge win for clean air and water in Middle Georgia. Led by attorneys at the Southern Environmental Law Center and GreenLaw, the groups have successfully challenged permits issued by the Environmental Protection Division (EPD) to Power4Georgians (P4G).

P4G is the only company interested in developing new coal plants in Georgia, and it is now required to meet the tightest emission standards for mercury and air toxins as required by new EPA regulations. The consortium, which is now reduced to only four participating EMCs, also agreed to cancel the proposed Ben Hill coal-fired power plant and invest $5 million in energy efficiency and renewable projects.

Larry Warthen, FACE’s President said, “After a 30 year wait, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized tougher emission standards for mercury and other air toxins which will help protect infants and children from the health impacts of these pollutants. By insisting on lower emissions since the plant was announced over four years ago, FACE and our partners have driven the emission rate on mercury from an initial 122 lbs per year to 1.63 lbs per year.”

Now, Plant Washington faces its steepest challenge yet, as the EPA recently announced the carbon pollution rule for new coal-fired power plants, which will require new coal plants to capture their harmful carbon emissions.

Power4Georgians had not considered carbon capture technology in the original Plant Washington proposal. In the rule, EPA identified Plant Washington as a potential “transitional” source whereby it could be exempt from the rule if there is a final permit and construction commences within a year of when the rule is published. The carbon pollution rule is expected to be published later in April. However, the permit for Plant Washington will not be final until the permit amendment which incorporates the mercury emissions limits goes through the permitting process, which will take at least 45 days.

“Plant Washington continues to lack a complete and legally effective permit that authorizes construction, and it won’t until the mercury permit amendment is issued, which will take another 30 days at least,” said Kurt Ebersbach, staff attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center. “Based on filings by P4G in this case, it is clear that they have not done engineering, selected the boilers, lined up investors, or met any of the criteria that EPA is looking at to exempt a source from complying with the carbon pollution rule.”

“P4G experienced a big setback when Cobb EMC withdrew from the project, and questions still remain about how the remaining four EMCs in the group can financially support this coal plant, and even if they ever intended to build it.” said FACE’s Executive Director Katherine Helms Cummings. “At the original estimated cost of $2.1B, this project would now cost $12,575 per meter customer based on the number of co-op customers remaining in P4G. I don’t think our pockets are that deep. The math just doesn’t add up to make Plant Washington a good investment for EMCs or any other developer.”

The cancellation of Plant Ben Hill marks 168 total coal plant proposals cancelled due to changing market conditions, legal challenges, and local opposition. In December 2011, New Jersey-based LS Power cancelled the Plant Longleaf coal plant proposal, which would have been built in Early County, GA. Further, 106 coal plants have been scheduled for retirement, including two units at Plant Branch that were recently approved by the Georgia Public Service Commission.

“The cancellation of Plant Ben Hill is just one more sign that coal is dead,” says Justine Thompson, attorney for GreenLaw that has been working with the community adjacent to the proposed Plant Ben Hill to oppose the construction of the plant. “Georgia has a promising future – but to be a serious player in the global economy while also ensuring that we have clean air and water, Georgia needs to embrace energy efficiency and more renewable sources of energy. We are now moving one step closer to that goal.”

Coal ash featured in Macon Telegraph, CNN, and now a court battle
April 5, 2012

Just five days into the month of April and news coverage across the country is dominated by not only coal ash waste, but in particular the problems at Plant Scherer in Monroe County, GA. CNN Radio featured Plant Scherer's 900 ton unlined coal ash pond in a story focusing on cancer, liver, and kidney illnesses due to "environmental causes" according to local physicians.

Residents are also reporting dangerously high levels of uranium and radon in their well water, and are worried because Scherer's waste has included uranium levels higher than those found at nuclear waste sites.

Citizens are also concerned because GA Power has recently bought houses near the plant, and within just a few days sealed the wells. There is rising suspicion among local residents that the Scherer is directly connected to their health and water problems.

The Macon Telegraph reports today that the state's Department of Community Health will be studying the problems. While uranium can occur naturally due to geological conditions like those in the area, the proximity of the huge unlined coal ash pond adds significantly to citizen concerns.

Earthjustice filed a suit today on behalf of 11 environmental and health organizations to force the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to finalize rules which would classify coal ash waste as hazardous.

A press release on the court filing includes, "Although the EPA has not updated its waste disposal and control standards for coal ash in over thirty years, it continues to delay these needed federal protections despite more evidence of leaking waste ponds, poisoned groundwater supplies and threats to public health. The groups’ lawsuit comes as EPA data show that an additional 29 power plants in 16 states have contaminated groundwater near coal ash dump sites."

Josh Galperin, policy analyst and research attorney for the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE) said, "despite federal laws requiring frequent review, it has been 30 years since EPA last addressed ash contamination. The people who drink, fish, swim, boat, play or live around water cannot wait any longer.”

Cobb EMC elects reform board members
April 3, 2012

Last Saturday Cobb EMC owner-members turned out to elect directors in the last round of elections. Rudy Underwood won his district as an uncontested candidate. Reform candidates Kelly Bodner, Bryan Boyd, and Eric Broadwell, all supported by Take Back Cobb EMC, carried their respective districts.

Two other candidates supported by Take Back Cobb, Tripper Sharp (a litigant against Cobb EMC when legal action was required by members), and Jim Hudson, did not reach a majority plus one vote to win without a run-off.

Of particular interest to Cobb EMC co-op owners, as well as those whose EMC remains in Power4Georgians, is the forensic audit which Cobb EMC will conduct shortly according to Board Chair Ed Crowell.

The run-off is scheduled for April 21, but groups are now calling for Sharp and Hudson's opponents to concede due to the significantly lower support they received. The Marietta Daily Journal coverage is here.

More bad news for Plant Washington supporters
March 27, 2012

On the heels of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) announcement of Green House Gas rules (Green House Gas, or GHG, are the carbon emissions from power plants) Tuesday, Dean Alford told the Macon Telegraph on Tuesday that he is "concerned" about Plant Washington.

The rules are not final yet but could be a serious, if not insurmountable obstacle, for Plant Washington. One requirement for proposed facilities is that they "commence construction" within 12 months of the rules being finalized. With the air permit under appeal, and no announced financing, this is not good news for P4G or the remaining four EMCs footing the bill for this project. Meeting the construction requirements involves more than moving some dirt around.

Duke Energy's President Jim Rogers told national media reporters Tuesday that "As we look out over the next two decades, we do not plan to build another coal plant."

The rule reflects the lower carbon emissions already met for most existing natural gas fired power plants, making that fuel source, already available at low rates, even more attractive financially.

No savings on coal plant, but at least a $4.3M loss for co-op members
March 26, 2012

Cobb EMC took a $4.3M loss in their 3rd quarter for P4G non-land expenses according to the Marietta Daily Journal. The co-op sunk at least $13.5M into the project since it was announced in January 2008. In January of this year the Cobb EMC Board of Directors included in their minutes, that Plant Washington developer Dean Alford told them, "P4G never intended to build this plant." Clearly Cobb EMC wants no part in it now. They voted 7-2 to drop it.

Savannah Morning News: Judge's ruling an insult
March 26, 2012

Tom Barton, editor of the Savannah newspaper, wrote a scathing editorial over the weekend that Judge Lois Oakley's ruling against the Ogeechee Riverkeeper is, "one of the most insulting rulings in the long, insulting history of environmental protection in Georgia."

Barton's column takes issue with King America Finishing, source of the state's largest fish kill in history, former EPD Director Allen Barnes, Governor Roy Barnes, and "silk stocking" attorneys at King & Spalding (who work for Power4Georgians), Alston + Bird (representing King America Finishing). along with the Office of State Administrative Hearings. He says that the state's handling of the fish kill is "a load of bull excrement," adding that he thinks it has been served to rural Georgians "on a silver platter."

Barton's column is critical of the back seat the environment has taken to private business, adding that the state's recent grade of F for ethics is part and parcel of the problem. Barton's full editorial is here.

"Enough smoke and mirrors"
March 23,2012

This letter appeared in the March 20 issue weekly newspapers in the Washington EMC service area:

Dear Editor,

In his March 14th letter to the editor, Dean Alford claims his comments about Power4Georgians’ never intending to build Plant Washington as reported by the Marietta Daily Journal (MDJ) were taken out of context.  He goes on to say that “Power4Georgians never intended to build Plant Washington alone and always intended to secure additional partners.”

If additional partners were “always” planned, why has Mr. Alford never mentioned them before?  In January 2008, Mr. Alford told the MDJ that the original ten cooperatives “are building this facility …100 percent used by them, for them.” 

Similarly, in the hearing on the challenge to the Plant Washington Permit, Mr. Alford testified that the cooperatives (which by then had dwindled to five) had “basically said that they’re going to build this project.”  On neither occasion did Mr. Alford mention additional partners.  His mention of them now seems to be an acknowledgement that with Cobb EMC out, and only four of the original nine EMCs remaining, the project cannot proceed without some mysterious outside investor stepping in. 

According to Mr. Alford, this unnamed “outside investor” will “assume all financial risks associated with constructing the plant; not the participating EMCs.”  And having assumed all the risk, the unnamed outside investor will then extend discounted rates to the remaining EMCs (after having also paid to buy the permit).  This is fantasy. 

Historically low natural gas prices have made the construction of new coal plants about the riskiest investment there is.  Even assuming an outside investor was to materialize, why would they put their investment at risk by accepting below market prices? 

Mr. Alford has testified that he has no previous experience in obtaining a permit for a coal fired plant. P4G has never built a coal plant and has no employees.  What does Mr. Alford think he knows that major players like Georgia Power and LS Power do not?  Both are investing in existing cheap gas generation; they are not building expensive new coal plants.  Considering Mr. Alford’s conflicting statements and lack of experience, why do our EMC directors and local leaders continue to let him speak for them?

Enough smoke and mirrors.  It is long past time for the WEMC Board to explain to the customers how Plant Washington is in their best interests. If Cobb EMC does not need the plant or its power, why do we? 

Respectfully submitted,
Cathy & Randy Mayberry
Washington EMC Owner Members

Ogeechee Riverkeeper plans to appeal judge's ruling
March 20, 2012

The Ogeechee Riverkeeper plans to appeal a judge's ruling that citizens living on the river do not have legal standing to bring a case concerning the settlement between the EPD and King Finishing, the company responsible for the largest fish kill in Georgia's history. Read more here.

We were paying attention when Plant Washington was announced
March 13, 2012

When Plant Washington was announced in January 2008, Dean Alford, who represents Power4Georgians(P4G) (but not Washington EMC because he is not elected by the owner-members) was quoted at length in an article in the Marietta Daily Journal.

While Alford is saying now that the EMCs participating in P4G "never intended to build Plant Washington Alone," that isn't what was reported in the Marietta Daily Journal on January 18, 2008.

Alford is quoted saying:
"These 10 cooperatives ... are building this facility -- 100 percent used by them, for them -- to keep energy rates affordable."

The MDJ coverage continues with "Only those 10 EMCs will be able to purchase the power, he said. Cobb EMC, one of the largest among the state's 42 EMCs, will own about 25 percent of the plant and will purchase about the same amount of energy it generates, the MDJ has learned."

The article goes on to list the EMCs who will "own and operate" Plant Washington. The list is much shorter now than it was when announced four years ago with only 4 of the original 9 EMCs remaining:Upson (Thomaston), Snapping Shoals (Covington), Central Georgia (Jackson), and Washington EMC (Sandersville).

The difference in what we were told before Cobb EMC withdrew from P4G in January 2012, and what we are being told now, seem to be at polar opposites. FACE hasn't found any corrections or clarifications by the Marietta paper or Alford for the quotes attributed to Alford in that article.

FACE encourages citizens and WEMC owner-members to ask local officials and WEMC leaders about the glaring contradictions.

The contact information for WEMC is:

Mike McDonald, District 1.......................................706–465–9414
Jeff Lacksen, District 2...........................................706–444–7556
Joe Taylor, District 3..............................................478–452–7817
Billy Helton, District 4 (Plant Washington site)........478-348-3078
Mildred Jackson, District 5.....................................478–552–9438
Chair Mike McCoy, District 6..................................478–552–0895
Ken Vickers, District 7...........................................478–864–2459
Washington EMC office..........................................478.552.2577

Email:

Frank Askew, CEO f.askew@washingtonemc.com

Chair Mike McCoy, mmccoy@washemc.net

Wendy Sellers, CFO w.sellers@washingtonemc.com

The ruse is up
March 12,2012

The following letter to the editor appeared in the Sandersville Progress

To the Editor:

Last weekend the Marietta Daily Journal “Around Town” reported that Dean Alford told the Cobb EMC Board of Directors that Power4Georgians (P4G) never intended to build Plant Washington.

The MDJ quotes the recently released Cobb EMC January 24 Board Meeting minutes now available online for members, “Power4Georgians owns the permits but he stated that P4G never intended to build Plant Washington. He stated P4G’s goal has always been to obtain the permits needed and then sell them to any interested party that could build the plant.”

The MDJ goes on to say, “The power plant was the ‘baby’ of now-indicted ex-Cobb EMC head Dwight Brown and his sidekick Alford, who also served as vice chairman of corporate spin off Cobb Energy.”

I think this means Washington EMC owner-members have now spent about $1M on a plant that was never intended to be built, owned, or operated by the EMCs.

The MDJ asked an industry expert about the possibility of selling the permits once they are obtained: “Good luck,” our first industry source said. “Who would buy those, if Cobb and others are saying they don’t need all that power?”

The newspaper goes on to quote a second expert who said, “I questioned myself if they ever intended to build it, and I’m convinced that if they had pursued that course, it would have driven Cobb EMC into bankruptcy,” he said. “But I think Dean’s a smoke-and-mirrors guy who’ll say anything to keep his business going.”

A lot of promises were made when Plant Washington was announced over four years ago. Job fairs have been held to get people geared up. Plans to close roads and reroute others have been approved by the County Commissioners. P4G bought considerable tracts of land using EMC dollars.

It bears asking again: What is going on at Washington EMC that requires the Board to meet behind closed doors? Why don’t they want the members to attend the meetings and have ready access to minutes and financial information? Are they hiding things from us?

The ruse is up. The best damage control WEMC can do now is drop out of Plant Washington, open the board meetings to the members, and give us a full accounting of how our money has been spent. There are no reasons to delay.

Katherine Cummings

WEMC owner-member

Know Your Enemy
March 7, 2012

Power4Georgians and Plant Washington's own Dean Alford is featured in this flyer distributed on the Georgia State campus. The paragraph on it reads:

"Despite his complete lack of teaching experience, Gov. Dealt 'dealt" out a Regents position to Alford. It may have been the $27 million he pocketed after handling a no-bid contract to develop an ill-conceived, environmental disaster called Plant Washington. Or was it the $11 million lost over 5 years while Alford acted as Vice President of Cobb Energy? Sneaky bastard. Carcinogens, squandering of millions, mishandling of funds. Greet the newest member of the board.

Dean Alford tells Cobb EMC: P4G never intended to build coal plant
March 4, 2012

The Marietta Daily Journal reported in the March 3 "Around Town" column that newly released Cobb EMC board meeting minutes reveal that Dean Alford told the Cobb EMC board that Power4Georgians never intended to build Plant Washington.

The column includes this from the Cobb EMC minutes, “Mr. Alford … commented that coal is still the backbone of the country and that it is important to have a diversified portfolio of energy. Power4Georgians owns the permits but he stated that P4G never intended to build Plant Washington. He stated P4G’s goal has always been to obtain the permits needed and then sell them to any interested party that could build the plant.”

"Around Town" includes this on Plant Washington, "The power plant was the “baby” of now-indicted ex-Cobb EMC head Dwight Brown and his sidekick Alford, who also served as vice chairman of corporate spin off Cobb Energy." 

The MDJ contacted two industry experts. One is quoted saying, “I questioned myself if they ever intended to build it, and I’m convinced that if they had pursued that course, it would have driven Cobb EMC into bankruptcy,” he said. “But I think Dean’s a smoke-and-mirrors guy who’ll say anything to keep his business going.” (emphasis added)

Another industry expert told "Around Town" this about the possibility of selling the permits once or if they are obtained, "As for the argument that the permits could be sold? “Good luck,” our first industry source said. “Who would buy those, if Cobb and others are saying they don’t need all that power?” (emphasis added).

FACE Executive Director Katherine Cummings was at the announcement for Plant Washington in January 2008. Alford and Washington EMC leaders said that Plant Washington would be owned, built, and operated by the Power4Georgians.

Indicted CEO demanding $2.1M from Cobb EMC
February 28, 2012

Dwight Brown and Cobb EMC Board Chair Larry Chadwick signed a contract that Brown says obligated the co-op to pay him $13,800 per week in consulting fees when he was forced by a court settlement agreement to retire as the CEO.

According to the Marietta Daily Journal the Cobb Board of Directors wasn't included in the contract decision making process, Not only does the co-op want to break the contract, it wants the money back that has already been paid to Brown. Read more here

P4G's law firm reports "fat" year in profits
February 28, 2012

Business is good at King and Spalding, the law firm that Power4Georgians uses for Plant Washington. The American Law site reports that the firms's equity partners made almost $2M in distributions from the firm's profits. The firm's revenue has increased 20 percent since Plant Washington was announced in 2008.

Washington EMC and all co-op members of P4G fund the work that continues in the pursuit of Plant Washington. The largest contributing co-op, cobb EMC, which spent $14M on the coal plant project, withdrew at the end of January.

Four EMCs remain in the project now: Central Georgia, Snapping Shoals, Upson, and Washington.

Read more about King and Spalding's soaring profits here.

WEMC budget released to owner member
February 24, 2012

FACE's Exective Director is also a Washington EMC owner member. She requested, and finally got, what the co-op says is an itemized budget fo 2012, including budgeted expenses for Plant Washington. Read more here.

State Representative moving to GreenLaw
February 22, 2012

State Representative Stephanie Stuckey Benfield will lead GreenLaw after the General Assembly session ends this year. In addition to stellar legal credentials, Benfield has been a recognized leader on environmental issues among Georgia's General Assembly members.

In announcing Benfield's leadership as Executive Director, Greg Presmanes, who chairs GreenLaw's Board, said, “Stephanie was picked from an impressive pool of candidates due to her outstanding legal and public service credentials,” said Greg Presmanes, Chairman of GreenLaw’s Board of Directors.  She received both an undergraduate and law degree from the University of Georgia.  She graduated cum laude from the University of Georgia School of Law in 1992.  Benfield served as a public defender and then went into private practice before being elected to the Georgia General Assembly in 1999.  Benfield was given the Outstanding Lawyer in Public Service Award by the Atlanta Bar Association in 2011.

Benfield said this about the work she looks forward to at the nonprofit, “Whether the pollution is from landfills, careless industries, or dirty coal, it’s high time that we clear the air and clean the water in Georgia so our children can live healthy, productive lives.”

Justine Thompson is leaving GreenLaw as the Executive Director but will continue as a staff attorney after she moves to Florida to be with her family. Thompson has had a successful 12 year career as the Executive Director, which includes stopping Longleaf, a proposed coal fired power plant that required over 10 years of work to defeat.


What lesson can be learned from Cobb EMC?
February 17, 2012

Don McKee, whose column has chronicled the battle pitting Cobb EMC executives and the Board of Directors against the owner members, urges anyone holding elected office to learn from the five year contest over who will control the co-op.

McKee says, "Four years ago, “who would have thunk,” as the saying goes, that a few determined members would prevail in their reform efforts? But they did, and as a result, the closed doors have begun to open with the first-time release of EMC quarterly earnings and steps to provide more information to co-op members." 

FACE urges Washington EMC owner members to contact their representative on the EMC board and insist on similar open door access to the board meetings and co-op records.

Last two Cobb EMC incumbents bow out of elections
February 16, 2012

Johnny Gresham and Kay Anderson, the remaining vestiges of Dwight Brown's Board of Directors at Cobb EMC, have announced they will not run for their seats in the March 31 elections. Six directors will be elected by co-op owner members on March 31. Read the Marietta Daily Journal's coverage here.

Follow the Money
February 9, 2012


New research released by the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE) reveals more than a trail of money from Washington EMC members' checkbooks to Power4Georgians. SACE's research also raises questions about how a well known family in Washington County, the Tarbuttons, could benefit from the proposed coal plant.

Follow the Money exposes the complicated funding connections to Plant Washington, which was awarded in a no-bid contract to Allied Energy Services and Dean Alford. Alford is a former Cobb Energy executive and close business associate of Dwight Brown, the currently indicted former CEO of Cobb EMC and Cobb Energy.

While questions about the funding of Power4Georgians and Plant Washington have gone unanswered for years, Follow the Money also highlights the role that Hugh Tarbutton, Sr. plays in the pursuit of the coal plant. Follow the Money includes, according to the SACE press release, the potentially lucrative contract Sandersville Railroad, the short line railroad privately held by the Tarbuttons, could gain for transporting the estimated 120 railcars of coal that would be required each day to fuel the plant.

In addition to the railroad connection to Plant Washington, Follow the Money reveals that Hugh Tarbutton, Sr. owns the land where the plant would be built. He is also the chair of the Washington County Industrial Development Authority, which may issue bonds to back the project. His nephew, Ben Tarbutton III, serves as the Authority Development's Secretary.

Amelia Shenstone with SACE said, "If Hugh Tarbutton sells his land Power4Georgians his land at the same rate they paid his neighbors, he'll make eleven times the market value of the land-EMCs and members need to know the justification for those transactions."

FACE's Executive Director, Katherine Helms Cummings, who is also a Washington EMC owner member, said. "I don't know where my money is going in this process. It is a sure bet Dean Alford knows. That's a big problem. For EMC co-ops, the members are the regulators-if we, as members, can't more clearly see what's going on, how can we make sure we don't get in the same mess that Cobb EMC got itself into?"

Snapping Shoals Owner Member to Board of Directors: You should be better stewards of our money
February 3, 2012

Another Snapping Shoals EMC (SSEMC) owner member has asked the Board
of Directors to withdraw from Plant Washington. She says, "I am outraged that the board has arrogantly decided to continue its support through the use of our money."

This letter is the second one opposing Plant Washington to appear in the Rockdale Citizen this week. Read the entire letter here.

Incumbent Cobb EMC Board Member: give Power4Georgians a little more money to wind the plant down
February 1, 2012

The Marietta Daily Journal's Around Town column returns to the co-op's decision last week to drop support of Plant Washington. Only two members supported continued involvement but co-op executives would not release those names.

The MDJ is reporting that one vote in favor of continuing in a project belong to Johnny Gresham. Gresham is described in the column as Dean Alford's "Georgia Tech alum chum."

The second vote is attributed to David McGinnis. The MDJ reports that McGinnis wants to "give P4G 'a little' more money so the consortium could wind down, not necessarily to continue it to fruition."

McGinnis served on both the Cobb EMC and Cobb Energy Boards, which is considered to be a clear conflict of interest. His home was one that was searched by the GBI for evidence which resulted in Dwight Brown's indictments.

Cobb EMC coverage is the last topic in the column.

Snapping Shoals EMC member: stop any further funding of Plant Washington
February 1, 2012

Snapping Shoals EMC, located just outside Atlanta, is the largest of the remaining four EMCs funding the development of Plant Washington. Snapping Shoals owner member J.L. Howard includes this in a letter to the editor of the Rockdale Citizen, "As a Snapping Shoals EMC member this makes me (and my bank account), very nervous. In the past Cobb EMC was by far the largest investor in Plant Washington. Now that they have pulled out how much will be passed along to Snapping Shoals members? Who will continue to pay the lawyer fees etc. of the company that is fighting for permits?"

Read more here.

Tell WEMC Not One More Dollar on Plant Washington!
January 30, 2012

EMC owner members in Snapping Shoals EMC, Cnetral Georgia EMC, Upson EMC, and Washington EMC, are telling their Board of Directors to get out of the boondoggle Plant Washington (and Plant Ben Hill) projects.

The more we learn, the worse the project is for owner members and Washington County taxpayers. Sign the petition today and share the link with friends.

WEMC Board Member supports forensic audit to build confidence
January 27, 2012

Yesterday following the Washington EMC (WEMC) monthly board meeting, Billy Helton talked with FACE Executive Director and co-op owner member Katherine Cummings. Helton is her District Rep and his district includes the Plant Washington site.

Helton was clearly sincere when he said he wants to make the most of every co-op dollar spent, including the Plant Washington project. One option he raised was the possibility of finally getting the permit and then selling it to another company. Cummings cautioned that with the surplus of inexpensive power flooding the market, the lack of a pro forma estimate and any power purchase agreements for Plant Washington, increased emission regulations, and higher construction costs since the $2.1B project was announced four years ago, selling the permit may not be a way to return some of the $1M (plus any more money spent in 2012) to the co-op.

A review of the reduced customer base among the four remaining co-ops, and the announced cost of the project, along with the money already spent, puts the cost at these levels:

Cost to each WEMC member with $1M spent to date: $67.00

Cost to each EMC customer with the original customer base now reduced by 77 percent: $12,575 per customer (double that amount if they pursue Plant Ben Hill)

Helton supports forensic audit

Helton agrees that a forensic audit would be a good way to help rebuild confidence among WEMC members. Cummings urged a committee with owner members making up the majority be appointed to hire a company to conduct the audit, and report back to the Board of Directors and WEMC owner members. Helton said he thought all of those points were reasonable.

FACE urges WEMC owner members to contact the Board Chair Mike McCoy, CEO Frank Askew, CFO Wendy Sellers, and their Board Representative and ask them to withdraw WEMC from P4G. They have not ever provided us with substantive support for Plant Washington and recent announcements create yet more serious concerns about the use of owner member dollars.

Find out more about how concerned WEMC owner members are partnering with FACE to organize Take Back Washington EMC via the new Face book page.


WEMC Board learns about pro forma estimates after announcement that Plant Washington never had one
January 26. 2012

Thursday morning during the monthly Washington EMC board meeting, Cobb EMC member Mark Hackett made a presentation on the benefits of pro forma estimates for making power supply and purchasing decisions. Read the presentation and more about the board's refusal to reveal 2012 budgeting for Plant Washington here.

COBB EMC PULLS OUT OF PLANT WASHINGTON!
January 24, 2012

The Atlanta Journal Constitution is reporting that Cobb EMC voted to withdraw from Plant Washington this afternoon, just one week shy of the day four years ago when it was announced in Sandersville.

The financial soundness of Plant Washington has been questioned and challenged since it was announced. Cobb EMC members were quick to praise their Board's decision. "I'm happy to see that my EMC has woken up, smelled the coffee, and cancelled funding for this terrible project. Dirty coal plants are no longer a good option. Now, the other three EMCs should follow Cobb’s lead and immediately cease funding Power4Georgians,” said Don Dressel, Cobb EMC member and Sierra Club leader.

The no-bid contract for Plant Washington was awarded to Allied Energy Services, which Cobb EMC was forced to sell as part of a court settlement with co-op owners. Dean Alford, who bought the company for a fraction of the $4.3M it had lost, made a presentation to the Cobb EMC Board today which, based on the Board's action, did not convince them that the project was worth pursuing any longer.

The Washington EMC Board of Directors and CEO Frank Askew told three members of FACE in May of last year that they had no business plan or study they could share with members to demonstrate the soundness of this project and the co-op's involvement in it. Less than two weeks ago co-op members were stunned when Cobb V-P Sam Kelly announced that there is no pro forma cost and revenue estimate for the project. In fact, Cobb EMC also said its interest in the project was cooling.

FACE's Executive Director Katherine Cummings said that the work taken up by local citizens four years ago began because they wanted to make sure their children had clean air and water. The problems surrounding governance and transparency have helped bring plant opponents and co-op reform members together to work for a better Washington EMC.

FACE urges Washington EMC members to contact their Board representative immediately and ask them to cancel any further involvement and investment of owner member dollars in this boondoggle.

Mike McDonald, District 1.......................................706–465–9414
Jeff Larksen, District 2...........................................706–444–7556
Joe Taylor, District 3.............................................478–452–7817
Billy Helton, District 4 (Plant Washington site)......478-348-3078
Mildred Jackson, District 5....................................478–552–9438
Chair Mike McCoy, District 6.................................478–552–0895
Ken Vickers, District 7..........................................478–864–2459
Washington EMC office........................................478.552.2577

Email:

Frank Askew, CEO f.askew@washingtonemc.com

Chair Mike McCoy, mmccoy@washemc.net

Wendy Sellers, CFO w.sellers@washingtonemc.com


Cobb EMC Board candidate calls for cancellation of Plant Washington
January 23,2012

Former nuclear energy industry professional John Berry, who is running for District 5 in the Cobb EMC elections at the end of March, has an op/ed in the Marietta Daily Journal calling for the cancellation of Plant Washington.

Mr. Berry's letter includes, "Let's for a moment just ask ourselves whether it makes any sense at all for us, as an electricity provider with no experience or expertise in operating a generating facility, to build Plant Washington. I think not.

If our goal is to ensure an adequate supply of affordable energy for the future then building Plant Washington is the last thing we want to undertake. Once you are the owner and operator of a generating station it is you who are obligated for all the costs associated with that plant."

Berry is yet another Cobb EMC member who is arguing that the plant is a poor business decision in and of itself without the numerous legal and ethical complaints raised about the project and Power4Georgians. Read more here. 

New Cobb EMC Board Members update the community
January 19, 2012

The four new members of the Cobb EMC Board have written a letter to the editor of the Marietta Daily Journal to keep them current on operations. They also include Plant Washington in their review of previous decisions. Read more here.

“Because we said so” isn’t a business plan
January 17, 2012

Letter to the Editors of The Sandersville Progress, Johnson County Journal, Sparta Ishmalite, Jefferson County News and Farmer

Just short of four years after Plant Washington was touted by Dean Alford, Washington County elected officials and Washington EMC leaders as a “done deal,” A Cobb EMC Vice-President announced that there is no pro forma estimate for Plant Washington. And the need for power? The Marietta Daily Journal has reported that Cobb EMC just received 17 responses requesting bids from power suppliers, which serves as evidence that there are ample options already available without pursuing this boondoggle any further.

Washington EMC members now know that $1M of our member dollars have been spent on a project that was based on the EMC Board and local leaders saying, “Because we say it is good.”

EMC members and local citizens need to ask our EMC Board and local leaders why they spent local dollars and committed this community to a project which they knew had no pro forma estimate on the financials of this project. They need to demonstrate to us now how they carried out their due diligence. Telling us they did isn’t acceptable or sufficient.

Local leaders can do longer say that Plant Washington was what we were told it was supposed to be. We had hoped they would choose a graceful exit and abandon this project like four other EMCs did almost three years ago. Last summer when Dwight Brown was re-indicted on 35 counts (and those indictments were upheld in court recently), FACE asked the EMC, the Chamber of Commerce, County Commissioners, the Industrial Development Authority, and all local business and civic leader, to call the engagement off. It was clear that this project was not in our best interest. They stood fast on their insistence to go forward.

It is time for them to come clean. Stalling won’t make it any easier or prettier. Ask your EMC Board Member and local officials to tell us the truth, and to abandon Plant Washington now. 

Katherine Cummings
FACE Executive Director

Cobb EMC members have spent over $1.6M on Brown's defense
January 17, 2012

On the heels of Cobb EMC's announcement last week that there is no pro forma cost estimate for Plant Washington, and the co-op's interest in the project has decreased, members now know that they have spent over $1.6M on defending Dwight Brown. What wasn't made clear in Cobb EMC V-P Sam Kelly's statement is when the meter started running. Several members have said that they think m,ore money was spent with King and Spalding for other issues with the Cobb County District Attorney's office. The Marietta Daily Journal's coverage is the third item in today's Around Town column.

Cobb EMC Board shouldn't "throw good money after bad"
January 13, 2012

Don McKee in the Marietta Daily Journal urges the Cobb Board to slow down on new energy supply bids and additional funding of Plant Washington. McKee wrote that the Board would be wise to follow Cobb EMC member Mark Hackett's advice and re-evaluate the need for the plant, especially now that members know there was no pro forma cost estimate. According to McKee, Hackett thinks "Cobb EMC went merrily along with this project without doing a pro forma cost estimate, a mind-boggling misstep."  

Savannah Riverkeeper requests federal oversight on kaolin spill
January 13, 2012

The Savannah Riverkeeper has filed a federally required notice of intent concerning the 679 tons of kaolin slurry spilled into Reedy Creek earlier this month. The Riverkeeper believes that the 20 miles of wetlands habitat which have been polluted constitute a violation of the U.S. Clean Water Act. The citizen enforcement action. Read the Augusta Chronicle coverage here.

Marietta Daily Journal: "Cobb EMC’s interest in building the coal-fired Plant Washington appears to be dead"
January 12, 2012

Just short of four years after announcing Plant Washington as a "done deal' to Washington County residents, Sam Kelly, a Cobb EMC Vice-President, is quoted in an MDJ article finally admitting that there is no pro forma cost estimate for Plant Washington. FACE and other EMC members have asked for four years about the business plan supporting the plant, and Washington EMC leaders have failed to provide it.

Dean Alford, who now owns Allied Energy Services after Cobb EMC was forced in a court settlement to sell it, secured the plant contract in a no bid process. He is scheduled to make a presentation to the Cobb EMC Board on the 24th of this month in an effort to save the project. Cobb EMC has already spent $13.5M on the project, and Washington EMC has spent close to $1M of member dollars. FACE submitted an appeal for the air permit last month.

Just before Christmas Cobb EMC released a Request For Proposals (RFP) from energy providers, further raising questions about the role that the plant plays in energy supplies. Cobb has not issued an RFP since 1996.

Mark Hackett, a Cobb EMC member who previously led generation planning at Oglethorpe Power, said that the RFP requirements leave EMC members in the dark about future power needs. Hackett said, “We’re the regulators, and the only regulators. If they’re not sharing it with the members, they’re (the Cobb EMC Board) not being regulated at all.”  Read the full article here.

Plant Washington – A Waste of Cobb EMC Money
January 10, 2012

Letter to the Editor The Sandersville Progress, Johnson County Journal, Sparta Ishmalite, Jefferson County News and Farmer

As a concerned customer of Cobb EMC with a 25 year career in the electric utility industry, I have been closely studying its planned development of an 850 megawatt (that’s million watt) coal plant in Washington County. After doing some homework, I believe that this proposed power plant is a big mistake that will not help our EMC provide low cost, reliable power to its membership. The plan to pursue development of Plant Washington seems even more flawed after the December 12, 2011 news that LS Power Company has cancelled plans to build the Longleaf Energy Station, a 1,200 megawatt coal plant under development near Blakely, Georgia.

My greatest concern is that the decision to move forward with Plant Washington appears to have been made without performing the type of economic analysis that is standard in the industry. One can see on Cobb EMC’s website that electricity demand, because of our slow economy, has dropped in recent years, not grown. This drop in demand has occurred throughout the Southeast, and as a result it would seem that other utilities looking to sell unused capacity could inexpensively serve any projected demand growth at a much lower cost than new construction. By canceling their Longleaf coal plant plans after ten years in development, LS Power, one of the largest power plant developer/operators in the United States, presumably drew the same conclusions. In fact, LS Power Vice President Mike Vogt said that the Longleaf Plant was canceled in part because of a bad economy and lack of electricity buyers.

In the mid 1990’s, I served as the head of Generation Planning and Power Trading at Oglethorpe Power, the largest supplier of power to 39 of Georgia’s 42 EMCs.  Following my tenure at Oglethorpe, I was one of three owners of New Energy Associates which was the leading provider of consulting and software services for power supply planning to major utilities throughout the United States.

In my experience as a professional power supply planner, since the mid 1990’s, coal based generation has never come out on top as an economic power supply choice in the Southeast. The price of Plant Washington is currently estimated by Power4Georgians, which has no experience in coal plant construction, to be $2.1 billion.  A recent study sponsored by the consumer advocacy group, Georgia Watch, states that Plant Washington would likely cost much more, with an upper end estimate in excess of $4 billion. The study goes on to predict that the plant would result in rate increases to us, the member customers, of 10- 20% just in the first year of operation. Power4Georgians chose to pursue its most recent air permit without including (as required by law) the proposed EPA regulations for mercury and other toxins, and must now spend more member dollars to meet those tougher standards.

Even if new construction is warranted, natural gas fired facilities are less costly to construct, have less risk of cost increases from environmental legislation, and could lock in today’s very low natural gas prices with long term contracts. There is also the potential to economically address a large part of Georgia’s future growth in power supply with energy conservation and renewable resources. Dr. Marilyn A. Brown, professor of Energy Policy at the Georgia Institute of Technology's School of Public Policy and member of the Board of Directors of Tennessee Valley Authority has co-authored the article “Myths and Facts About Electricity in the U.S. South” in the Energy Policy Journal (2011).  In this article the authors conclude that “... energy efficiency and renewable energy could meet incremental growth in electricity demand and eliminate the need to expand fossil-fueled electricity generation.”

All of the evidence that I have reviewed indicates that continuing to build Plant Washington is a bad idea. I encourage the Cobb EMC Board to stop throwing good money after bad before hundreds of millions of dollars are wasted. The members of Cobb EMC have already stated emphatically that they want a new evaluation of Plant Washington by electing four new directors at their November 12th election. Now is the time for each EMC involved in Plant Washington to stall further investment, re-evaluate their power supply needs and reconsider their participation in this project.

Mark A. Hackett
Cobb EMC member

Dwight Brown fails to get 35 indictments dismissed
January 5, 2011

The Cherokee Tribune reports that Dwight Brown failed in his efforts to have the 35 indictments filed against him dismissed. Judge Flourney has upheld the original 31 indictments (racketeering, theft, and making false statements) in addition to four indictments for intimidating witnesses which were added when he was re-indicted last summer. Former Georgia Governor Roy Barnes has worked as one of Brown's lawyers, at a reported rate of $750 an hour. Read more here.



Reedy Creek turns milky white from kaolin slurry spill
January 3, 2012

January 1st residents began calling the EPD about a milky color in Reedy Creek on Hwy 17 near Wrens in Jefferson County. The Savannah Riverkeeper's science advisor Frank Carl thinks that several tons of kaolin slurry leaked into the creek from a broken pipe. Unlike the October spill in Brier Creek, when the EPD failed to notify municpal utilities about protential impacts on water supplies, Waynesboro City Water officials were contacted immediately. Read more in the Augusta Chronicle's coverage here.

Governor Deal refuses to re-appoint conservation conservative
December 28, 2011
Gov. Deal announced that he would not re-appoint Warren Budd, the Vice-chair of the DNR, who was expected to chair the board in 2012.
The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported that Budd thinks a “green conservative” point of view is no longer welcome by Gov. Nathan Deal, who wants no dissent from a pro-development agenda that favors special interests. Budd said that as a board member he wanted the DNR to act more aggressively on the Ogeechee fish kill in May. He also pointed to the protection of company which caused the fish kill instead of supporting the smaller businesses and residents impacted by the chemical dumping. The AJC coverage is here.

Cobb EMC member makes strong argument against Plant Washington
December 15, 2011
Following the cancellation of Longleaf, people across Georgia focused their attention on Plant Washington. Cobb EMC member Mark Hackett, a utility industry professional, raised these points in the Marietta Daily Journal, “When a company the size of LS Power cancels a plant in Georgia for economics, you have to ask, why does P4G think their plant will be economically viable?” asked “LS Power is big in coal. They do a lot of coal construction. P4G hasn’t built any coal plant, anywhere, ever. Doesn’t that beg for a harder look at Plant Washington?” Read more here.

Cobb EMC takes steps toward transparency and open governance
December 16, 2011
The co-op announced that financials and Board minutes will be posted on the web as a step toward better governance. Also, the longest serving member of the Board, Sarah Brown, announced that she will not run for her seat again. Read more here.

Georgia Public Interest Groups Hail New EPA Mercury Rule!
December 21,2011

Contact: Jennette Gayer, Environment Georgia, office 404.892.3573
cell 703.475-3228

Seth Gunning, Sierra Club, 404.607.1262 x 233

Katherine Helms Cummings, FACE 478.232.8010

Dianna Wedincamp, Ogeechee Riverkeeper, 866.942.6222 x 3
New Safeguard Will Promote Health, Highlights Failings of EMC-Backed Coal Plant
 
Atlanta, GA-State environmental, consumer interest, and public health groups with Georgians for Smart Energy applauded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s new, and long-overdue, safeguard to protect against toxic mercury and other emissions from coal-fired power plants.
 
In addition to marking a major step forward for public health in Georgia, the new toxics rule highlights the failings of a proposal to build the first new coal-fired power plants in Georgia in decades.
 
“The new mercury safeguard is a great victory for the health of all Georgians,” said Seth Gunning, with Sierra Club. “EPA’s mercury standard will protect children and families from a pervasive poison and create jobs in the pollution control industry.”
 
EPA’s new Mercury and Air Toxics Standard is required under the Clean Air Act, the landmark environmental and public health legislation that has been the driving force for addressing harmful air pollution across the country.
 
“Plant Longleaf was cancelled just as the EPA announced new tougher standards for mercury emissions,” said Dianna Wedincamp, Ogeechee Riverkeeper. “Common sense indicates that the state should not issue a permit for Plant Washington that adds nearly 40 times more mercury to our air than the new EPA standards allow when mercury levels have been a problem in our rivers for decades.” 
 
Power4Georgians (P4G), a consortium of state EMCs led by Cobb EMC, was recently issued a final air quality permit for a proposed 850 MW coal-fired power plant in Washington County. The mercury levels allowed in the permit far exceed the levels allowed by the new rule, drawing questions from EMC members concerned about the viability of Plant Washington.
 
“Power4Georgians has repeatedly and publicly misled the public and EMC members about the pollution from their dirty proposal. Despite their repeated claims, Plant Washington's air permit allows it to emit nearly 40 times more mercury then the new EPA safeguard allows and would be dirtier than other coal plants in Georgia built over 40 years,” said Katherine Cummings, the Executive Director of the Fall-line Alliance for a Clean Environment, a Washington County-based organization. “We know that mercury is a dangerous neurotoxin, so we must ask the question: is P4G ignoring the science, or do they simply not care about our health?”
 
Coal-fired power plants are the largest source of mercury pollution in the United States. In Georgia, coal plants released 1,154 pounds of mercury pollution in 2010. People are exposed to mercury by breathing the fine particles into their lungs as well as eating contaminated fish, which absorb pollution rained down on to Georgia’s rivers, lakes, and streams. Georgia currently has fish consumption advisories in all but one of its river basins due to mercury contamination.
 
Mercury pollution especially threatens pregnant women and young children. Alarmingly, as many as one in six American women in some areas have enough mercury in their bodies to put a baby at risk of neurological damage and developmental disorders. Across America, more than 300,000 babies are born each year at risk of mercury poisoning. In addition to healthier pregnancies and healthier babies, the EPA estimates the value of health improvements from the new safeguards to be between $59-140 billion nationwide.
 
“Powering our homes should not poison our kids,” said Jennette Gayer, Program Coordinator for Environment Georgia. “After decades of coal lobbyists getting their way, EPA has finally issued a rule that is a major step toward clean air and healthy Georgians.”
 
The strong mercury protections will cut over 90% of toxic mercury from coal-fired power plant pollution. Some utilities have been preparing for the new safeguard, like Georgia Power, which intends to replace approximately 2000MWs of coal-fired power with cleaner-burning fuel sources. Georgia Power announced its first solar energy project earlier in 2011, planning to build 50MW of capacity in the near future. Other states in the South, most notably Texas, are already building significant clean energy projects that are replacing dirty and expensive coal –fired power plants.

FACE joins in appeal of Plant Washington air permit
December 19, 2011

Plant Washington air permit doesn’t meet public health standards

ATLANTA—The state air quality permit for Plant Washington, a proposed 850 mega-watt coal-fired power plant in Sandersville, GA, does not meet national public health standards that even 50 year old coal-fired power plants already meet, according to a court challenge filed today by public interest groups.

The Southern Environmental Law Center and GreenLaw challenged the Georgia Environmental Protection Division’s air quality permit in the Georgia Office of State Administrative Hearings on behalf of the Fall-line Alliance for a Clean Environment, Ogeechee Riverkeeper, Sierra Club’s Georgia Chapter, and Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.

As expected for over the past year, the Environmental Protection Agency recently set national standards to limit hazardous air pollutants from coal-fired power plants. The state permit does not meet the national standards for limits on harmful emissions from the plant, including dozens of hazardous air pollutants that can cause cancer, birth defects, heart disease, developmental disorders, and other serious injuries.

Under its permit, the state would allow Plant Washington to emit 36 times more mercury and 11-45 times more hydrogen chloride than the draft EPA standard would allow. Georgia Power’s Plant Hammond has achieved lower emission levels of these pollutants. Three of Plant Hammond’s four units were built in the 1950s; the fourth was built in 1970.

Around the country, 117 units emit less mercury and 99-168 units emit less hydrogen chloride than what the state permit allows.

In December 2010, a state court found the initial state air quality permit for the Plant Washington violated Clean Air Act safeguards to limit harmful air pollution and directed the Georgia Environmental Protection Division to reconsider its permit.  

Plant Washington is a project of Power4Georgians, a company organized by Cobb Electric Membership Corporation (EMC) and four other EMCs.

Quotes from the attorney and client groups represented in the legal challenge follow:

“It’s déjà vu all over again,” said Justine Thompson, Executive Director of GreenLaw. “The state has again issued a permit that fails to afford its citizens the maximum degree of protection against toxic air pollution.”

“The state isn’t even requiring Plant Washington to meet national public health standards that a 50 year old plant already meets,” said Brian Gist, an attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center. “If the state won’t protect its residents—including the most vulnerable infants, pregnant women and the elderly—from hazardous air pollution and require this plant to meet national standards, we’ll ask the courts to enforce the law.”

“The EPD is supposed to protect the health of the citizens of Georgia and our natural resources. This air permit for Plant Washington does neither of those things,” said Katherine Helms Cummings, director of the Fall-line Alliance for a Clean Environment.

“Plant Longleaf was cancelled just as the EPA announced new tougher standards for mercury emissions,” said Dianna Wedincamp, the Ogeechee Riverkeeper. “Common sense indicates that the state should not issue a permit for Plant Washington that adds 36 times more mercury to the environment than the new EPA standards allow when mercury levels have been a problem in our rivers for decades.” 

“Since Power4Georgians has no experience developing coal-plants, it’s not surprising that this glaring oversight happened,” said Colleen Kiernan Director of the Georgia Chapter of the Sierra Club.   “Failing to meet major federal health protections isn't their first major mistake, and won’t be their last. Georgians cannot trust Power4Georgians with billions of ratepayer dollars.”

“Power4Georgian’s lack of compliance in the air permit with the new mercury standard is a notable omission,” stated Ulla Reeves regional program director for Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. “Claims by Dean Alford that Plant Washington would be among the nation’s cleanest coal plants are flat out mistruths and the excess mercury currently permitted is clear indication of this falsehood.” 

Read the appeal here.

Coal doesn't make sense. Where have we heard this before?
December 13, 2011

The developer who canceled the Longleaf coal plant proposed for Early County included these reasons for their decision:

reduced demand for electricity
no contracts with power purchasers
lower costs of natural gas
competition from other suppliers
emission regulations
construction costs

Justine Thompson, who represents FACE in legal actions opposing Plant Washington, told the Fulton County Daily Report, “Coal plant users should take note that Southern Company and LS have both moved away from coal, they see coal as problematic,” Thompson said. “So what makes these small producers know more than the largest energy producers in the country?”

Thompson asks the very same question co-op members in Washington County have been asking since the plant was announced almost four years ago. Frank Askew, Washington EMC CEO, told FACE members in May of this year that there is no independent research or business plan to be shared with members, who will ultimately bear the burden of the plant's costs. WEMC members should be aware of a new co-op coal plant that sits idle now in Minnesota.

LONGLEAF COAL PLANT CANCELED!!! GRASSROOTS VICTORY!
December 12, 2011

After almost 11 years of "in the trenches" and courtroom battles, Bobby and Jane McClendon of Friends of the Chattahoochee, Colleen Kiernan with the Georgia Chapter of the Sierra Club, and Justine Thompson of GreenLaw announced that Longleaf has been canceled by LS Power in New Jersey.

Longleaf in Early County, which would have been a 1200 MW facility, now tops the list of 160 proposed coal plants that have been canceled since the Sierra Club launched its Beyond Coal campaign in 2005. Justine Thompson at GreenLaw said, “Longleaf’s cancelation is one of dozens that have swept the nation, which raises the question – when will state officials finally learn that Georgia’s citizens deserve better than coal?”

What does this mean now for Plant Washington? It serves as a clear indication that coal is not profitable for stockholders. This victory also demonstrates to local officials and EMC leaders that grassroots work done by concerned citizens, and good attorneys who are committed to protecting the health of citizens and natural resources instead of billing huge hourly rates, can stop a coal plant in Georgia.

A year ago FACE's Executive Director told the Washington County Commissioners that FACE is in this work until Plant Washington is defeated. We are learning from a successful example how to do this.

FACE owes a huge debt to the McClendon's who have served as stalwart leaders among local citizens who are willing to stand up and do what is best, no matter how unpopular, for their community. Additionally the Sierra Club, GreenLaw, and the experts who have helped crunch numbers, develop strategy, and worked long hours are due many thanks from FACE leaders and members.

Read more here about the long battle which has resulted in this victory.

New report on electricity in the South
December 6, 2011

A new report separates fact from fiction concerning clean electricity in the South. Myths and facts about electricity in the U.S.South addresses energy production, conservation, and efficiency. This report serves as a tool for the public as well as the energy industry. The lead author, Dr. Marilyn Brown at GA Tech, is highly regarded for her work on energy in the South, in addition to being a Nobel Peace Price recipient.

Consumers Energy in Michigan decides there is no profit in coal
December 5, 2011

Consumers Energy in Michigan announced that it will abandon an 830 MGW coal plant and shutter seven existing coal plants last Friday. “There is consensus brewing here---Consumers Energy has come to the same conclusion as 158 other companies, that coal just doesn’t make economic sense,” said Shannon Fisk of the Midwest Office of the Natural Resources Defense Council. Read more here.

Riverkeeper sums up disappointment in EPD and leadership
December 5, 2011

Gov. Deal announced Friday that he has chosen Jud Turner to lead the EPD when Allen Barnes resigned last week to return to private practice law (Before leading the EPD, Barnes was an attorney with King and Spalding, the firm which has billed Cobb EMC over $10M in cases against the co-op's own members).

Disappointment in the choice was immediate across the state.
Sally Bethea with the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, told the Atlanta Journal Constitution, "The new EPD Director, who apparently has no background in environmental issues, has a formidable challenge before him, especially given the intense pressure from the industries that EPD regulates."


Support FACE here.

Sandersville lands on Georgia's Dirty Dozen list
November 5, 2011

The Ogeechee River, long known for the dangerously high mercury levels already identified in the water and its wildlife, leads the list of Georgia's Dirty Dozen, released by the Georgia Water Coalition. The EPD's absolute failure to know about King Finishing's unpermitted discharges into the river, which went on for five years during which time the EPD inspected the facility, resulted in the state's largest fish kill on record in May.

FACE President Larry Warthen says that Washington County residents can take no pride in their community being listed as number 6 due to the coal fired power plant proposed in part by Washington EMC. "The plant will suck 16M gallons of water per day from the Oconee River, when there is sufficient water there to be used. When river levels are too low, Power4Georgians will rely on 15 wells near the plant, threatening the recharge area for the Ogeechee, in addition to home and agricultural wells, while spewing additional mercury into the Ogeechee from its stacks."

Read more about the Dirty Dozen here.


Washington EMC finances, tax return, and bylaws available online
September 30, 2011

FACE has posted the 2010 tax return, financial statement, and bylaws for Washington EMC. None of these have been available online before. You can help support FACE's efforts toward building an open and transparent co-op by joining us or donating today. All member names are private and protected by law.