Category Archives: Transparency

Southern Company Rated Worst of Seven Major U.S. Utilities

Southern Company, Number One! In failing grades, that is. Room for improvement in renewable energy.

Green America press release dated 24 May 2011, Southern Company Rated Worst of Seven Major U.S. Utilities: Southern Gets Straight “F”s in Grading of “The Dirty Seven” Utilities, Also Home to Three of 10 Worst-Polluting Power Plants in U.S.,

On the eve of Southern Company (NYSE: SO) holding its annual meeting of stockholders in Pine Mountain, GA., the nonprofit Green America released a report today ranking the major U.S. power producer as “the United States’ most irresponsible utility.”

Titled “Leadership We Can Live Without: The Real Corporate Social Responsibility Report for Southern Company,” the Green America analysis assigns letter grades to seven major U.S. utilities on four fronts: reliance on coal; pollution; reliance on and expansion of nuclear power; and lobbying expenditures. Southern came in dead last with straight “F” grades in all four of the categories.

The PR and the report have a lot more detail, such as this:

Clean Air Task Force data shows that Southern Company’s coal-fired power plants cause 1,224 deaths, 1,710 heart attacks, 20,770 asthma attacks, and 752 cases of chronic bronchitis per year. The total annual cost of all of this damage is over $9 billion.

Hey, that’s more than the original projected cost of the new nukes! Georgians, do you like trading your health for SO’s coal plants and its nuclear boondoggle?

Or would you rather Southern Company and Georgia Power spend less for more electricity by following Austin Energy and Cobb EMC into solar power, plus wind off the coast, for jobs, for energy independence, for health, and for profit?

-jsq

Videos @ GLPC 2012-02-27

Here are videos of the entire February meeting of the Greater Lowndes Planning Commission (GLPC). I would post their agenda, but they didn’t publish one.

They elect new officers annually. The previous chairman, Tommy Willis, handed over to the new chairman, Bill Slaughter. The recognized outgoing members John Bailey from Hahira and W.G. Walker from Dasher and former chairman Tommy Willis and introduced Ryan Warren as the new member from Dasher. (Who’s the new member from Hahira?)

See these two items previously posted:

Here’s a video playlist:

Regular Session, Greater Lowndes Planning Commission (GLPC),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 27 February 2012.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE).

-jsq

Conservation at Lake Alapaha: REZ-2012-02 Dinkins @ GLPC 2012-02-27

How did conservation zoning get put on part of Robert Dinkins’ property at Lake Alapaha? County records conflict on that point. Was it important to keep that conservation zoning? Staff thought so, but the Planning Commission thought otherwise, and the Lowndes County Commission decided to agree.

The second county case in the 27 February 2012 Greater Lowndes Planning Commission (GLPC) meeting was REZ-2012-02 Dinkins, Southern Shore, 0264 007 A&B, ~97 ac., R-21 & CON to R-A, well/septic. They spent 8 1/2 minutes on it, mainly listening to the requester, Robert Dinkins, wonder how any part of the subject property was zoned for conservation. Staff recommended the conservation zoning remain. GLPC voted to recommend removing it.

REZ-2012-02 got 2:37 12 March 2012 Work Session of the Lowndes County Commission and 6:49 in its 13 March 2012 Regular Session. The County Commission voted to remove the conservation zoning. Here’s a previous post with more detail about that.

Here’s a video playlist of this rezoning item in all three meetings (GLPC, LCC Work Session, and LCC Regular Session):

Conservation at Lake Alapaha: REZ-2012-02 Dinkins
Regular Session, Greater Lowndes Planning Commission (GLPC), Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 27 February 2012.
Work Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC), Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 12 March 2012.
Regular Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC), Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 13 March 2012.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE).

-jsq

Width, houses, and inheritance: REZ-2012-01 Whitehead/Black @ GLPC 2012-02-27

Housing, driveway width and possible change to the ULDC, conveyance to relatives, number of housing units, and other issues: the Planning Commission discussed all these and recommended a rezoning with a few conditions (limit of 2 houses). The County Commission zipped through making a decision.

The first county case in the 27 February 2012 Greater Lowndes Planning Commission (GLPC) meeting was REZ-2012-01 Whitehead/Black, 218-82 & 82A, ~7.1 ac., 2 lots, E-A/R-A to R-A, well/septic. They spent more than 27 minutes (1:09 + 3:54 + 6:02 + 1:21 + 1:40 + 2:56 + 2:56 + 0:59 + 6:16) on REZ-2012-01.

Compare that to the 5 minutes in the 12 March 2012 Work Session of the Lowndes County Commission and approximately 5 minutes in the 13 March 2012 Regular Session as the Lowndes County Commission approved the rezoning with the limitation on only 2 houses.

Time isn’t everything, and staff did visit the site and clarify some points and Commissioners did ask a few questions in the Work Session, but the Planning Commission spent much more time examining this case.

Here’s a video playlist of REZ-2012-02 in all three meetings (GLPC, LCC Work Session, and LCC Regular Session):

Width, houses, and inheritance: REZ-2012-01 Whitehead/Black
Regular Session, Greater Lowndes Planning Commission (GLPC), Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 27 February 2012.
Work Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC), Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 12 March 2012.
Regular Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC), Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 13 March 2012.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE).

-jsq

Tonight: Planning Commission Agenda @ GLPC 2012-05-21

The Greater Lowndes Planning Commission (GLPC) meets tonight. Here’s the agenda.

The agenda was faxed by GLPC Chairman Bill Slaughter to Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, at her request; GLPC itself still doesn’t have agendas online, ten months after SGRC stopped posting them.

There’s one rezoning case on the agenda, a county case:

2. REZ-2012-09 John A. Copeland
Property Location: Loch Laurel Road, Valdosta, Ga
Request to rezone ~5 acres from R-A (Residential Agriculture) and R-1 (Low-Density Residential) to C-C Crossroads Commercial)

According to the Lowndes County Tax Assessors database, James R Copeland and Elizabeth J. Copeland own two lots on Loch Laurel Road with Situs/Physical Address of 0 Loch Laurel Road, one of 1 acre and the other of 8.67 acres, and another one mostly surrounded by those two at 3248 Loch Laurel Road of 1.5 acres. It will be interesting to see how those plots add up to about 5 acres. Whatever GLPC recommends, final action is scheduled for the Lowndes County Commission at its 12 June Regular Session.

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Cancelled: both work session and regular session of Lowndes County Commission @ LCC 2012-05-21

No county commission meetings this week.

According to LowndesCounty.com,

Current Events

May 21 Lowndes County Work Session CANCELLED
May 22 Lowndes County Regular Session Meeting CANCELLED

Why? Follow either of those links, and all it says is:

For questions please call County Clerk, Paige Dukes, at 229-671-2400.

The next meetings on their calendar are work session Monday 11 June 2012 and regular session Tuesday 12 June 2012.

-jsq

Quitman 10+2 petition

Funny how only the actions of the black activists who won school board seats got investigated by the GBI, and only they were charged with anything, despite a number of irregularities among the losers. If that doesn't seem right to you, this may be of interest: U.S. Justice Department – Eric Holder: Identify prosecutorial misconduct/voter suppression in Quitman 10 +2 case

Many voters in Brooks County are older African-Americans who are senior citizens in their 60's, 70's and 80's that witnessed first-hand the politics of Jim Crow in the last century, but had to deal with GBI agents coming to their doorsteps of their small rural town with guns strapped to their side asking questions. Some were voting for the first time or the first time in years in 2010, but there has been an ongoing effort by Republicans to present more obstacles and/or threats to eligible voters so they would be discouraged not to vote.

I think the Quitman 10+2's real crime was very simple: winning. Even worse, they used an innovative strategy (absentee ballots) for an end-run around their opponents. If that school board election in Brooks County had been a football game, the Q10+2 would be hailed as heroes by the local and state press for winning the game. Why is winning an election by legal means not accorded the same treatment?

-jsq

2006 and 2011 Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing, Valdosta

What’s this AI everyone is talking about related to fair housing? Now you can see for yourself.

Copies of the Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing, City of Valdosta, are now available for 2006 and December 2011 on the LAKE website. I retrieved both of them today from Document Central on the the City of Valdosta’s Document Central. It is my understanding that the 2006 version has been there for some time, and the 2011 version was put there today. The 2011 version is a draft that has not yet been approved by HUD.

I have not read either version of the document yet, so I don’t have much to say about it yet. The point is that you can read it yourself. I’ve also pulled all the 2011 maps into separate web pages to make them easier to work with. No doubt the Valdosta City Council and staff, as well as the community steering committee formed by Council James Wright would be interested in feedback. Or you can comment on this post.

-jsq

How Much Wind and Solar Capacity Would a Billion Dollars Buy?

Those cost overruns so far on the new nukes? How much solar and wind could that money buy?

John Hanger wrote on his Facts of the Day today, $913 Million Construction Overrun Hits Georgia New Nukes: How Much Gas, Wind, Solar Capacity Would That Buy?

Comparing the Vogtle initial $913 million cost overrun to the capital costs of gas, wind, and solar plants show just how big these cost overruns can be. The Vogtle $913 million cost overrun by itself could have paid for approximately 1,000 megawatts of natural gas generation; 450 megawatts of wind power; and 330 megawatts of solar power.

Don’t forget that’s just the first cost overruns on those nukes. When the current Plant Vogtle nukes were built, there were supposed to be four at a cost of $660 million; only two were built, at a cost of $8.87 billion. That’s a cost overrun of 1300%. How much solar and wind could $8 billion buy?

Moreover, gas, wind, and solar generation could be up and running in 3-years or less from the first day to the last day of development, as opposed to the 10 years or more needed to build a nuclear plant.

Austin Energy’s new 30 MW solar farm, for example, approved beginning of 2009, opened end of 2011, and cost less than originally projected.

Oh, and solar doesn’t leak radioactive tritium like Plant Hatch and won’t get shut down two days after an NRC clean bill of health like Plant Vogtle.

-jsq

 

Cost overruns already starting for Georgia Power’s new nukes

Remember how Georgia Power customers get to pay for cost overruns on the new nukes? Well, the overruns have already started.

JoAnn Merrigan wrote for WSAV 15 May 2012, Environmental Groups: Plant Vogtle Reactors Almost One Billion Over Budget,

A group of nine national environmental groups says that the two new nuclear reactors being built at Plant Vogtle (near Waynesboro in eastern Georgia) are over budget by up to $1 billion dollars. The opponents say Georgia Power’s share of the cost overruns is currently $400 million and that may cost ratepayers as well as taxpayers who are guranteeing loans in the billions of dollars.

The nine environmental groups, Friends of the Earth, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, Center for a Sustainable Coast, Citizens Allied for Safe Energy, Georgia Women’s Action for New Directions, NC WARN, Nuclear Information and Resource Service, and Nuclear Watch South, are also suing:

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