Sustainability

Is new state leadership greener?

For 20 years, I was a registered lobbyist at the Georgia State Capitol, advocating for the protection of the Chattahoochee River and all waterways in the state. Seven and a half of those years, I also served on the Georgia Board of Natural Resources, appointed in 1999 by Roy Barnes, the last pro-environment governor.

I endured 20 legislative sessions and more than seven dozen meetings of the board that makes important decisions about our air, land and water: all intense, too often frustrating, and occasionally successful, experiences that left me informed, but cynical about environmental politics in our state. Follow the money was, and remains, the most instructive advice. Still, my colleagues and I soldiered on, despite the odds. Then, I retired four years ago and, thankfully, passed this activity on to talented, younger folks and a few diehards.

This month, major changes will take place in state leadership, as Brian Kemp (R-Athens) becomes Governor and Geoff Duncan (R-Cumming) Lt. Governor. There are signs that both of these new state officials may be significantly better than their immediate predecessors on environmental issues.

While he supported the recently-passed Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Act, former Gov. Nathan Deal (R-Gainesville) will not be remembered for environmental leadership. During his eight years in office, Deal appointed individuals to the Board of Natural Resources with no experience or training in environmental issues: white men, primarily, in real estate development, property management, lobbying, insurance and agriculture, most of whom contributed to his campaigns.

There was also the lengthy, and highly creative, but ultimately unsuccessful, attempt by Gov. Deal and friends to use state money to dam a tributary to the Chattahoochee River in his home county (Hall) to build a purported water supply reservoir. In fact, it would have been an amenity lake for a massive real estate development, paid for by taxpayers, and it would also have harmed the Chattahoochee watershed by withholding water from Lake Lanier, among other impacts.

Former Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle presided over the State Senate for 16 long years, during which he stopped every common sense environmental initiative proposed. Cagle was also the reason I was removed from the Board of Natural Resources 10 years ago – after having been reappointed by then-Gov. Sonny Perdue – when a Senate committee failed to confirm my reappointment.

Will Brian Kemp and Geoff Duncan be any better on the decisions that affect the health and safety of our communities and natural environment? Only time will tell. We are always hopeful.