Jack Dozier
01-23-2008, 05:58 PM
January 22, 2008
House and Senate Approve State Water Plan
The Georgia House and Senate approved the Comprehensive Statewide Water Management Plan in separate actions Friday with the passage of House Resolution 1022 and Senate Resolution 701, respectfully. Although both resolutions passed by overwhelming margins, a motion to reconsider HR 1022 will be taken up next Monday when the House reconvenes. To further complicate matters, even though the two resolutions are identical, one of them must now pass the other chamber before going to the Governor for signature. Just as we have worked very hard for adoption of this Plan, a very vocal minority continues to work to defeat it. We thank those members who contacted their State Representatives and Senators to urge that they support the Plan’s approval, and ask that you do so again this week to reinforce your support. It is important to note that the Governor's budget includes $11 million to fully fund the first year of implementation (current estimated cost is $35 million over three years); we encourage you to urge your State Representatives and Senators to support this component of the Governor's budget.
GAWP again expresses its appreciation to the Water Council members, as well as the countless stakeholders involved in the development of this draft Comprehensive Statewide Water Management Plan. Special thanks to our partners at the Georgia Municipal Association and the Association County Commissioners of Georgia, with whom we worked hand-in-hand during the past month to ensure proper representation for local government on the regional planning councils, and to GEFA Director Chris Clark for advancing our cause with the Governor, Lt. Governor, and Speaker. We also appreciate the tireless leadership of EPD Director Carol Couch, as well as the EPD staff who worked behind the scenes to support the Water Council in developing the Plan. Perhaps the unsung heroes of the process are the “State Water Group”, a loosely-knit coalition of water user and economic development groups which coordinated support for positions and wording to make the plan better and more workable, and to provide for a sensible balance between water use for human consumption and environmental values; several of GAWP's members played key roles in this process.
We again urge our members to actively support the Plan, and begin thinking about who should be considered to serve on the regional planning councils, as EPD will be seeking nominations very soon. We also ask that you keep GAWP apprised of communications you may have with your legislators or EPD as we move through the legislative session, so we can be prepared to respond to their requests for clarification or additional information.
In closing, I want to remind you of the myriad stakeholder interests that had to be taken into account during this process. No individual, organization, or interest will be happy with every component of the Plan, but every comment or suggestion we made during this process received proper consideration, and virtually all of our suggestions were incorporated into the Plan in whole or in large part. A great deal of compromise was necessary to come up with a Plan that serves the entire State’s best interests (which this Plan does), and that achieves the Policy statement from the Comprehensive Statewide Water Management Planning Act of 2004:
"Georgia manages water resources in a sustainable manner to support the state’s economy, to protect public health and natural systems, and to enhance the quality of life for all citizens."
The complete Plan, as adopted, is posted on the Water Council’s web site: http://www.georgiawatercouncil.org/
House and Senate Approve State Water Plan
The Georgia House and Senate approved the Comprehensive Statewide Water Management Plan in separate actions Friday with the passage of House Resolution 1022 and Senate Resolution 701, respectfully. Although both resolutions passed by overwhelming margins, a motion to reconsider HR 1022 will be taken up next Monday when the House reconvenes. To further complicate matters, even though the two resolutions are identical, one of them must now pass the other chamber before going to the Governor for signature. Just as we have worked very hard for adoption of this Plan, a very vocal minority continues to work to defeat it. We thank those members who contacted their State Representatives and Senators to urge that they support the Plan’s approval, and ask that you do so again this week to reinforce your support. It is important to note that the Governor's budget includes $11 million to fully fund the first year of implementation (current estimated cost is $35 million over three years); we encourage you to urge your State Representatives and Senators to support this component of the Governor's budget.
GAWP again expresses its appreciation to the Water Council members, as well as the countless stakeholders involved in the development of this draft Comprehensive Statewide Water Management Plan. Special thanks to our partners at the Georgia Municipal Association and the Association County Commissioners of Georgia, with whom we worked hand-in-hand during the past month to ensure proper representation for local government on the regional planning councils, and to GEFA Director Chris Clark for advancing our cause with the Governor, Lt. Governor, and Speaker. We also appreciate the tireless leadership of EPD Director Carol Couch, as well as the EPD staff who worked behind the scenes to support the Water Council in developing the Plan. Perhaps the unsung heroes of the process are the “State Water Group”, a loosely-knit coalition of water user and economic development groups which coordinated support for positions and wording to make the plan better and more workable, and to provide for a sensible balance between water use for human consumption and environmental values; several of GAWP's members played key roles in this process.
We again urge our members to actively support the Plan, and begin thinking about who should be considered to serve on the regional planning councils, as EPD will be seeking nominations very soon. We also ask that you keep GAWP apprised of communications you may have with your legislators or EPD as we move through the legislative session, so we can be prepared to respond to their requests for clarification or additional information.
In closing, I want to remind you of the myriad stakeholder interests that had to be taken into account during this process. No individual, organization, or interest will be happy with every component of the Plan, but every comment or suggestion we made during this process received proper consideration, and virtually all of our suggestions were incorporated into the Plan in whole or in large part. A great deal of compromise was necessary to come up with a Plan that serves the entire State’s best interests (which this Plan does), and that achieves the Policy statement from the Comprehensive Statewide Water Management Planning Act of 2004:
"Georgia manages water resources in a sustainable manner to support the state’s economy, to protect public health and natural systems, and to enhance the quality of life for all citizens."
The complete Plan, as adopted, is posted on the Water Council’s web site: http://www.georgiawatercouncil.org/