Summary of Recent Accomplishments July 2004
We've Shown Up
As Woody Allen famously said, much of success comes from just showing up. That may sound trivial, but in
our case this has meant a lot of hard work participating in innumerable public meetings, hearings,
workshops, and conferences on coastal Georgia environmental issues, year in and year out.
The Center has defended the public interest by forcefully commenting on nearly every major resource
issue in this region over the past 7 years, including:
- Water withdrawal from coastal Georgia's rivers and aquifers
- Harbor & channel deepening in Savannah & Brunswick
- Georgia's Coastal Management Program
- Plant Hatch and Savannah River Site federal permitting
- Water quality and wastewater discharge
- Greenspace & the Coastal Georgia Greenway
- Major land development projects
- Surface mining actions
- Marsh & freshwater wetlands permits
- Air emission permits & air quality
- Animal feeding operations
- Marsh hammock development
- New power plant proposals
- Gray's Reef management plan
2. We've Taken Action
In a few cases we have found it necessary to take legal action challenging a permitting decision that
failed to comply with state or federal regulations. One of these, thanks to the dedicated work of our
legal representatives with the Southern Environmental Law Center (www.selcga.org), has produced a
landmark decision that will permanently improve protection of a multitude of public resources under
Georgia's Coastal Marshlands Protection Act. In Center for a Sustainable Coast et al v. Coastal
Marshlands Protection Committee, the Emerald Pointe decision now requires that the Committee include
analysis of upland development associated with marsh permits as that development itself would impact the marsh.
This means that decisions will be based on far more complete evaluation of proposed projects, improving responsible
protection of tidal marshes that are so vital to water quality, the coastal economy, and habitat for fish
and wildlife.
3. We've Raised Awareness
In addition to "showing up," to succeed we must explain to the public why critical issues related to coastal
development and environmental quality are truly important. This education empowers citizens to communicate
their opinions in public forums, promoting much-needed dialogue. Awareness about environmental quality is
undoubtedly growing, and we are convinced that the Center's efforts have helped bring that about. Through
our newsletters and website we have educated thousands of citizens, students, business owners, and public
officials about alternatives for making development objectives more compatible with sustaining natural resources.
In Center messages we have consistently emphasized the strong connection between the coastal environment
and our region's economic interests. Nature-based business here is worth more than a BILLION DOLLARS a
year, as we have said so many times. (We now have the satisfaction of hearing other credible sources
confirming our estimate.) This compelling fact alone has convinced many people throughout the state,
whether or not they are "environmentalists," that it is simply common sense to be more responsible about the
use and protection of natural resources. (Inside, we make this case even more persuasive: see "What's the
Environment Worth" p. 3 of the Spring/Summer issue of Works In Progress, the Center's newsletter.)
4. We've Networked
To maximize our effectiveness, the Center has worked cooperatively with a number of area, statewide,
and national organizations, boosting the benefits of our combined efforts on a host of critical issues.
The most effective of these collaborations has been as a member of the Georgia Water Coalition, now
representing nearly a hundred organizations and 160,000 Georgians, and successfully defending water
as a public resource in various challenges over the past 2 years.
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