As Georgia tries to come up with a plan to manage its water resources, Effingham County officials are wondering just how much say they’ll have in their future water needs.
The statewide water management plan is currently in draft form and is expected to be altered before it goes to the General Assembly next session. One of the chief concerns for Effingham commissioners is the setup for proposed regional councils.
“I’d like to know how they’re going to get their water districts,” Commissioner Reggie Loper said. “What part is Effingham going to have in that. If we’re going to be under Chatham, we might as well not be in it. We need a voice in it as much as Chatham and everyone else.”
Commissioners and county staff met with state Sen. Jack Hill and Reps. Jon Burns and Buddy Carter and outlined their concerns over the plan. Carter said he has not finished reading the draft, but he too has questions.
“But I’ve been a little disappointed in what I’ve read,” Carter said. “Mind you, it’s a draft plan right now. It essentially retains the status quo and gives the EPD director more control. If we’re going to keep it as it is, then what have we achieved at all?”
Hill said he heard plenty of comments about the water plan proposals a few days ago in a meeting in Toombs County.
“Everybody I’ve talked to has something to say about the water plan,” Hill said. “We want to know what you’re uncomfortable with and what would be your alternative.”
Public comments can be made online at www.georgiawaterplan.org and water council members held a public meeting Thursday at the Mighty 8th Air Force Museum in Pooler to discuss the plan. They closed with a period of public comments. None were made.
County engineer Steve Liotta said he doesn’t think the terms “water district” appear anywhere in the draft, but that it would set up regional councils. Members would be nominated to the regional councils but final approval could be left up to the Environmental Protection Division director.
The regional councils would be advisory in nature on local issues and suggesting how EPD should handle local issues.
“We’re concerned if any Effingham representative is going to be on it,” he said.
Liotta, formerly with the state Environmental Protection Division, said Effingham could be split when it comes to determining aquifer and surface water issues. For water issues related to the Floridan aquifer, Effingham may be placed in a regional council with Chatham and other counties that draw water from the Floridan and with counties along the Savannah River for surface water matters.
Those councils may include local government officials but the plan does not specify if they have to be elected or appointed.
“We’re the ones who have to deal with all the problems,” commission Chairwoman Verna Phillips said, “but then we don’t have any say-so.”
The EPD sent the draft to the water council earlier this summer and a revised state water plan will be drafted before Sept. 13. The water council is scheduled to meet a week later and vote on any changes to the original draft.
A 30-day public comment period on the new draft will begin Oct. 1 and the water council will hold 12 meetings across the state from Oct. 15-19. After another set of draft changes to consider and approve, another draft will be available for a 15-day public review. The water council plans to have the final version ready to send to lawmakers by the end of the year.
Should the lawmakers reject it during the General Assembly session, they must either come up with their own plan or the EPD’s plan. Hill said it would be difficult for lawmakers to draft and approve anything so technical in the middle of the session if they turn down the EPD plan.
“Everything in there, other than the creation of the councils, is very generic,” Liotta said. “But it leaves so much to be determined after the plan is approved. There’s a lot of possibilities as to what may happen between now and January.”
