Couch resigns as Environmental Protection director

Perdue appointed Couch to the state's top environmental regulator spot in 2003, early in his first term. Now it's time for a change, Couch said.

"In our rapidly growing state, the important work of protecting, conserving and restoring our environment always remains before us," Couch said in a letter to Perdue. "However, after six years of hard effort, the time is right for a change in my personal goals, and for fresh leadership and energy in the position of EPD director."

Efforts to reach Couch for comment Monday afternoon were unsuccessful.

Perdue, in a statement, said Couch "has been an invaluable member of this administration for more than six years."

Couch's exit comes at a critical time for Georgia, which is embroiled in a three-way water dispute with Florida and Alabama and has just recently emerged from a devastating drought followed by historic floods this fall.

Her supporters say Couch has handled those issues with professionalism and dedication. Her detractors, too, give her positive reviews for some of her work, but barbs for more.

"She can be very tough, which you have to be to be director of EPD," said Joe Tanner, former commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources and now one of the top lobbyists and consultants in the state. "She handled herself very well, very professional. She's done a great job. It's a tough job and is the kind of job that will eat your lunch."

Couch was at the forefront of the state's efforts to battle the drought, often alone absorbing criticism and anger that came with regularly announcing stricter water-use rules to conserve water.

Tanner said he and Couch worked together on several issues. Sometimes they were in agreement, sometimes not. Always, Tanner said, Couch was professional and talented. Couch and Tanner both served on a state committee that negotiated with South Carolina on ground- and surface-water disputes.

"She's the kind of person who could get in great detail with the science and the issues," Tanner said. "I learned to have a great deal of respect for her."

But critics said she was too willing to go along with Perdue on what environmentalists call pro-development policies.

"She was definitely an improvement on her predecessor, there's no question about that," said veteran state environmental lobbyist Neill Herring. "But, her shortcomings were many."

Couch became the state's first EPD director when she replaced Harold Reheis in 2003. Herring and Reheis battled often, most notably over plans in 2003 that would have allowed the sale of water rights. Herring and other environmentalists argued that access to water should remain in the public domain.

Herring singled out Couch's support for the state water plan, adopted in 2008, which environmentalists say splintered water management and is proving harmful for communities downstream from the metro Atlanta area.

"That policy was destructive of the state's water resources," he said. "She went along with the governor on stuff that was harmful to the environment."

The timing of her resignation has raised eyebrows, leading to speculation that she was forced out or that she felt marginalized in the governor's strategy to tackle the water wars. Perdue's office declined to elaborate on the governor's statement earlier Monday, which praised Couch's service.

Perdue this summer named Georgia Power president and CEO Michael Garrett to lead a task force of business leaders, local and state politicians and agency leaders to find a solution to the water wars. Couch was also on the task force, one of 130 members. Previously, Couch and her staff had met directly with counterparts in Alabama and Florida in search of a solution to the decades old dispute over the use of water from Lake Lanier.