Environmental fights intensify at the Georgia Capitol

Lawmakers have so far embraced the plastic bag lobby, taken a swipe at an eco-friendly rating system and written new rules about developing coastal areas. They also have pushed to phase out state tax credits for electric vehicles and — with a nod from Gov. Nathan Deal — backed a plan some fear could weaken the state’s soil and water protection agency.

Each effort has been presented for varying reasons, including to reduce business costs; prevent confusion; favor Georgia-based building suppliers; recoup millions of state dollars; or clear the way for new economic development projects.

Taken together, however, they’ve knocked environmental groups back on their heels in an increasingly fraught race toward the session’s expected end April 2.

“We’ve seen more anti-environmental rollbacks this year than I’ve seen in years,” said Mark Woodall, the Georgia Sierra Club’s legislative chairman.

Earlier environmental fights are not a distant memory under the state’s Gold Dome: Last year’s big battle — over how the state manages water use during droughts — followed more than a year of bickering among politicians, farmers, green groups and property rights activists until they reached a compromise only a week before lawmakers went home.

This year, all bets are off over reaching consensus on any of the measures.

Take the battle over banning plastic bags. The Georgia Senate voted overwhelmingly last month to prohibit cities and towns from restricting the bags and other “auxiliary containers” over concerns it could be too costly — and confusing — for local retailers to enforce.

It came after leaders in Athens and Tybee Island debated local bans aimed at restricting the plastic bags, which they view as litter on the state's tourism-friendly shoreline and a danger to aquatic wildlife who confuse it for jellyfish. The measure, Senate Bill 139, has since been branded by critics as the "plastic bags everywhere" bill.

The bill made it to the Senate floor only a week after being introduced, prompting Senate Minority Leader Steve Henson, D-Tucker, to say he'd give it an award for speed. The bill's sponsor, state Sen. Tyler Harper, R-Ocilla, said it was time for lawmakers to put businesses ahead of local concerns.

“We have 159 counties in Georgia, 536 cities, and if each of these localities” banned or restricted stores from using the bags, Harper said, “we would have what could be considered as regulatory mayhem.”

Separately, lawmakers desperate to find more cash for the state's roads and bridges seem likely to wind down a $5,000 state tax credit on electric vehicles, infuriating some green groups — and carmakers — who say it's the driving force that's made Georgia second only to California in electric vehicles. The proposal is part of House Bill 170, which supporters hope will raise more than $1 billion a year for transportation improvements.

Then there’s the governor effort to make sweeping changes to the state’s Soil and Water Conservation Commission, the agency whose staff drafts the state’s manual that outlines how to control erosion and prevent more dirt and runoff from seeping into Georgia’s waterways.

Under the governor’s plan, the commission would shift from a stand-alone agency to one that’s overseen by the Department of Agriculture. It also would allow the governor to appoint whomever he chooses to its five-member board, rather than limiting his picks to the elected supervisors of the 40 soil and water districts statewide.

Supporters of the measure, House Bill 397, pitched it as a way to streamline environmental regulations for prospective employers who want to move or expand in Georgia.

"We've shown a calmness that we're going to fix the issue and take care of the environment without doing away with this organization," state Rep. David Knight, the measure's sponsor, said shortly before it was adopted by the House. "It's going to remain intact, and with these changes we'll get the best of both worlds."

Environmentalists and farm groups successfully fended off a similar move last year. The Georgia Water Coalition, an alliance of influential environmental groups, warns the changes would allow Deal to “bypass supervisors with institutional knowledge and the trust of local communities.”

The coalition also fears a bill to require a 25-foot buffer around the saltwater marshes of Georgia's coast but would exempt some projects, allowing them under certain conditions to move forward without applying for a variance. Business leaders say Senate Bill 101 will reduce costs and ease permitting for new development or maintenance.

But “it doesn’t go far enough,” said Bill Sapp, an attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center.

The measure, which won approval Thursday from the House Natural Resources and Environment Committee, follows a decision made last year by Jud Turner, the director of Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division, to remove a decade-long directive requiring buffers for marshlands along most of the Georgia coast. The buffers are considered important because they help reduce erosion and filter land-based pollutants such as fertilizer and insecticides.

One of the fiercest debates has emerged over legislation that would ban state buildings from obtaining LEED certification — widely considered the gold standard in environmentally friendly construction. There are more than 100 state buildings with the LEED rating, but the future of the program here is tied up in a so-called “wood wars” battle.

The system is administered by the Washington-based U.S. Green Building Council and has become a brand-name force in the green construction industry. But its popularity — there are more than 69,000 LEED projects across the globe — has drawn criticisms that the complex 110-point rating system it uses discriminates against local wood products.

Deal in 2012 signed an executive order that essentially banned the program in state construction. House Bill 255, introduced by state Rep. Mike Cheokas, R-Americus, compared it to a costly state-funded "sticker," and his supporters said the system should be abandoned because it fails to give equal credit to Georgia-grown timber.

“I’m not anti-LEED. It’s done some good things. I’m just pro-Georgia forestry,” said Steve McWilliams, the president of the Georgia Forestry Association. “We’re just asking you to stand up for landowners.”

The measure was overwhelmingly approved by House lawmakers, but critics made clear they would renew the fight in the Senate as the legislative session hurtles toward another frenzied finish. They cast it as a shortsighted move that’s unnecessary because existing law already requires the use of Georgia forest products in state buildings.

State Rep. Debbie Buckner, a Junction City Democrat who grows timber, said it misses the forest for the trees.

“We need to focus on green building,” she said, “and be careful with a policy that throws out the baby with the bath water.”