A Call To Action – Juliette Needs You

I started my blog in January of 2019, thinking I was entering a season in life that would allow me to write and share what I was learning in my chronic illness journey. I barely had a few posts written before life took an unexpected turn and I needed to postpone writing until my health improved.

Even though my health issues aren’t settled and we are in the midst of another season of change, I decided that this post had to be written. There is an urgent need in my community and the word needs to get out. My brief post will attempt to simplify a complex issue and explain what simple actions readers can take to lend their support. Once you read, if your interest is peaked and you want to learn more, an online search will return more results than you could imagine.

I grew up in a small central Georgia town and currently live in Juliette, which is a smaller town in the same county.

Georgia Power Came To Juliette

In the early 1980s, Georgia Power came to Juliette, opening the largest coal-burning hydroelectric plant in the United States. Plant Scherer or “The Plant” as it’s referred to in these parts, offers much-needed job opportunities for locals. People can make a good living working there and employees have access to good benefits and retirement plans. Scherer contributes a large amount of tax dollars to our local community. The plant still operates in the same location today.

Even with the economic boost to the county, it didn’t take many years for people to begin to have concerns that electricity wasn’t the only thing Plant Scherer was producing. With big industry, comes big pollution. In Scherer’s case, in 2014, it was the largest source of carbon pollution in the nation. Burning coal for energy produces a toxic, heavy metal filled, a waste product called coal ash. Coal ash contains such toxins as mercury, aluminum, arsenic, cadmium and Chromium 6 (the toxin made famous by the movie “Erin Brockovich” in 2000). Plant Scherer has stored the toxic ash slurry in unlined “ash ponds” on the property from the time the plant opened until just a few years ago. Now, most of the coal ash is recycled into products like wallboard and concrete.

Unlined Ash Ponds Do Not Protect Aquifer

The fact that the ash ponds that hold the original ash are unlined, presents a very specific danger. As the toxins settle into the earth, it’s believed they are leaking into the aquifer and contaminating the groundwater. Juliette is just far enough away from municipal water systems that most residents rely on private wells for the water they drink, bathe in and use to water their gardens.

Residents have long murmured concerns about the toxins in the water, as there are clusters of cancer victims, including my own son and many other children and adults who have lived near Plant Scherer and have private wells. Georgia Power has quietly been buying up homes near the plant, tearing them down and filling in the wells for years.

Heavy Metals From Coal Ash Showing Up In Local Well Water

Fletcher Sams, of Altamaha River Keeper, a non-profit that works to preserve and protect Georgia’s water sources, has been working tirelessly with Juliette residents for months. He is testing well water for evidence that the toxins from the sunken coal ash have leached into the groundwater and contaminated local wells. Results are coming back with potentially dangerous levels of heavy metals, including chromium 6.

As things stand today, Georgia Power has plans to close all of the toxic ash ponds at Plant Scherer in Juliette, along with Plant Wansley in Heard County between Franklin and Carrollton, Plant McDonough near Smyrna in Cobb County, Plant Yates near Newnan in Coweta County and Plant Hammond in Floyd County near Rome. The problem is this – Georgia Power is planning on closing the unlined ponds by putting a cap over the top of the waste ponds, while the bottom of the ash ponds remain unlined, allowing the toxins to continue to leach into the aquifer and contaminate the groundwater. Even our household garbage has stricter requirements for legal disposal!

Legislature Can Require Coal Ash Disposal Share Same Safety Requirements As Household Garbage

There are things that can be done to protect the groundwater from additional toxins – if citizens act quickly. There are currently two pieces of legislation, HB 756 and SB 297, that if passed, would require Georgia Power to dispose of the toxic coal ash in a manner at LEAST consistent to how household trash, like your banana peels, are disposed of (the bills have been referred to as the “banana peel” bills). The passing of the bills would require that the ash be placed in a lined containment area to keep the toxins from leaching into the groundwater, which is a current requirement for household trash. Both bills are waiting to be voted on and the house is in session NOW! Time is of the essence!

Five Ways You Can Help

1. Set alarms on your phone to pray at 7:56 am and 7:56 pm for everyone involved with and affected by HB 756 and SB 297; residents, legislators, Georgia Power, and Altamaha River Keeper.
2. If you are a Georgia resident, please email and call your elected officials in the Georgia House and Senate and let them know you are counting on them to act in a bipartisan manner and vote YES on HB 756 and SB 297. Safe water has no political party.
   1. To find your Senator and Representative, click here and type in your address. You will see your elected officials’ names, email addresses, official websites and phone numbers. I’ve included a short sample email below that can be copied and pasted to save time and effort.
3. Sign and share this Change.org petition asking our elected officials to support the legislation to protect our water.
4. Share this post on social media – Facebook it, Tweet it, Instagram it, Pinterest it, get the message out. Make a quick Facebook live or Instagram story asking your friends for support! Use hashtags like #julietteneedsyou #passhb756 #passsb297.
5. Show up and show your support! There is a local group that will be taking a trip to the state capitol on Monday, February 24th to give faces to the many real lives that are affected by the coal ash toxins. Folks will be letting their elected officials know that they are counting on a YES vote! You can get the details here.

Sample Email To Copy and Paste

Hello,

I am a concerned constituent and want to know that I can count on your YES vote for HB 756 and SB 297. These bills would ensure that toxic waste from coal ash ponds are required to be disposed of in the same manner as household garbage.

Household garbage must be dumped in a location that is lined to protect groundwater from possible toxic contamination. The least we can do is make sure that the heavy metal-laden waste from coal-burning is stored in the same manner.

Thank you for your time and attention,

Sincerely,

Your name

Thank you for supporting and sharing!

Thank you so much for reading. Together we can ensure that HB 756 and HB 297 are passed and that liners are put in place to protect Georgia’s groundwater from toxic coal ash.