Published on Friday, October 3, 2008 by The Macon Telegraph (Georgia)

Proposed Midstate Coal-Fired Plant Draws Variety of Opposition

by S. Heather Duncan

In a county where folks are accustomed to a single industry calling the shots, community organizing doesn't come naturally.

But some Washington County landowners are starting to line up against a proposed coal-fired power plant, with the help of college and high school students from around the state.

Opponents have created the Fall Line Alliance for a Clean Environment, or FACE, which is in the process of incorporating as a nonprofit group.

"The diversity of people working on this project is impressive," said Katherine Cummings, a professional health advocate and president of the group. Among those involved are kaolin workers, well drillers, retired educators and more.

At issue is a $2.1 billion plant scheduled to be built eight miles north of Sandersville. Powered by coal, the plant would generate 850 megawatts of electricity for 10 cooperatives that teamed to form Power4Georgians, which would own the plant. The cooperatives, including Washington Electric Membership Corporation, would sell the electricity. The proposal is awaiting state environmental permits before it can proceed.

The alliance's monthly meetings have hosted various experts to help educate community members about issues related to the plant, including:

• The Ogeechee Canoochee riverkeeper, who talked about mercury pollution in area rivers and how coal-fired plants contribute to it;
• A geologist to talk about the aquifer;
• A professor who offered a primer about environmental justice and community organizing;
• Lawyers with Greenlaw, an Atlanta firm that successfully challenged state permits for another proposed coal-fired power plant in Early County; and
• Georgia Interfaith Power and Light, a group that spoke about how faith groups can be better stewards of the environment.

Local interest has grown. One of the community meetings, held in Warthen, drew about 65 people, organizers said. Some opponents own land that would be crossed by a Sandersville Railroad spur that would be built to supply the plant, said alliance member Elaine Weathers.

Yet when the group's members try to hand out buttons or post yard signs promoting clean energy over coal, it's tough to find takers, Weathers said. Many people are afraid of retaliation for opposing a plan that many local leaders support.

In Washington County, kaolin has been king for half a century. It was such a powerful industry, with such control over the landscape, that many people aren't used to the idea that regular folks might have a say in how the land is used.

"Everybody thought they couldn't do anything to stop it," Weathers said. "It took a month of calling people to convince them, 'You still have a voice in this.' "

Students associated with the Southern Energy Network, an organization of campus and community groups concerned about climate change, started canvassing door-to-door in Washington County in the spring, said network organizer Seth Gunning.

The students asked residents about their concerns and provided information about Plant Washington, helping get plant opponents in touch with each other, said student organizer Natasha Fast. The alliance emerged partly from this effort.

Fast even ran a week long summer camp in Sandersville called Energy Justice Georgia, offering workshops to about 35 young people around the state who wanted to learn about community organizing as well as renewable energy and coal.

Tony Rice, a Georgia College & State University student and action chairman for the college's Environmental Sciences Club, was one of about 20 students from Milledgeville involved in the door-to-door "listening project."

"There were a lot of people who weren't aware of the plant or were opposed but weren't sure how to go about it," he said. "It seemed there was a lot of fear of backlash from the Tarbuttons," the family that owns Sandersville Railroad Co. The company historically made its money transporting kaolin and now plans to run a spur to the new power plant.

"That sounds pretty ridiculous to me," said Hugh Tarbutton, president of Sandersville Railroad. "I think you've got a lot of people coming in here and stirring up stuff who don't know anything about it. ... Many communities this size are drying up and dying, and we've determined not to let that happen here."

SUPPORT IS EVIDENT

Many Washington County residents welcome the new plant, said Tommy Walker, who was recently elected County Commission chairman.

He said he heard a lot about Plant Washington during his campaign, mostly from voters who said the county needs the jobs - and the addition to the tax base.

Outside Washington County, students from around the state also have gone door-to-door in Atlanta territory served by Cobb EMC, arguably the power behind Power4Georgians. Cobb Energy, a for-profit company that managed Cobb EMC, owns the company that is developing Plant Washington.

Students encouraged Cobb EMC members to send the company postcards protesting the plant, Gunning said.

They also staged a protest in Atlanta where they posed in evening wear as "Billionaires for Coal" toasting the Plant Washington project.

"Us students, we're looking toward the future and really trying to push renewables as voters, as taxpayers and as future leaders," Fast said.

This month, Power4Georgians held a "community information fair" at Sandersville Technical College, said Dean Alford, whose company Allied Energy Services is developing Plant Washington. About 85 people attended, he said, and the most common concern they voiced was about the plant's potential impact on their water supply.

The plant's application indicated that it would pipe 16 million gallons of water a day from the Oconee River. During periods of low flow, the water would instead be pumped from the Cretaceous aquifer via a series of wells. Washington County residents, including those who buy Sandersville city water, rely on the aquifer for their water supply.

"I think people whose homes are nearby are at a huge risk for losing their water," said Cummings, who owns land near the plant site and lives north of Sandersville.

That's also a fear of Paula Swint, a former Sandersville principal who has lived within 10 miles of the plant site for 30 years. Her well has gone dry in the past, and its replacement is deeper with poorer water, she said.

Swint and Weathers said many longtime Washington County residents garden, hunt and otherwise live close to the land. Some of the newer arrivals are retirees who chose Washington County for its pleasant country environment, and they fear the environmental harm the plant might cause.

"I feel our food sources, water and air are being threatened," said Swint, who has a large garden. "We just sat here and enjoyed our country living while someone else came along and said, 'These are rural people. They won't care.' "