Marisa Mecke

1 week ago | wabe.org | Marisa Mecke

After six years, the controversial plan to mine next to Georgia’s beloved Okefenokee Swamp has been halted. The Conservation Fund, a nonprofit organization specializing in the acquisition of at-risk lands for environmental conservation, has purchased the land adjacent to the Okefenokee Swamp from Alabama-based Twin Pines Minerals, LLC. Twin Pines first applied to the state of Georgia for permits to mine the land back in 2019.

1 week ago | wabe.org | Marisa Mecke

The City of Atlanta, at long last, has passed a new tree protection ordinance. The document hasn’t had a major update in decades, but Atlanta’s city council voted unanimously on June 16 to spruce up the tree protection ordinance. Atlanta’s reputation as the City in a Forest faces a major threat from development: According to a study by Georgia Tech, Atlanta’s canopy has shrunk 1.5% from 2008 to 2018. While that may sound small, it’s about half an acre of canopy per day during that decade.

2 weeks ago | wabe.org | Marisa Mecke

The federal government reversed its decision to close a government office in Norcross, Georgia, that monitors flooding and water pollution around the state. The U.S. Geological Survey’s office in Norcross was one of Georgia’s federal offices slated to have its lease cancelled, according to the Department of Government Efficiency’s wall of savings. The federal government never explained what the fate would be for programs run at that office, such as sewage pollution monitoring.

2 weeks ago | wabe.org | Marisa Mecke

After half a decade of public comments, permit revisions, scientific inquiries and debates, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division has completed everything needed for a controversial mining project next door to the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. All that’s left, the department says, is for the permit applicant Twin Pines Minerals, LLC to pay a fee — but the company hasn’t settled up, putting the long-sought-after permit in purgatory.

1 month ago | smokesignalsnews.com | Marisa Mecke

Water courses through a series of little outdoor ponds at the Douglas County water treatment plant, where it’s filtered before heading to sinks and toilets, schools, homes, restaurants and hospitals. “Our water comes from the Dog River Reservoir,” said Gil Shearouse, the executive director of the Douglasville-Douglas County Water & Sewer Authority. He said the county has to think about the water supply.