Urgent! Bills Weaken Ability of Citizens to Challenge Pollution Permits

 

Five bills (3 in the House, 2 in the Senate) have been introduced that pose a serious threat to all natural resources in Georgia – water, air, and land throughout the state - by weakening the process for citizen appeals of decisions made by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD). If any of these bills pass, the public would lose one of the most important tools that it has in challenging EPD’s decisions, and state law would be rewritten so that the agency can act with limited oversight.

Click here to learn more and to TAKE ACTION NOW!

Brew Your Cask Off – Cast a Vote for UCR Today!

 

SweetWater Brewery is holding the Brew Your Cask Off Cask Ale Festival on Saturday, March 20, from 6:00-10:00 pm, at the brewery, and has invited 75+ special guest brewers, including local celebrities, home brewers, retailers and charities to create their own one-of-a-kind cask. Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper is delighted to join our ranks the guest brewers, and we have the opportunity to win $1 from every ticket sold for the event. But we need your help!

Click here for more information on the event and to vote for UCR (scroll down to “The Tastiest Way to Raise Money”).

Act Now to Support Fair Sharing of Georgia's Water Resources

 

The River Basin Protection Act of 2010 (House Bill 1301 and Senate Bill 462) would regulate, but not prohibit, interbasin water transfers (IBTs) of 100,000 gallons or more. UCR and the Georgia Water Coalition (GWC) are asking our members to take action to support the house and senate versions of the bill.

Recent proposals to pipe water to Metro Atlanta from as far away as Lake Burton in Rabun County and wells in South Georgia have fueled support for regulation of IBTs (moving water from one river basin to meet demand in another). Currently there are NO restrictions or protections for our communities or resources placed on IBTs except that the state Environmental Protection Division must issue a press release seven days before approving a permit.

Click here to learn more and to TAKE ACTION NOW!

Wild & Scenic Environmental Film Festival is a Hit!

Thank you to all of our sponsors, guests and volunteers who helped make the Wild & Scenic Environmental Film Festival, held on March 7 at Atlanta's Tara Theater, a great success! This year's film selections tackled some of the most pressing environmental issues of our day - from hard-hitting stories to comical shorts.

We hope these films will inspire you to take action to address the problems they present.  There are simple things that you can do in your daily life to help.  Our friends at Half Off Green have created a list of action items to go with our film selections. Click here to see what you can do!  And see UCR's No Time To Waste section of this website to find ways to be more water and energy efficient in your home.

The festival is hosted by UCR, Georgia River Network, and Georgia ForestWatch. Click here for more information and to see film trailers.

UCR Launches Neighborhood Water Watch Program

 

UCR is partnering with neighborhood groups around the Chattahoochee Watershed to monitor water quality in urban streams and protect human health in the surrounding communities. Many urban streams that flow into the Chattahoochee River are polluted with high levels of bacteria due to storm runoff, cracked and overflowing sewers, and failing private septic systems.

Volunteers from the Collier Hills neighborhood have recently begun gathering weekly samples at Tanyard Creek (which flows into Peachtree Creek) for testing. (Click here to read a recent story in The Buckhead Reporter.) We are also working on monitoring programs for Proctor Creek in west Atlanta, Clear Creek in south Atlanta, Nancy Creek and Peachtree Creek. (Photo courtesty of The Buckhead Reporter.)

Read more about UCR's Neighborhood Water Watch Program.