FW: Macon Telegraph: Georgia legislature passes land conservation bill, does little else for the environment

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From: Mark Woodall <woodal...@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, April 7, 2026 6:41 AM
To: Neill Herring <neillh...@earthlink.net>
Subject: Macon Telegraph: Georgia legislature passes land conservation bill, does little else for the environment

 

POLITICS & GOVERNMENT Georgia lawmakers debated PFAS, data centers and more green bills. What passed?

 

 By Margaret Walker April 7, 2026 5:30 AM  

 

The 2026 legislative session began on Jan. 12 and adjorned on April 2. Gov. Brian Kemp has until May 12 to sign a bill into law.   Georgia lawmakers delivered one major environmental win this legislative session, but left several other priorities on the table as the session wrapped up April 2. The lone win for environmental advocates was Senate Bill 478, which reauthorized the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Program. The program, created in 2018, uses existing sales taxes on outdoor gear to fund grants for conservation work, like protecting land, managing wildlife areas and improving parks and trails. The bill now awaits Gov. Brian Kemp’s signature. 

 

  The legislation extends the program through 2039 and increases the share of sales tax revenue from outdoor recreation retailers from 40% to 60%, a change supporters say will generate roughly $15 million in additional annual funding. “As data centers and other developments eat away at Georgia’s natural spaces, we need the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Act now more than ever,” said Alex Foster, Environment Georgia’s conservation associate. The program is administered by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and awards competitive grants to local governments, state agencies and nonprofits for projects that buy land for conservation, steward wildlife management areas and build or improve parks and trails.

 

 This year, the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Program awarded $33.2 million to 14 projects statewide, according to Environment Georgia. Among them was Echeconnee Creek Park in Houston County, which received $2.34 million to help build a new 12-acre park along Echeconnee Creek with trails, fishing boardwalks, an outdoor classroom, and a kayak and canoe launch connecting to the Ocmulgee River. Since launching in 2019, it has funded 88 projects totaling more than $175 million for conservation efforts statewide. The session also produced one environmental measure that alarmed conservation groups.

 

 Senate Bill 447, which would revise Georgia’s Erosion and Sedimentation Act and shorten the time local governments have to review certain land-disturbance permit applications, passed both chambers and now awaits Kemp’s signature. The Georgia Sierra Club, Georgia Water Coalition and the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper oppose the passage of this bill. “SB 447 proposes to reduce local control by introducing new timelines for local governments to review complex construction plans for large residential communities, build-to-rent projects, warehouses, and data centers that can cover hundreds of acres,” Mark Woodall, legislative chair of the Georgia Sierra Club, said in a March 30 newsletter. “If SB 447 passes, the result would be the inability to thoughtfully plan for our communities, protect our waterways from pollution.” 

 

Three other environmental measures died before the session ended. The data center bills attracted considerable debate this session as Georgia has become one of the country’s fastest-growing markets for the facilities, which consume large amounts of electricity and water. More than a dozen bills were introduced, but none crossed the finish line: • Senate Bill 34 would have stopped utilities from passing the cost of serving large data centers onto residential customers, but it never reached a final vote after the Senate abruptly adjourned during a late-February standoff. • House Bill 559 would have moved up the expiration date for Georgia’s sales and use tax break on high-tech data center equipment • House Bill 611, the Forever Chemicals Transparency Act, would have amended Georgia’s water pollution control code to require publicly owned water treatment facilities to require industries to share each year whether they use or make PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” which have been linked to cancer and other health problems.

 

 “Our work to protect Georgians from toxic chemicals and dirty energy will continue,” said Jennette Gayer, executive director of Environment Georgia.

Read more at: https://www.macon.com/news/politics-government/article315293628.html#storylink=cpy