Altamaha Riverkeeper is having a busy spring! Three of our largest projects will need YOUR support this year.
DATA CENTERS:
Altamaha Riverkeeper is opposed to the massive number of data centers coming into our watershed due to the massive amount of water resources needed to power and cool them. The state and federal government are actively promoting and expediting the permitting of these sites without any meaningful planning, leaving the majority of the regulatory scheme dependent on local county and City governments to safeguard their residents. We are currently tracking 30 data centers being proposed in the Ocmulgee alone. Of these 30 data centers, only 16 have publicly disclosed water usage and they will pull over 12 million gallons a day and only return 3 million gallons, evaporating the rest for cooling processes. In addition to the data center evaporative processes, these data centers will prolong Plant Scherer's scheduled retirement in 2028 indefinitely, which pulls 72 million gallons a day and returns only 36 million gallons a day. Just using the disclosed information and not factoring in the 14 data centers that have not disclosed water usage, the Middle Ocmulgee Regional Water plan went from a projected 1 million gallon a day increase in withdrawal in 2060 to a 84 million gallon a day increase. 
This unplanned increase in water usage is unacceptable and creates a situation where withdrawal numbers will exceed flow of the river 81 days a year, where the previous plan accounted for only 12 days a year. Local municipalities are not equipped to make these extremely complicated planning decisions in a vacuum, but that is what we are seeing in real time. None of the 30 data centers being proposed has applied for a water intake permit or a wastewater discharge permit, as they are relying on existing municipal permits that were originally intended for residential and commercial uses. We are currently working with 6 counties and multiple municipalities to write data center ordnances that are protective and prevent the worst types of data centers. Despite these municipalities taking a more protective and measured approach, we continue to see other municipalities welcome and recruit these large data centers with a bare minimum of protections. If you are aware of an ordnance, proposal, or zoning issue with a data center, please let us know.
COAL ASH:
For the past 6 years, we have advocated for the safe storage of coal ash within our basin. The sites at Plant Branch and Plant McManus are being safely excavated, and millions of tons of waste containing toxic metals and radionuclides are being stored safely in lined landfills. Plant Arkwright is is the process of excavating its ash ponds and moving them by truck to a coal ash recycling center at Plant Branch. Meanwhile, Georgia power remains committed to its plans to illegally store 16 million tons of ash located at plant Scherer submerged into the aquifer FOREVER, despite a large number of nearby residents still using the aquifer for drinking water supplies. We anticipate that Georgia Environmental Protection Division will attempt to issue this illegal permit in 2026. We will need you to be ready to speak out against and fight this permit. At the same time we are seeing that the US Environmental Protection Agency is making attempts to roll back the protections in the 2015 coal ash rule across the country and continue to postpone the implementation of the legacy pond rule that governs Plant Arkwright. Coal ash pollution is the single largest industrial pollutant by volume that exists in the state of Georgia, and it is critical that we come together to protect our neighbors from this dangerous deregulation.
OCMULGEE NATIONAL PARK:
Altamaha Riverkeeper has also been working with partners from around the state and country to establish Ocmulgee Mounds National Park and Preserve as Georgia's first national Park. The bipartisan Ocmulgee Mounds National Park and Preserve Establishment Act progressed through Congress months after the conclusion of the Special Resource Study. The legislation received unanimous approval from the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committees. ONPPI testified in person before the House Natural Resources subcommittee on Federal Lands. ONPPI is currently wrapping up their strategic plan for implementing the park and it will be publicly available soon. Congressional offices are working with the current administration and committee leadership to re-file in both chambers for early consideration in the 120th Congress. Due to the overwhelming support the legislation has in the majority party, we remain optimistic.
The following bills are in play for the current legislative session. Please use the highlighted links on each bill summary to learn more and take action. HB 1063: Plug In, Pay Up House Bill 1063, introduced by Brad Thomas (R-Holly Springs and the Chairman of the Special Committee on Resource Management) and the Speaker of the House Jon Burns (R-Springfield), codifies existing PSC rules where contracts must cover incremental costs, but does not protect ratepayers from speculative building. HB 1063 will not fully protect Georgia billpayers from all costs incurred by serving or preparing to serve data centers and potential data centers. Bill status: HB 1063 passed the House (159-5) on February 17 and was assigned to the Senate Regulated Industries & Utilities Committee.
SB 410: Stops the Sales Tax Giveaway for Data Centers Senate Bill 410, introduced by the Rules Committee Chairman Matt Brass (R-Newnan) and co-signed by 15 additional Republicans, does two things. First, it addresses sales tax exemptions for data centers: the bill ceases the issuance of “new certificates of exemption from sales and use tax to a high-technology” company, data center or customer after the effective date of SB 410. Any certificates issued prior to the effective date will be honored through 2031, according to WABE reporting. Second, the bill will codify a portion the Georgia Public Service Commission’s rules regarding contract terms between data centers and Georgia Power. Unlike HB 1063, SB 410 does not provide for enforcement of these contracts and is an insufficient substitute for bipartisan language supported by a majority of Senators. The bipartisan language would have protected customers from the costs and risks associated with Georgia Power’s expansion to serve data centers. However, Senate leadership abruptly adjourned the Senate weeks ago rather than considering this more protective language, and then passed SB 410, a weak substitute, on Crossover Day. Bill status: SB 410 passed the Senate on Crossover Day (32-21) and has been assigned to the House Ways & Means Committee.
HB 1182: Safe Storage of Soil Amendments House Bill 1182, introduced by Chairman Trey Rhodes (R-Greensboro), will prohibit the storage and handling of soil amendments “derived from industrial by-products” within 100 feet of property lines and public roads. The GWC has been engaged with this issue for over a decade because industrial wastes masquerading as “soil amendments” have been spread on agricultural fields in rural communities, resulting in fish kills, water pollution, and other public health threats. Bill status: HB 1182 passed the House 163-0 and was assigned to the Senate Natural Resources & the Environment Committee. HB 812 & SB 447: Muddy Water Bills House Bill 812, introduced by Chairman Mike Cheokas (R-Americus) on Day 34 of the 2025 legislative session, and Senate Bill 447, introduced by the State and Local Governmental Operations Committee Chairman Clint Dixon (R-Buford), would roll back requirements in the Georgia Erosion & Sedimentation Control Act (1975) and impose NEW timelines to local governments’ consideration of ALL permits, licenses, and other government approvals. The “E&S Act” was passed in the 1970s to keep Georgia’s red clay from filling up our creeks and rivers with mud. Now, HB 812 and SB 447 propose to reduce local control by reducing the amount of time local governments have to review complex construction plans for large residential communities, build-to-rent projects, warehouses, and data centers that can cover hundreds of acres. If SB 447 passes, the result would be the inability to thoughtfully plan for our communities, protect our waterways from pollution, and ensure new buildings, including affordable housing, are safe and compliant with building codes. Bill status: SB 447 received a ‘hearing only’ in the full House Natural Resources & Environment Committee on March 12, was assigned to the Resource Management Subcommittee for another hearing on March 17 and could be back before the full committee on March 19. HB 812 did not cross over, but language from the bill could be amended to SB 447. 
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