Share Water Fairly

Inter-basin transfers (IBTs) are the withdrawal or diversion of water from one river basin for use or discharge in another river basin. These transfers irreversibly alter natural water flows in our rivers and streams and can harm downstream communities that depend on certain flows for drinking water, industry and recreation. 

On the Flint River, low flows have been reduced by 60 percent since the 1970’s, in part because of these water transfers. Last summer, outfitters on the Flint, a popular paddling destination, lost 4,000 customers to low flows. Before it flows south to Alabama and Florida, the Chattahoochee River loses 47 million gallons a day to transfers and less water flows into Alabama in the Coosa River because of transfers to Atlanta.

Before permitting a new or expanded inter-basin transfer, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) must be required to analyze less costly water supply alternatives--including aggressive implementation of conservation-- evaluate impacts to both the donor and receiving river basin; and determine if the benefits of the transfer outweigh the negative impacts  

We must stop pitting regions of our state against one another and tell our neighbors that Georgia is serious about managing our water with the interests of downstream users in mind.  This will send the right message to our neighbors and help Georgia maintain access to Lake Lanier in the tri-state water negotiations.

We urge the General Assembly to put in statute criteria laid out in the Statewide Water Management Plan that EPD must use in evaluating a proposal for a new or expanded transfer and require greater opportunity for public involvement for the citizens and stakeholders of both basins.

Conserve Land While Providing Tax Relief

Georgia’s forests, farms and natural areas are part of our heritage.  They provide economic opportunity and recreation. Keeping our natural areas intact is also one of the best methods of protecting water and air quality. 

Georgia’s Land Conservation Tax Credit has allowed private landowners across the state to leave their natural legacy intact rather than caving to pressures to parcel off their land for office parks and subdivisions.  Since 2007, landowners have conserved almost 100,000 acres of Georgia land for $16 million in credits – or $40 per acre - while keeping the land on the tax rolls.   Providing incentives to landowners for conservation easements is one of the most cost-effective ways to conserve prime agricultural land, forests and wildlife habitat.

We urge the General Assembly to remove limitations on the Land Conservation Tax Credit by making them transferable to another taxpayer.  By allowing easement credits to be sold on the open market, we can expand the number of acres conserved in Georgia.

Accept No Rollbacks

We believe environmental fees collected for specific purposes must be appropriated to their intended purpose in order to restore public trust, fiscal responsibility and environmental integrity.

We believe we must uphold the ban, passed into law by the General Assembly in the mid-1990s, on dumping yard trimmings in municipal landfills.  It has created local, well-paid jobs and extended the life of landfills around the state. 

We believe our highways must be kept safe and scenic by maintaining existing compromise language and not expanding billboard companies’ ability to cut trees on our public right of way to maximize billboard visibility.

We believe in opposing efforts that would undermine current laws that protect our air quality and public health, especially when they focus on the development of clean and efficient energy technologies.

We believe the State should not enter into partnerships or provide financing for new water supply projects, like reservoirs, that are exempt from water quality protections or without the consent of existing local water service providers operating in the same area.