SR 989: U.S. Department of Energy (DOE); to reinstate and fully fund radiological and water quality protections for the Savannah River and surrounding communities; urge

This resolution does not change Georgia law. It expresses the Georgia Senate's position calling on the federal Department of Energy to reinstate and fully fund environmental monitoring programs along the Savannah River, particularly between the Savannah River Site and Plant Vogtle. The resolution points to a past program, the Radiological Education, Monitoring, and Outreach Project (REMOP), run between 2017 and 2019 by the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory at the University of Georgia, which sampled water, soil, food, and wildlife and shared results with Burke County residents. It notes that federal funding for this kind of independent monitoring lapsed and that renewed activity at the Savannah River Site, including proposed plutonium pit production, has raised new concerns. The Senate asks DOE to fund transparent public reporting, coordination with state agencies and universities, and engagement with affected Georgia communities.

• Formally urges the U.S. Department of Energy to reinstate and fully fund radiological and water quality monitoring along the Savannah River.
• Calls for monitoring to be expanded to cover the corridor between the Savannah River Site and Plant Vogtle.
• Requests that DOE ensure transparent public reporting of monitoring results and coordination with state agencies and academic institutions.
• Directs the Secretary of the Senate to distribute copies of the resolution to the public and press.
• Does not create any new Georgia law, funding, or regulatory requirement; it is a statement of the Senate's position directed at a federal agency.

Residents of Burke and Richmond counties near the Savannah River Site, users of the Savannah River for drinking water and recreation, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division, the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory at the University of Georgia, and the U.S. Department of Energy.

If DOE responds to this request, communities downstream of the Savannah River Site could see restored independent testing of water, soil, and food for radioactive and chemical contamination, giving residents more public data as federal nuclear activity at the site, including proposed plutonium pit production, increases.

• The whereas clauses describe the history of the Radiological Education, Monitoring, and Outreach Project (REMOP), which sampled air, water, soil, and food in Burke County between 2017 and 2019.
• The resolved clause urges DOE to reinstate, fully fund, and expand monitoring and reporting along the Savannah River between the Savannah River Site and Plant Vogtle.
• The resolution requests transparent public reporting, coordination with state agencies and academic institutions, and engagement with affected Georgia communities.
• A final clause directs the Secretary of the Senate to distribute copies of the resolution to the public and press.

1. 2026-03-19Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2. 2026-03-18Senate Hopper (Senate)

• Nan Orrock (D, SD-036)Primary sponsor
• Sally Harrell (D, SD-040)
• Tonya Anderson (D, SD-043)
• Gail Davenport (D, SD-017)
• Randal Mangham (D, SD-055)
• Donzella James (D, SD-028)
• Michael Rhett (D, SD-033)
• Jaha Howard (D, SD-035)
• David Lucas (D, SD-026)
• Nikki Merritt (D, SD-009)
• Freddie Sims (D, SD-012)
• Sheikh Rahman (D, SD-005)
• Ed Harbison (D, SD-015)
• Kim Jackson (D, SD-041)
• Elena Parent (D, SD-044)
• Harold Jones (D, SD-022)
• Kenya Wicks (D, SD-034)

• Savannah River
• nuclear site monitoring
• water quality
• environmental protection
• Burke County