Comité Natural Resources & Environment de la Cámara de Representantes, 15 de enero de 2026

Transcripción

243 turnos. Seleccione un tiempo para reproducir ese momento del video.

1. 0:09:55

   Morning, everyone. Try this one.

2. 0:10:12

   So my pa-

3. 0:10:18

   Good morning, everyone. We'll convene in just a few minutes. If you want to, uh, make comments to the committee, p- we have a sign-up sheet. Where is that?

4. 0:10:39

   It's, uh-

5. 0:10:39

   Right there on the table.

6. 0:10:40

   On the, on the table up here.

7. 0:11:01

   You can still talk. We have two minutes.

8. 0:12:33

   Good morning, y'all. And it's great to see everybody. I hope we've had a good interim here. But, um, by meeting at this time, you can te- Let's see.

9. 0:12:43

   I'm sorry. I, um-

10. 0:12:45

    Oh. We already have some interference, but I'm sure it's not a Verizon phone. How many of y'all have your phones back now?

11. 0:12:55

    Good.

12. 0:12:55

    Oh, we're live. So, uh, Chair Vance Smith will open us with a prayer.

13. 0:13:02

    Thank you, Madam Chair. Let us pray. Lord, we thank you for all the blessings you've given us. Uh, we thank you for this time that we can sit down to discuss issues that'll be important to the state of Georgia. We ask you while we're here, if you not only be with us and all the people that work with us, but be with our families back home, our children, and our grandchildren. Uh, watch over them and keep them safe, and we know that there are people that are s- sick, very ill. You're the great physician. We'd ask that you put your healing hand on them.

14. 0:13:33

    Lead and guide and direct us, Lord, in everything we do. In Jesus' name. Amen.

15. 0:13:37

    Amen. So it's great to see everybody, and as, um... What we try and do at the beginning of each session is take time and introduce ourselves to those who are listening. So I'll start with Corbett. I need y'all to push your buttons, and we'll go all the way around this row and then go down to the front. So go ahead.

16. 0:13:58

    Good morning, John.

17. 0:13:59

    Good morning. I'm John Corbett, District 174. Uh, I have six counties: Lowndes, Echols, Clinch, Ware, Charlton, and Brantley Counties. I've been on this committee for 12 years. Uh, look forward to, uh, this session with Chair Lady Smith. She r- does a great job running this committee, and let's...

18. 0:14:18

    You don't have a bill before the committee, do you?

19. 0:14:20

    Uh, uh, I, I will.

20. 0:14:21

    Okay.

21. 0:14:23

    A- a- and, and I thank the world every member on here this year.

22. 0:14:28

    All right. Number 28.

23. 0:14:30

    Holt Persinger, District 119. That's Barrow and Jackson Counties.

24. 0:14:34

    Thank you. 27.

25. 0:14:40

    Joe Campbell, District 171 down in Southwest Georgia. Uh, Bainbridge, Camilla, Cairo, that area to the, to the Florida line, actually, down there. Thank you.

26. 0:14:51

    Thank you. 26.

27. 0:14:54

    Representative Kimberly New, Douglas County, Paulding County. I have Pickett's Mill Battlefield in Paulding County and Sweetwater Creek State Park in Douglas.

28. 0:15:03

    Thank you. 25.

29. 0:15:06

    David Huddleston, West Georgia District 72, which covers Carroll, Heard, and Troup Counties.

30. 0:15:11

    Thank you. 24.

31. 0:15:13

    Johnny Chastain, Seventh District. Fannin County, Gilmer County, and a little bit of Dawson County. So as, as far as you go, you'll be in Tennessee when you pass through my district. So you have some ...

32. 0:15:24

    Thank you. 23.

33. 0:15:28

    Morning, Madam Chair. Rick Townsend, District 179. Uh, Glenn County, uh, Golden Isles, and, uh, this is my favorite committee that starts at 9:00 AM.

34. 0:15:39

    Rick's got, Rick's got a bill, too.

35. 0:15:40

    Has a bill, too. Right. Okay. Uh, 21. Thank you.

36. 0:15:45

    Uh, thank you, Madam Chair. Vance Smith. I represent District 138, which is part of Muskogee, part of Harris, my home county, and part of Troup County.

37. 0:15:54

    And we have a committee, uh, who assists us with, um, all of our activities, our assistants. So if you'll introduce yourself.

38. 0:16:01

    I'm Anna Smith. I'm the budget and policy analyst assigned to this committee.

39. 0:16:05

    Thank you. 19.

40. 0:16:08

    Good mor- Oh. Good morning.

41. 0:16:11

    Oh. Well, we're getting there. This is me, not you. Okay, there we go.

42. 0:16:14

    All right. Good morning. My name's Long Tran, and I represent District 80. I only have one county. A- and that's, uh, DeKalb County. Uh, but I have three cities, Dunwoody, Doraville, and Chamblee. Thank you, Madam Chair.

43. 0:16:28

    Thank you. Um, 18.

44. 0:16:31

    Good morning. Thank you, Madam Chair. And my name is Debra Bazemore, and my district is District 69, and that encompasses Union City, City of South Fulton, and Fayetteville, and I have been on the committee since I came in in 2017. Thank you, Madam Chair.

45. 0:16:47

    Thank you. 16.

46. 0:16:51

    Um, Robert Dickey, um, District 134 down in middle Georgia. Uh, Upson, Crawford, Peach, and Lamar Counties, three of which straddle the beautiful, uh, Flint River. And, uh, so glad to be here. Our first meeting, Madam Chair. Thank you for what you do.

47. 0:17:07

    Thank you. Number 16.

48. 0:17:10

    Hi, I'm Debbie Buckner. I represent, uh, Troup, part of Troup County, Meriwether County, Muskogee County, and I live in r- get all of Talbot County.

49. 0:17:20

    Thank you. 15.

50. 0:17:23

    Good morning, Madam Chair. I'm Leesa Hagan. I represent House District 156, which is six districts in southeast Georgia. Tatnell, Toombs, Montgomery, Wheeler, Telfair, and Ben Hill.

51. 0:17:35

    Thank you. And 14.

52. 0:17:37

    Thank you, Madam Chair. My name's Buddy DeLoach. I live on the beautiful Georgia coast in McIntosh County. I sit on my back porch and look over Blackbeard and Sapelo Island on Sapelo Sound, and the fish are biting, and I look forward to getting back home.

53. 0:17:58

    We just wanna make sure we don't use you as bait this year. We-

54. 0:18:04

    So I'm gonna go to the front now, and I need you to push your button so I can track you. Okay, number 12.

55. 0:18:11

    Representative Chas Cannon from, uh, District 172 in Colquitt, Cook, and Thomas Counties, and I'm not running for Marjorie Taylor Greene's seat.

56. 0:18:22

    Okay. Number 11.

57. 0:18:25

    Noel Williams, House District 148. I represent Crisp, Wilcox, uh, Pulaski, a portion of Houston, and a portion of Ben Hill. I've been on Natural Resources Committee since I came in, I think, in 2018. Thank you, Madam Chair.

58. 0:18:39

    So I don't wanna play that game 'cause y'all know how old I am, so I've been on this committee for a long time. Number 10.

59. 0:18:47

    Jaclyn Ford. I represent District 170. That's Berrien, Cook, and Tift Counties. And going into my second session, and, um, excited to be here. I like... I love this committee and working with, um, Chairman Smith, Chair Lady Smith.

60. 0:19:01

    Thank you. We're figuring out who has bills coming to our committee. All right, number nine.

61. 0:19:07

    Uh, Lauren McDonald III. I live in Forsyth County, represent the lake. Um, Chas Cannon is my roommate. That's my biggest accomplishment.

62. 0:19:17

    We don't know that that would fall in that category for either of you, but we're glad y'all both think that way. Number six.

63. 0:19:26

    Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm Representative Viola Davis, and my house district is 87 in the great county of DeKalb, primarily in Stone Mountain, Tucker, and Pine Lake.

64. 0:19:38

    Thank you. And then essential to our committee, um, our committee, uh, total manager, Nicole Chappelle. Nicole, if you'll wave your hand and say hello to everybody. She, she makes-- she puts this together and makes this happen. And quietly sitting over there with her is our leg counsel, Paul Hyatt. He, he's essential, by the way, just so you know. Draws up our bills and everything. And over here, if these young gentlemen will s- I'll call your name out.

65. 0:20:11

    So first I have Owen Harkins?

66. 0:20:15

    Hawkins.

67. 0:20:15

    Hawkins. Okay, can't read my own writing. Stand up and let people meet you. He's from, um, Kennesaw. Uh, say something briefly about y- In the general assembly when we meet, we have interns from, um, our college students around the state. Um, they help us, and we hope they, um, enjoy their experience up here. But go ahead and introduce yourself.

68. 0:20:37

    Good morning, everyone. My name's Owen Hawkins. I'm a junior from Kennesaw State majoring in political science and, uh, that's about it.

69. 0:20:44

    Thank you, and Victor.

70. 0:20:48

    Everyone, I'm Victor Alba. I'm a senior at UGA with a double major in political science and international affairs. I'm from Hart County, Georgia.

71. 0:20:56

    So if you missed it, it's a go Dogs kind of situation with this young man. So, um, welcome aboard and to our committee now. Um, thank you first of all for starting this session off early. We have an issue that's very important before the committee, and, um, the sooner we start digging into it, the better, the better information we'll have and be informed for the votes that will be necessary. Um, I want to read an intro.

72. 0:21:28

    I actually found this in my old notes, and so let's see if I can get to it right away. And this is back in the '90s. So while I'm getting ready for that, will everybody on this committee do a show of hands. How many of you were here in n- the 1990s? Anybody?

73. 0:21:48

    All right, three of us. How many of you were here in the decade of 2000 on? One, two, three, four. How many of w- of you were on this committee in the decades of two, of 2010? All right. We haven't hit the number five yet, y'all. Okay, how many of y'all have been here and on this committee in t- from 2020 on?

74. 0:22:15

    S- so what the purpose of this and, and digging deeply into this issue is that for the first several decades I've been up here, o- our issues were driven by the urgency and the immediacy of taking care of the water resources we had in Georgia. And we have had smooth sailing for the past eight, eight years. But before that, it was, um, it was very difficult. But we figured out as a state and as the legislators and all how to pull together on behalf of the citizens of Georgia.

75. 0:22:52

    But we're getting ready now to, um, just m- we'll get more information on that. But, you know, climate isn't consistent. It changes all the time. And, um, we just need to be aware of some things that might be in the future. But mainly, when I first was here and digging as much as I can into the issues, I have-- I learned a quote and it said, "When the wells dry, we know the worth of water." And that came from Ben Franklin So the issues of water, water quality, water quantity have been with humans forever.

76. 0:23:31

    But in our state, um, we, we might be facing some, some challenges very soon. And so we need to, first of all, get a level of education so that then we'll be prepared to make certain decisions. And we have, um, Jeff Cowan and Anya and the staff there, if you will introduce people to us. And essentially, in the beginning, it's a tutorial for me as well as it is for y'all. We do have a resolution before the committee, but I really want this morning to be more about questions and learning.

77. 0:24:05

    So turn it over to y'all.

78. 0:24:08

    Is it on? Yeah, I guess it's on. Good morning. I'm, uh, Jeff Cowan with the, the Environmental Protection Division, uh, I've been with- which is a part of DNR. I've been with them since 1990. I've probably presented to this committee about 20 years at least. Uh, I've been with the Environmental Protection Division over 30 years. I also spent five years as director of state parks, and I've always enjoyed, uh, presenting and working with y'all on different issues. Uh, with me today I do have my deputy director, Anya Traczynski, who's gonna give you a history and an overview of what we're trying to do in a moment.

79. 0:24:41

    I have, uh, Veronica Craw, who is our new watershed protection branch chief behind me, and then I have Katie Hegarty, who-- Katie Bloomfield. She got married recently. I gotta remember that. Um, Katie Bloomfield is my external affairs director, and she sort of helps cor- you know, uh, communicate with y'all. So today we brought this map over here, and, um, I, I, I almost deci-- I wish I'd left it there, 'cause I lost it on Capitol Avenue in the wind, and, uh, but I did find it again.

80. 0:25:13

    It's also in our-

81. 0:25:13

    It's also in our folders.

82. 0:25:14

    Yeah. So in our folder, they broke down. They've got two maps. One, this map con- is a combination of the, uh, watersheds and the water planning districts. But in the, in your package, you have the river basins map and the council map, and you have a spreadsheet on the councils. I also have fact sheets on each council if you want them. We just didn't have time to get them correlated to you, but if-- I have all the 10 councils here. And there's also-- there's actually 11. Uh, one of them's Metro North Georgia Water Planning District, so.

83. 0:25:44

    Uh, I'm gonna turn it over to Anya to, uh, talk about, uh, why we're here today, present to y'all.

84. 0:25:51

    Good morning, everyone.

85. 0:25:54

    Good morning.

86. 0:25:55

    All right, so if you all, um, will stick with me, I'm actually gonna go back in time a little bit as well to give you the history of how water planning started in Georgia and where we've kind of come from since. So in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the state as a whole was facing some pretty significant drought conditions, and discussions about water were not new at that time, but it did add a sense of urgency and poignancy to those discussions. And the state started to take some very specific and concrete steps to better address drought and prepare for drought and manage our waters more comprehensively.

87. 0:26:30

    The first step that was taken was that the legislature in 2001 passed the, and I al- always wanna make sure I get all the words correct, the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District Act. And that act in-- established the Metropo- Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District, which I'll either call the district or the Metro Water District for short. It is a, a long name. This district encompasses 15 counties in Metro Atlanta, and the intent there was to coordinate water conservation, water supply, uh, water quality, wastewater, stormwater permitting, and management across all of the different counties and munas- municipalities in the metro region.

88. 0:27:11

    The counties', uh, local governments', appointed officials', um, all had to work together to develop a plan. Um, the Atlanta Regional Commission kind of housed the staff that led that development, and they developed plans for managing their water resources. Sorry. Those plans are kind of unique. Even though they rely on the same kind of technical information that we use across the state, there is language in the statute that makes those plans enforceable. What that means is that unless the counties or municipalities are making a good faith effort to comply with their Metro Water District plans, uh, the director shall not issue an expansion, modification, or new permit for water withdrawal, wastewater, um, discharge, or stormwater.

89. 0:27:57

    So all of the entities in that region have to be working in good faith to implement all of the elements of the plan, or there are issues that come up when it comes to permitting. This is a separate and unique structure, but it is one that's worked really effectively, and I think that the water, uh, the Metro Water District can speak to all of the great successes that they've had over the last 30 years in establishing water conservation efforts and better coordinating water management across those different entities. Separate from that district, in 2004, the state passed the Comprehensive Statewide Water Management Planning Act.

90. 0:28:33

    This act established a state water council that was going to give not just Metro Atlanta, but the entire state a, an opportunity and a framework for managing the water resources effectively. So from 2004 until the end of 2007, the State Water Council met, worked with experts, talked to stakeholders, um, worked with the technical teams, and came up with a state water plan. The state water plan, um, was approved by the State Water Council, and once it was approved, the legislature had to pass a joint resolution per statute that basically gave their seal of approval and ratified that plan.

91. 0:29:13

    That happened in 2008. The plan was ratified, and by ratifying that plan, what we saw was the establishment of 10 regional water planning councils. These were councils separate from the Metro Water Planning District. Now, even though they're separate from, there's a lot of really good coordination that happens between the Metro Water District, the Regional Water Planning Councils, and EPD. But I do wanna keep those points kind of separate, because the way that the statute is set up for the Metro Water District and the way that it's set up for the Regional Water Planning Councils is a little different.

92. 0:29:43

    So the Regional Water Planning Councils also deal with issues of wastewater, water supply, water conservation, water quality. All of that is-- and stormwater. All of that is still captured in those regional water plans. But the reason that the state went to this regional approach was to allow local decision-makers an opportunity to highlight the water challenges in their region, and then come up with solutions, work with the state, work with the contractors, work with the technical experts to identify how we could proactively, or in some cases reactively, but ideally proactively, address these water management challenges.

93. 0:30:18

    So following that 2008 establishment of the Regional Water Plans-- uh, Planning Councils, in 2011, we had our first Regional Water Plans. And these plans are updated on about a five-year schedule. The idea is that as we get more information and as things change, we wanna make sure that our plans are active, living documents that reflect the real challenges and the real on-the-ground realities. The decision-makers that pull together these plans and vote on these plans are the Regional Water Planning Councils.

94. 0:30:50

    The way that the Regional Water Planning Councils are set up is explained in the State Water Plan. This was something that was developed by the State Water Council at the very creation of these diff-no- different regional water councils. And initially, the State Water Council wanted a very comprehensive and very, very broad group of people, um, in the room voting on these plans. The idea was to be as inclusive as possible, and I think that that was, uh, uh, an approach that certainly made sense at the time. But as we have seen these Regional Water Plans go through different iterations, and as we have seen the Regional Water Councils kind of grow, develop, and mature in their approach, we have found that the appointments process is no longer kinda keeping up with where we need to go to have a nimble and agile council that can continue to get good information, continue to make and recommend informed updates to the plan, and really zero in on the issues that they're facing at the local level.

95. 0:31:45

    Per the statute that established the State Water Councils and the State Water Plan, EPD is required to, every three years, at least every three years, take a look at the Regional Water Plans, take a look at the State Water Plan, and see whether any amendments are necessary. And so we've been doing that, and recently, we identified that the appointments process was starting to have a negative effect on the ability of the councils to be fully staffed, fully-- the-- all the council membership active and in good standing, um, participating in the meetings, and engaged with the issues.

96. 0:32:19

    It was a little bit like it was starting to, uh, become a burdensome process that was more of a hindrance than a help in terms of getting the right people where they need to be. So through consultation with our, um, with stakeholders, with experts, we had the recommendation to reduce the number of appointments from the 30 that we had before down to 15. Thirteen appointments and two ex officios. Those are also appointments, but, um, ex officio members are members from the Senate and the House.

97. 0:32:50

    And we brought this recommendation to the State Water Council. The State Water Council convened in September to talk about this recommendation. Following that meeting, uh, EPD held a series of meetings, both with the councils to get their feedback on, uh, this proposed change, as well as with the public to get their feedback on the proposed change. Um, and then ultimately made the recommendation for the council to amend the plan to reduce the number of appointments. The council voted on that, approved it, and it will come before the legislature to ratify that potential amendment.

98. 0:33:23

    But I wanted to highlight that the reason for those changes is to make sure that we are have an appointments process that provides broad representation, but is still quick and nimble enough to allow us to address these emerging issues, because the Regional Water Plans are very, very important. I wanna highlight two examples to show that we need to have, um, really effective Regional Water Plans. The first one, the Lower Flint Ocmulgee is a Regional Water Planning Council. It deals with issues of water supply and water resources in Southwest Georgia.

99. 0:33:56

    That is a very active council. They have worked effectively to bring in outside experts to solicit public comment from people who are not on the council, and to tackle some big issues in that basin, including work on novel and, um, protective strategies for managing agricultural water withdrawal. On the other side of the state, in coastal Georgia, the Coastal Council is similarly a very active council that has worked with a number of different entities to make sure that not only is the council active, but that we are getting a broad range of voices.

100. 0:34:29

     So while the council is meeting and voting on the plan, they are soliciting feedback from additional advisory committees. Uh, they have a permitting advisory committee that has broad representation from permittees, as well as from watershed organizations, environmental groups that may have, uh, an additional helpful perspective for us to hear on permitting decisions, especially around water supply. So there are all of these opportunities for these councils to not be solely within themselves, but to work within their broader region to put forward productive solutions to local challenges.

101. 0:35:02

     And that was sort of the, the broad overview that I wanted to, to bring, and I'm happy, Madam Chair, if you have any questions or any additional discussion.

102. 0:35:11

     Thank you. I'm, I'm s- sure there'll be a lot of questions. Um, uh, what my biggest concern is that most of us here don't-- we've not lived through some of these issues to understand, um, where we've been and, and where we've come to, and the importance of being flexible. And, um- Ah, when I started off, first got elected, it was e- my, my campaign issue, and I had been former chair of our chamber.

103. 0:35:42

     We couldn't bring in industry or anything because the Chattahoochee River was so polluted. It was, it was horrible. Somebody- My slogan was, um, "I don't need to show you the Chattahoochee. Just take a deep breath. You can smell it." So we were suffering from the misuse of waters north of us, which was now the metropolitan North Georgia area. The rest of the state had its own particular problems, but no one was communicating. But on top of that, we had our own baked problems in Georgia.

104. 0:36:15

     We had lawsuits against us from, from neighboring states. We couldn't use our core dams. We had several serious problems. So there was an intensity all these years to find ways to address it, and we've, we've just had smooth sailing for the past, um, maybe nine years. And, um, one of my goals here, I hope, is for our committee members to understand although things are good now, water, and I mean, our nat- nothing's predictable with natural resources.

105. 0:36:50

     And so, um, it, there's some shifts going on now that I think we need to be aware of as a committee, but I, I also need a brief estimation, explanation of why we're dealing with a resolution in that process as opposed to other processes that we normally do as a, as a panel. Why, why do we just have to have an up and down vote on this resolution, which is 1008?

106. 0:37:21

     'Cause, um, we quickly learn up here, we gotta be engaged and, and our vote matters. This time it's a consensus vote and, and that's it. So why, why is it that way? And I think that's what most of the committee members have expressed to me.

107. 0:37:39

     Absolutely. So the, um, house resolution is to ratify the amendments to the State Water Council. And so the State Water Council went through a robust public process to evaluate the recommendations, and they made the determination on whether they wanted to approve those amendments or not. So when it comes to the legislature, the legislature can either agree with what the council has done or disagree. And if the legislature disagrees, then it goes back to the State Water Council for them to have additional discussion, for them to look at additional ideas or solutions.

108. 0:38:15

     Um, the State Water Council pulled together a lot of information in working through the recommendations, and so it's very focused there. Now, there are a lot of opportunities for elected officials, um, for the legislature to be involved. There are opportunities for, uh, members of the legislature to serve directly on the Regional Water Councils, um, either as members or as ex officio members. There are opportunities as well, um, for the legislature to be involved in the State Water Council. In fact, um, we have ex officio members from both the House and the Senate who served on the State Water Council, um, and can provide some of that perspective.

109. 0:38:54

     So there are lots of ways for feedback to, to come in, um, to inform the k- Regional Water Planning Council's process and to inform the State Water Council's process. But once the State Water Council has agreed, has adopted something, or, or made a recommendation, then at that point it is just a yes or no.

110. 0:39:11

     Yes, and this authority a lot lies in the Comprehensive Statewide Water Planning Management Planning Act of 20- 2004. So the legislature set up and gave that ability to the State Water Council, and that's what we're doing here. We reconvened it, and we, we did a, like Anya said, a robust look at this. And we're, that council voted and then made a recommendation to y'all. And the, the, the act says that you sh- shall ratify or not agree, so.

111. 0:39:40

     And so what we'll do in a minute is we'll go around the room and have specific questions to that process. But mainly, I, I want to emphasize that streamlining the voting pro- the, the members, in, in other words, being more efficient, we do that a lot in our businesses and industries. If we don't adjust to the times, then we're behind. And so that kind of philosophy applies here in a way. But I also want the committee and the general public to understand that no one is being excluded from having a role in this process.

112. 0:40:18

     The meetings are open to the public. Um, the, a lot of our councils who've been very successful have created sub-groups and organizations when the, in their councils. They bring in all the different disciplines and interests. So the whole point of this is to be efficient and address, as strategically as possible, our issues. But again and again and again, it is not to ex- to exclude anyone in the process. And, um, the streamlining, I get that.

113. 0:40:51

     I mean, I've, I've, I had to change my business quickly when, when some things changed. And, um, uh, I, you know, I, I was able to. I think a lot of you can maybe look at it from that perspective. But more than anything, I think our messaging and our understanding is this is not to exclude. This is to be efficient and to address the problems as they m- immediately come up. So, um, and I think our questions will go to that right now, and then we'll circle back around and see what other questions we might have.

114. 0:41:25

     So just push your buttons for me. And, um, number six, say your name again and ask your question.

115. 0:41:34

     Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm Representative Viola Davis. And my question Starts off with the information you pr- provided on lines 13 and 14, in which you said that there was a water council reconvened on Sep- but well, September 29th, 2025. Um, I went to try and pull all of that up, but could you please provide us with a full text of all the amendments adopted-

116. 0:42:08

     Mm-hmm

117. 0:42:09

     ... on December 9th of, uh, of 2026, including the red line comparison showing changes from the prior version? And the reason I ask that is because the section that I did locate that did have the red line was very troubling, and it showed that there would be some, uh, problems involving small governments, some of your rural areas, uh, areas like mine.

118. 0:42:43

     Like in DeKalb County, we have a consent decree-

119. 0:42:47

     Mm-hmm

120. 0:42:47

     ... in which we are trying to work that through, and they just went up on our water bill 10% for the next 10 years. So in 10 years we're gonna have a double on our water bills. Um, there were several sections in which, uh, if you fall in these categories, uh, I only looked at like, uh, like about five, 10 pages back and forth. Uh, so how many pages is the entire document?

121. 0:43:17

     'Cause I, I went to different sections going back and forth.

122. 0:43:21

     So the state water plan is a lengthy document. However, we are only making, um, changes to, um, section 14-

123. 0:43:31

     13

124. 0:43:31

     ... which deals with the appointments. That's much shorter, and we are happy to provide a red line. Um, I'm also happy to walk through some of those changes specifically, because the, um, the concerns that you raise, I, I want to understand a little bit further, um, and I don't immediately connect them with some of the changes. So, um, what we are doing is reducing the number of appointments for, um, the governor's office from, uh, 13 down to seven, from the lieutenant governor and the speaker from six down to three.

125. 0:44:01

     And then because we are reducing these appointments in half, we are also reducing in half the number of appointments that must be a member of a, must be a mayor or a city council member, or must be an elected official of a county governing b- uh, body. So instead of there being two, there will be one.

126. 0:44:19

     So, but-

127. 0:44:20

     As a minimum requirement. You may-

128. 0:44:21

     Okay, to add to that, um, you actually live in the metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District, which is not the issue here today. That is a separate issue, but the other questions you brought up are the regional, we're dealing with the regional water plans that are not part of the metro district. For example, I live in Coweta County. I, I abut the regional water planning districts, but, uh, I mean, the metro area, but I'm actually in a water planning district.

129. 0:44:53

     So we're not dealing with metro issues today at all with this bill. We're dealing with all of the, um, counties outside that area, and that's why we're doing this today, y'all, having this conversation. Um, you have skillfully pointed out to us it's confusing.

130. 0:45:11

     Uh-

131. 0:45:12

     Yes

132. 0:45:12

     ... follow-up, please.

133. 0:45:13

     Yes.

134. 0:45:14

     When you ... I, this goes beyond just metro, right? Back in the day, this is something that I followed-

135. 0:45:25

     Mm-hmm

136. 0:45:26

     ... you know, as a community missionary, and so I'm not far removed. Uh, I have history here. And um, when you talk about the council in the districts, the council does one thing, and how does, how does the people who fall in the districts, one is appointed, one is, uh, elected. Am I correct or no?

137. 0:45:55

     So it's a, it's a little bit of a different structure. Um, so in the metro water district, um, which DeKalb is in the metro water district, there are, um, some specific requirements in the establishing legislation for the metro water district on the elected officials from counties and elected officials from city governments that are part of the governing board. There are also appointments that come in from the governor, the lieutenant governor, and the speaker for the metro water district, and nothing here affects anything about how the metro water district functions.

138. 0:46:27

     That is a separate statute, and the, uh, way that that, uh, board is structured and that district is structured is fully established in that separate statute.

139. 0:46:37

     And, and so, and so for our committee, this is just step one of dev- delving into this, and, um, my screen has lit up, so I'm gonna limit you to one question in the beginning in fairness to giving everyone else a chance. It doesn't mean the discussion is over. We will spend more time on these issues. So my next person is, uh, number 17.

140. 0:47:05

     Where is 17?

141. 0:47:06

     Oh, uh, thank you, Madam Chair. Um, uh, don't have a question, but I, I just wanted the committee to know, um, I serve, uh, and have served on the Middle Ocmulgee, uh, Water Council since inception. I was appointed, um, I think by Governor Perdue, um, way before I was in the legislature. And, uh, I just want to appreciate the forethought that, uh, you, Madam Chair, did setting up, uh, the legislation, working with EPD, uh, at the time to set up these, uh, water councils.

142. 0:47:40

     And, um, uh, just for the committee's information, we, at the time, most of us, uh, saw EPD as enforcement and regulation, and, uh, we really didn't have s- such a great, uh, feeling of going into these councils. But very quickly we learned that the councils was not about regulations and enforcement. It was really about solutions, as, as you said on your, um, in planning And, uh, so through the years I've learned a awful lot about how EPD has gone about, uh, the planning process.

143. 0:48:19

     And the involvement, uh, of all of us, the different stakeholders in the areas, in the regions, each of those regions are very unique. They have unique, um, water quality, um, and the amount of water that flows in is used and flows out. And, uh, I just wanna say, uh, how good a job EPD, uh, has done, uh, using the councils to communicate back to the communities, stakeholders, um, uh, how to use our water resources.

144. 0:48:51

     And it's, uh, I, I can't say enough good things about, uh, the water councils and how they work. And I just really appreciate, um, the, um, director, uh, engaging in this, trying to get our councils, uh, concise and focused. Uh, these advisory committees, I'm told, uh, will be very effective and, and work really well because the councils were f- really did get too big and, and not the positions were not being filled timely.

145. 0:49:23

     So, uh, I appreciate y'all bringing a solution, uh, and effectiveness to getting our water councils back, uh, working well. Um, and so it's, uh, it's something that, that, that I'm just glad we wanna continue, uh, to do. So that was just my co- comments back to the, uh, committee this morning.

146. 0:49:46

     So I'll add something onto that 'cause, uh, Chairman Dickey is, as a farmer, has been all over the country, and he brought back, uh, some feedback to me one time. And, um, the rest of our country wants to know how we did this because it is so hard to achieve what we achieved. But this dialogue and this discussion is absolutely what we need to have to continue to help the citizens of Georgia. But, um, we were kind of the first one out there. We stuck our toe in the water, and we still have our toes.

147. 0:50:18

     So, um, it's ... I just wanna thank him for his comment. Number 12, say your name again.

148. 0:50:24

     Let's see. Thank you.

149. 0:50:26

     Mr. Chas.

150. 0:50:27

     Uh.

151. 0:50:27

     Representative Cannon. Thank you, Madam Chair. Is it ... If I'm hearing correctly, it sounds like this is basically people are having trouble showing up to meetings, they're just not attending. And as a result of that, the feedback coming to y'all from the councils is that we need to probably have folks that are gonna attend take it seriously and provide, you know, subject or data to the council. Is that correct? Am I hearing correctly or-

152. 0:50:50

     That's part of it, Representative. Uh, it's also, if you do the math, it's currently, under the current council plan, it's 300 appointments every three years, and it's become burdensome to try to do that and get the people that wanna serve. So we're making it a little more focused where it would be 130 every six years, plus the ex officios. And the, the c- some of the councils, as Anya had said earlier, are already using these c- technical committees to help inform them. They can bring different people in to help inform them on decisions and bring that to them so the council functions a little more nimbly and a little more efficient, instead of trying to gather 30 people every meeting.

153. 0:51:29

     Madam Chair, a quick follow-up.

154. 0:51:30

     Sure.

155. 0:51:31

     Uh, who are the ex officios?

156. 0:51:33

     It would be one member from the Senate, one member from the House.

157. 0:51:36

     Gotcha. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair.

158. 0:51:38

     And to follow up on that, I've, I've asked, as we go along, you'll be receiving some more information. For example, your district, you'll know what water region you're in. You know, we, I think, can get the names and ... So this is the s- first sortie int- into this issue. Thank you. Um, number 27.

159. 0:52:01

     Yes. Thank you, Madam Chair. The question that I wanted to ask you is, what involvement are y'all having, i- if any, with the data control, the DC movement of those coming in? Or is that something that goes before y'all, or, or what?

160. 0:52:17

     The data centers?

161. 0:52:18

     Yeah.

162. 0:52:19

     So, um, data centers would come to EPD for permits. Um, they would typically come to us for either an air permit or a water withdrawal permit. Most data centers are working direct- directly with local governments, so we do not have requests in-house yet for a data center for a water withdrawal permit. We have had, uh, air permit applications from data centers, and we work with them to make sure that they are meeting all regulatory requirements.

163. 0:52:48

     And, and that air quality permit is for the emergency backup generators.

164. 0:52:51

     Mm-hmm.

165. 0:52:51

     And, and a couple other permits. We may have the grading permits and all, or local would, as normal, any construction project. And any other thing, you know, sometimes there's a, a Corps of Engineers permit to do, build these things. These are big pro- processes. And, uh, maybe a, a buffer variance for a stream or along that, and a water quality certification along with the Corps permits. We do do that, but we don't, far as permitting a data center, it's not in there. And there's a lot of data centers that have been in place for many years that we never had a permit other than the, the disturbance of the pr- the land to build the property.

166. 0:53:25

     Yeah, so this, um, ch- the changes to the state water plan were not related to data centers in any way. It was really related to, um, as Represent- as Representative Cannon mentioned, as Director Cowan mentioned, we are seeing, um, lower levels of participation, and we are struggling to keep up with 300 appointments that need to be vetted, reviewed, and go through the governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker's offices.

167. 0:53:52

     Thank you.

168. 0:53:53

     Thank you.

169. 0:53:58

     Number 12. Let's see, where'd we go? Oh. Now we're back to number one. Josh?

170. 0:54:06

     Thank you, Madam Chair. Um, Mary Frances Williams, um, House District 37, Cobb, Marietta. So I actually reached out to the director of the Cobb Water Authority, um, yesterday to ask him to take a look at this. And so, um- So, um, just to be clear, and you have said, uh, Madam Chair has said, so this has no impact at all on the Metro District?

171. 0:54:32

     Correct.

172. 0:54:33

     So, um, 'cause he did send me a red line version, and, and it looked to him like it was gonna affect the Metro District. So are you, are you planning, um, bringing a resolution forward to deal with some of the issues that they're having with their appointments? No?

173. 0:54:46

     No, the Metro Water District is a separate entity outside of EPD. Um, they are run through the Atlanta Regional Commission. They have not approached us about any potential amendments or changes that they would be interested in their legislature. We are solely interested in the state water plan and the State Water Council

174. 0:55:06

     Okay.

175. 0:55:06

     Assurance.

176. 0:55:07

     Follow, follow-up question, Madam Chair? So, um, it, it's my understanding that, that they are facing some of the similar, um, issues in terms of appointments. I think there's ... I was told there was one person who served for 10 years who's been trying to get someone to take his place. Um, and, um, and he's now getting ready to retire, and he's serious. But, um, so, um, is there any thought given to ... I mean, well, so you just ... You, you're saying you have no authority at this point, or?

177. 0:55:37

     So I think that the most effective thing would be if there are concerns about that process for, um, the Metro Water District appointed members' governing board, for them to work with the staff at the Atlanta Regional Commission, the Metro Water District staff. Um, they work very closely with us, and we'd be happy to support them and have additional conversations, but probably the best course of action would be for them to, uh, channel their concerns, uh, to the teams that support them.

178. 0:56:06

     Okay. Thank you very much.

179. 0:56:08

     Thank you. Um, number 23.

180. 0:56:13

     23. Thanks, Madam Chair.

181. 0:56:16

     Uh-huh.

182. 0:56:16

     I was part of that, uh, I was at that Water Council meeting, and as part of the discussion, and heard the discussion, and you did have environmental groups there as well. And, uh, it, it did come, it was pretty obvious at the time where, uh, there was a lack of participation, and it was hard to get people to meet. It was actually hard to get quorums at times. And so, uh, I think that's why the recommendation came across the way it did, and it had full support. Uh, in the beginning, I was surprised because all the environmental groups were there. They had some good questions. By the end, uh, everybody was in support of the, of the resolution they were gonna make.

183. 0:56:52

     Thank you. Um, number 16.

184. 0:56:56

     Thank you, Madam Chair. Um, I, I guess I need to share my bias. I truthfully believe we all ought to be concerned and interested in water and have as many people involved as possible. So cutting the numbers seems a little counterintuitive, but I also live in a small area and trying to get people to gather together and fill positions, actually have people in the area to fill the positions. I understand there are people on the councils that are dead and have not been replaced. And that makes it hard for them to serve.

185. 0:57:26

     Are they voting? Are they still voting?

186. 0:57:29

     I don't know. I don't know. That does happen sometimes. Um- ... and reaching a quorum is an issue, and that kind of thing. My question is, the people making the appointments are the most powerful people in the state. How will changing the number necessarily improve the appointment process to be more timely? Uh, because I don't see anything anywhere that addresses how we do that.

187. 0:57:57

     So the, the appointments come through the chairman of each council. And so like I said, there are 30 appointments every three years, and they're sh- working very hard to work on that, where they should be planning for water usage and different things. See, see what I'm saying? They're sitting there doing all that. It comes through them, and then it comes to EPD, Department of, uh, Ag, and DCA for vetting of those appointments, and then we make a recommendation or present to the governor, lieutenant governor, and, and the speaker.

188. 0:58:27

     It's just a burdensome thing there, and like you said, we cannot, a lot of times we cannot get people to serve, and that's, they c- the chairman of the council cannot get people to serve.

189. 0:58:36

     That's exactly, that's exactly right, and one of the things that we have found is, um, that sometimes it can be challenging for us to find people who are able and willing to serve. There are some people for whom, um, water is very, very important, and their position, their role allows them to be present at these meetings. There are other folks who are, um, who have just, we just do not have people expressing an interest to serve in these councils. So there's also some legwork to be done to identify who might be a good council member, uh, work with them to see whether they truly are interested, work through that whole appointments process.

190. 0:59:11

     In response to some of the comments we've received, we do think that there's value in us becoming more transparent with the appointments process and allowing some avenues for people to let us know that they're interested. That would also certainly help ease the burden with some of the appointments. Um, so we're gonna be going through, um, our own work basically just to update our website, work with the councils, and improve that appointments process so we can solicit more appointments and also, um, be more transparent in how people could be appointed to the council if this is something that they are interested in.

191. 0:59:41

     Madam Chair, could I do one follow-up?

192. 0:59:43

     Um, let me get back to you. I have one more-

193. 0:59:45

     Okay

194. 0:59:45

     ... and then I'll get back to you.

195. 0:59:46

     Thank you.

196. 0:59:46

     Okay, number 21.

197. 0:59:48

     Thank you, Madam Chair. Um, great explanations, Anya and Jeff. We appreciate that. And I know y'all, y'all's, your door's always open. Uh, couple of key words that I've heard the whole time. Number one, we're here to ratify something that has been decided by the water coun- rural wate- water councils. Uh, number two, I think Representative Cannon men- mentioned it, how hard it is to get people to come to meetings and get a quorum. So, uh, and I've been in meetings like that myself.

198. 1:00:19

     Sometimes we actually have that problem in the legislature. We wait for a quorum. You know, we'll start in five minutes, 10 minutes to get a quorum. So I think-

199. 1:00:29

     To me, this is pretty basic. This is let's get, uh, working councils all across the state of Georgia, uh, that can make decisions. And these meetings that they have are all public. Anybody from the public can go to these meetings, and I'm pretty sure these water, rural water councils allow people to make a comment, kind of like we do here. And Madam Chair does a great job of keeping us going. But to me, it is pretty basic. This is the 21st century.

200. 1:00:59

     Let's get this show on the road. They've recommended it. Um, oh, yeah, we make a lot of decisions. We don't have to make all decisions. Let's ratify something that some of our citizens do, and let's trust them. But to me, it's just a basic concept of, um, let's ratify this, let them go to work, and if there are any questions, we'll come to y'all and, and ask them. But thank you for your explanation.

201. 1:01:25

     Um, number 29.

202. 1:01:28

     Thank you, Madam Chair. At the proper time, I'd like to make a motion.

203. 1:01:31

     Um, thank you. I haven't presented the bill.

204. 1:01:37

     The, the... You're in class right now. And so, um

205. 1:01:43

     but I would love it, but we, but we, we have a process, and that's a good example of it. We're having this great discussion, but there is a process we have to follow. What I've, I've gotten good feedback from Representative Corbett, but I need to hear from the rest of the committee, and if there's a comfort level there, um, and one of my questions will be, do you want us to go ahead and have a vote soon on this? Um, it was just an, i- it was something we've not done in a long time.

206. 1:02:15

     And so at the proper time, Mr. Corbett, will you make the re- the recommendation? Okay. We're... And then y'all be thinking of who will do the second. But, but, um, overall, thank y'all for this presentation. It, um, it's kind of hard to, to, um, understand it all, but in my role as chair, I've lived through some awful, awful things. My county, Heard County, when I represented them, was within three days of no water for the people.

207. 1:02:46

     I've lived that. I've wondered why we put our infrastructure and the water only goes one way, and we can't move it another way to help somebody in need. I, there, there are a lot of challenges, but right now, y'all, we're smooth sailing. We don't have that, and there was a complacency that I was getting worried about. But I'm glad, I'm glad this has been brought before us because the climate doesn't check with us first as to what we want it to do. And, um, there are just some indicators out there now that we will start to be facing some, some challenges.

208. 1:03:22

     But overall, now we'll go back to, um, I'll get one last comment from Representative Buckner. But the other thing I think we are losing in this, and, uh, Representative Vance Smith brought it to our attention, we're just ratifying an action already done. If I was a school teacher, I would give you 100, and then my job would be to put the gold star on it. So that- that's kind of how we're looking at it. But overall, our regional councils do not make policy. They do not make policy.

209. 1:03:53

     They are the voices we need to hear from to be a cohesive state managing our resources. And so I'll go back to, um, Representative Buckner. Your number is?

210. 1:04:05

     16. I just wondered what the process for us was now that we've heard the presentation. Will there be another meeting for the presentation of the bill and a vote, or will we do that today?

211. 1:04:17

     Um, again, I would love to do that today, but, um, that was not how we advertised this. And so, um, give me, we're here tomorrow. Give me some feedback. If you want to do this tomorrow, we can go ahead and have our meeting and, um, and start moving it forward. I just didn't want to push y'all to make a decision on something that was new. So I- I'll, I will look for your feedback. And, um, it, I really, things are gonna start shifting.

212. 1:04:48

     There, you just see indicators out there, and we need to be ready as the state. I will leave this. If anybody anywhere around the state, um, is interested, please put your name forward to con- be considered for a role in this. But our regional water plans do not set policy. But they give us the feedback we need as legislators to be an effective state. So, um, your conclusion, uh, Mr. Chair?

213. 1:05:15

     Well, well, thank you all for today. And I wanted to close with Representative Davis' question for the committee. If you want to look at the red line and the meeting minutes and everything, it is on the water, the State Water Council's website, which is waterplanning.georgia.gov. It also includes the meeting minutes and the PowerPoint slides. So there, that is there on the website that you can go look at. And-

214. 1:05:38

     And that's the only section that was changed?

215. 1:05:41

     The only section that's changed was the appointments processes, yes.

216. 1:05:45

     It just came to my attention, we did want people to sign up and speak to us today. And by the way, y'all must notice we don't have rules today, which is why our committee is able to go past, uh, nine o'clock. So we do have two people who've signed up to talk. I have Allison Keys and Chris Mangiano. So if you'll just come forward. What podium, um-

217. 1:06:09

     I can take down their-

218. 1:06:09

     Okay.

219. 1:06:10

     I think.

220. 1:06:11

     If you'll, if you'll just come forward and, and address.

221. 1:06:17

     Please be s- be succinct with your comments.

222. 1:06:20

     Yes, ma'am.

223. 1:06:21

     Can everybody hear me okay? Great. Thank you so much, Madam Chair and members of the committee. My name is Alice Kais.

224. 1:06:28

     Oh, boy, I got that wrong. Sorry.

225. 1:06:30

     That's all right. It's like eyes with a K.

226. 1:06:32

     Okay.

227. 1:06:33

     I drove up from Brunswick, Georgia, uh, to freeze my tail off, uh, uh, to talk to you about this House Resolution 1008. I'm a senior strategist with 100 Miles, a coastal advocacy organization dedicated to preserving and protecting Georgia's 100-mile coast through education advocacy and community engagement. But prior to working at 100 Miles, I was a water policy advisor at the Georgia Environmental Protection Division during the time when we created the r- state's first Statewide Water Management Plan.

228. 1:07:04

     I had the privilege of working alongside Madam Chair, uh, and other legislators, as well as the agency heads, to fulfill the 2004 General Assembly charge to create this Statewide Water Management Plan. The adoption of that plan and the subsequent regional plans, um, was quite significant. Took a lot of hard work, as Chairman Smith has mentioned, and has led to the implementation of, of practices across the state that sustain our limited water supplies, protect us from drought, and also, uh, from fire.

229. 1:07:38

     It's something for us all to be proud of. Section 14 of the s- of the plan is why we're here today. Um, appreciate r- uh, Director Cown and Ms. Anya for explaining everything. The call for the Regional Water Councils is to oversee the development of regional plans, and I'm gonna quote Section 3A of the Statewide Water Management Plan, which I have a crusty version from 2008 right here. To, um, "Each council will be broadly representative to include agriculture, forestry, industry, commerce, local governments, water utilities, regional development centers, tourism, recreation, and the environment." Broad water users from diverse areas of the region coming together to talk about long-term water management, just like Representative Dickey mentioned, all at the same table.

230. 1:08:28

     That's the intent. The changes recommended by the Water Council risk violating the intent of this broad representation. It's a solution to a participation problem that not all regional councils have. So I'm here today to ask the committee to not ratify House Resolution 1008, but instead to request the council to update the state plan to first maintain the cap at 25, or Ms. Anya mentioned 30, members.

231. 1:08:58

     The planning regions are vast. In coastal Georgia, for example, you need to have somebody representing rural McIntosh County Water service areas, as well as someone from the metro Savannah area that has the high level of urban and industrial demands. We also recommend a designated seat for a council member to represent conservation interests. Throughout the state, hundreds of millions of public and private dollars have been invested in preserving open spaces like timber and recreation lands that protect water sources and water quality, um, to everyone's benefit.

232. 1:09:35

     Such conservationists deserve a seat at the table. And lastly, even if the number of committee members, um, council members is re- is reduced, what's been described today is a need for clarity about that process. This body can recommend that the Water Council, um, require-- that the Water Council update the plan or regulations to b- have a transparent nomination and recommendation process for council members to be appointed. The process now at best is opaque, and it begs for clarity and public notice.

233. 1:10:10

     How will EPD accept recommendations, and how will the state leadership appoint members to each council? Um, I appreciate your time. Again, I've got a crusty version of the original plan here with me. If anybody has any questions, I'm ha- happy to answer. Thank you so much for your time.

234. 1:10:27

     Thank you. And, um, then also we have Chris Manganiello.

235. 1:10:32

     Morning. Thank you all for, uh, giving me some time this morning. Um, for those who don't know me, I'm Dr. Chris Manganiello. I'm Chattahoochee Riverkeeper's Water Policy Director. Uh, I'm here today on the behalf of the Georgia Water Coalition. It's a true coalition of over 200, uh, conservation and faith-based organizations, homeowners associations, businesses, hunters, anglers, farmers. Our mission at the Water Coalition is to protect and care for Georgia's service water and groundwater, uh, which are essential for sustaining, sustaining economic prosperity, um, and protecting quality of life for current and future generations.

236. 1:11:06

     Uh, some of our members of the Water Coalition participate as, you know, uh, observers at the councils as well as, um, actually serve as council members and as well as on some of these advisory councils as well. Um, and the Water Coalition, as a coalition, opposes H.R.1008. Um, we don't wanna see, in a nutshell, um, how the, the, the regional councils are getting smaller. We prefer to-- they stay the same size. And from perspective, you know, since 2010, I've been following the Regional Water Council process. I'm, I'm among a probably very small number of people that read all those first plans when they came out in 2010.

237. 1:11:42

     Um, and, you know, for 15 years or so, I've attended Regional Water Council meetings all over the state, um, different places, and certainly, um, you know, other members of the Water Coalition do that as well. In our collective experience, each Regional Water Council has its own culture and sense of purpose. Some have certainly been more engaged than others in some parts of the state, some less so. Um, I've watched the membership ebb and flow. There was mentions of deaths and, and, and other things. I've, uh, maybe less, uh, more on sundry.

238. 1:12:13

     Uh, but, um, like all of us, you know, people have to deal with, um, the, uh, kind of day-to-day. Uh, a- and I would also argue one of the reasons for probably less interest is that we've seen the kind of concern about the Tri-State Water Wars has kind of- Also kind of slipped away from us. And so I think that some of the kind of overall statewide, um, angst about water is, has been blunted. Um, I will say maybe it's shifted regionally from one part of the state to the other. Um, so I, I, I do understand some of the real challenges that EPD and the councils have faced in, uh, getting people to show up and keep the chairs full.

239. 1:12:49

     The Water Coalition did submit a formal letter to the State Water Council, uh, that details, uh, some of the comments I'm gonna make really briefly here or for how we think the current framework, uh, could stay around as well as introduce some new options to increase membership. At a high level, we believe the State Water Council should maintain the current number of members, uh, that council could keep the roster size as is and make other changes to foster the ability to achieve a quorum. We also think that you could increase the diversity of the appointees and spread out the workload for appointing authorities.

240. 1:13:20

     For example, the council could add the House minority leader and the Senate minority leader as appointing authorities. The council could also request the general establish-- the, the General Assembly establish not only a planning budget, but also an implementation budget for each council. Uh, we could also add additional, uh, two additional guaranteed appointee categories to include representatives for tourism and recreation and environmental and conservation interests to kind of echo what Alice was saying about broadening interests, uh, membership. And the council could develop a, um, a more transparent nomination recommendation process for appointing the Regional Water Council members.

241. 1:13:57

     Um, so, you know, the, the councils have done a lot of good work over the years, uh, and, um, and I think they can do more work, and I would like to see the councils remain, um, robust and engaged and active, uh, as much as possible. And with that, I thank you for the opportunity to make these comments, and I'd be happy to answer any questions, um, now and offline. Thank you very much.

242. 1:14:20

     Thank you. Thanks for your presentation. All right, to the committee, um, I do need your feedback, and I would also appreciate the fact if you would talk with EPD, Anya and, and Jeff, and, um, think about all the things you've heard today. If, if you're comfortable with us moving forward, also let me know that. But we will do the legislative process. I will have to present the bill, and we'll go through that. Again, I just knew that most of you are not at all familiar with any of this, so consider this, um, a course, a twenty-- what, a t-two and a half, one and a half hour course, and, uh, y'all get an A 'cause you attended.

243. 1:15:02

     So, um, we will-- I will-- uh, please pay attention to the notices that will be posted both with our office and online with, um, information. So we'll go from there, and I adjourn the meeting. Thank you.