House Natural Resources & Environment Committee, February 12, 2026 Video: https://vimeo.com/1164695843 (a timestamp t plays at https://vimeo.com/1164695843#t=s) Page: https://georgiacommons.org/meetings/2026-02-12/house-natural-resources-and-environment This is a machine transcript of the General Assembly's video, made by a speech-recognition model. It is not an official record and can mishear words, names, and numbers. Speakers are not identified. The video is the record: every timestamp links to the moment it plays. [0:05:56] Start, and Representative Huddleston, if you'll hit, go ahead and open us with a prayer. [0:06:01] Let us pray. Heavenly Father, just thank for this day, Lord. Thank for all the great things you do. Lord, just thank you for the blessings that you bestow upon us each and every day. And allow us to make the decisions to the best of our abilities for the citizens of this state. And Lord, if you will just be with us as we all travel back home to see our families, and thank you again for all things you do. In your name we pray. Amen. [0:06:19] Amen. So we're gonna have one bill presentation from Trey Kelley, and we'll get right to it. The bill should be in your folder. [0:06:27] It's been reported. [0:06:28] It's already been through the committee last year. There's one slight amendment to it, and it was reviewed once more in subcommittee. So Representative Chair, Representative Kelley, you have the table. [0:06:49] Thank you, Madam Chair, and good morning, everyone. Uh, no place better to start a get out of town day than with y'all. I had so much fun being with y'all here the first time. I figured I'd try it again with the same piece of legislation. We're here on- [0:07:04] It's three times the charm, by the way. [0:07:07] Well, that would be fun, too. Uh, I'm not gonna argue with the chair my bill's in front of. But I'm here on the, uh, committee substitute to House Bill 320, LC443357S. Uh, this is legislation that deals with the disposal, uh, through recycling for solar panels once they reach the end of their lives. Um, many of you know I've, I've worked in, on legislation in this space previously, and, uh, I know there are concerns about making sure our land, uh, that these replace is returned to its, uh, natural state or the state of the landowner once the leases expire, and this is the next step in that. [0:07:54] What do we do with these solar panels once that happens? And this would just say that these solar panels will be placed at a legitimate solar panel recycling facility. The change from last year when it passed out of here unanimous is there had been language regarding a directory, uh, created and maintained by the, uh, EPD. We have taken that language out, and that's the only change from last year. [0:08:23] Thank you. Now is the time for our committee questions, if we have any. [0:08:28] I have the proper time. Oh, we got one back there. [0:08:31] So number 26. [0:08:34] Oh, thank you, Madam Chair. Uh, I just want to thank you for bringing this legislation. I'm just good, um, and I know you and I both have been concerned about what to do with these wonderful pieces of technology, uh, when their useful life ends. I've been worried about the land, and, uh, th- these are the panels, and thank you for, uh, good legislation. Looking forward to what to do with these, um, panels. [0:08:58] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. [0:09:01] Number 12. [0:09:04] Yes, sir. What was the reason for taking that language out? [0:09:07] Uh, there were some concerns just, uh, about the administration from the EPD and, uh, to address, frankly, a concern that our, uh, whip had. [0:09:19] I see no further questions. Chair will entertain a motion. [0:09:24] So moved. [0:09:25] Second. [0:09:25] Uh, second. [0:09:28] Second. [0:09:28] Any other discussion? All those in favor signify by saying aye. [0:09:33] Aye. [0:09:33] All opposed nay. Well, thir- second time was the charm, so you know the process, and we'll sign the bill for you as well. [0:09:41] Thank you, Madam Chair. [0:09:42] Thank you. [0:09:42] It was a pleasure being with y'all. [0:09:45] To the committee, um, this is the time of year where we all are needed for quorums all over the building with everything. And so thank you for coming. Our quorum is seven, so if someone says, "Well, I need you..." This is the established meeting time, so it- it's the priority time, but then you can leave and go if you need to. I want you to know of something that happened. We had, uh, Forestry Day, we had Farm Bureau Day. We- we've, um, sort of had an education of the geography of the state of Georgia, so to speak, and our resources. [0:10:19] During that period of time, I was fortunate to talk with one of my constituents, Jonathan Parker. He's the one who does the antique maps that we have displayed in our suite. He knows someone named Joe Napier. If you've met him, he's an avant-garde user of byproducts that are, are not repurposed for the timber industry. And, um, he has, um, parlayed this into an industry. [0:10:52] So Joe Napier is the CTO and co-founder of RivaTerra, the world's first AI-powered bioengineering company. He takes residuals, sawdust, whatever, or even intentional tree, you know, growth of trees, and converts it into, in the end, what can replace coal. So it's really interesting. He wants and is interested in the products we have in Georgia, and so he will be our guest speaker next Thursday. [0:11:22] And, um, we will also, if we have any bills, we will see if we can fit it into the calendar, or I will post early on when we have another hearing on the bills. But we're very lucky to have him here. Um, I was, um... I could see from the foresters who were in our office suite at that time how, how interested they were in, in this. And so I kind of see him as the leprechaun who found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow after the bad storm we've been going through with our mills closing. [0:11:54] So let's see. I think you will enjoy that, so I just wanted to give you a heads-up about it. And, um, we also now, for our committee, this is one of the agencies that comes before our committee, and it's GEFA. And, uh, Trey Bennett is the executive director. He's relatively new to his role, so I've asked him to come in and explain to us what they actually do. When I was first elected, the- Everybody's trying to build reservoirs. [0:12:26] We're heading into a drought. It's extremely dangerous, very scary. Well, the financing for those projects come through GEFA. So we need to know this agency head because at some times he might be your new best friend. So, um, and thank you for what you do. [0:12:45] Well, thank- [0:12:46] Go ahead and briefly introduce yourself too. [0:12:48] Absolutely. Thank you so much, Chairwoman Smith, um, and members of the committee. I'm really excited to be here with you this morning. Uh, my name's Trey Bennett. I guess I'm the other Trey this morning, and, uh, I am GEFA's- [0:13:02] You're, you're the third charm. Third time's the charm. [0:13:05] There you go. I'm the third time's the charm, hopefully. Um, I am brand new at GEFA. I started in November, so I, I tell everybody, at least thus far, I'm the newest employee and probably the least qualified to be here presenting about what our agency does, but I'm gonna do my best. Uh, I- just a little bit about me. I've been with the state about eight years. Uh, prior to that, local government in the private sector. My background and training is as an attorney. Uh, most recently, the last five years I've been serving with the governor's administration, first in his office as deputy executive counsel, and then OPB as the grants division director and general counsel. [0:13:48] So, uh, got, uh, got into this space somewhat with government financing via the American Rescue Plan Act, uh, and those grants, and began working with GEFA on that side, and then came over, uh, recently. So very grateful to the governor, uh, for entrusting me with this responsibility and this opportunity. Every day I learn more and more about how special of an agency GEFA is, and how wonderful the staff are, how intelligent and hardworking, and how important the work that we do for Georgia's communities is. [0:14:23] So thanks again for having me, and I'm gonna tell you just a little bit about our agency and what we do. [0:14:32] GEFA's mission is to conserve and improve Georgia's energy, land, and water resources. Uh, the way we do that primarily is by financing low interest loans to Georgia communities, uh, a good bit below market rate, uh, to enable them to build, uh, crucial water and sewer and energy infrastructure projects. Uh, as many of you may know, as patriotic Georgians and Americans, uh, 2026 is a really important year, uh, in our state and in our country's history. [0:15:04] It's GEFA's 40th anniversary. So, so I wanted to invite you all to GEFA Day on February 26th over at the Capitol in room 230. Uh, we're gonna have a little bit of a celebration. Uh, it's at 10:30 and goes through noon. We'll have coffee and some pastries and, uh, we might even have a little birthday cake there. So we'd love to see you all, uh, there and to spend some time with you and, uh, get you caffeinated for the important work that you do for our state. [0:15:33] So to our committee, so now what date was that? So y'all will send out information to, to my committee so I can send it out to- [0:15:40] Yes, ma'am [0:15:40] ... the committee. Okay, thank you. [0:15:41] Yes, ma'am. It's February 26th, so we'll be right over in 230 Cap for that. [0:15:51] All right. [0:15:55] Like I said, we've been around 40 years. We were initially chartered as the Georgia Environmental, uh, Facilities Authority. We've been rebranded since then as the Finance Authority, but our work remains primarily i- in the loan space. Over that 40 years, we have provided more than $6 billion in low interest loans to Georgia's communities and funded more than 2,100 projects statewide. Just last year, in fiscal year 2025, uh, we served more than 2.7 million Georgians with our finance projects. [0:16:32] We dispersed more than $431 million for water projects across the state, and we awarded $259 million for new water projects that are getting started across our states. We served 97 separate communities, and we saved more than $118 million for local rate payers via our low interest rates. [0:17:03] Georgia Environmental Finance Authority, or GEFA, we manage several different fund streams. Uh, the primary one is via the Georgia Fund, uh, funded by y'all. It's a revolving loan fund using state funds. Uh, and we support water, wastewater, sewer, solid waste, and land conservation infrastructure with that fund. Additionally, we manage some s- uh, federal funds, uh, that are matched by the state. [0:17:35] One of these is the Clean Water State Revolving Fund that was created by the Clean Water Act. It finances water quality and wastewater infrastructure projects like wastewater treatment, sewer line rehabilitation, nonpoint source pollution remediation, water reuse, and stormwater projects. The Drinking Water State Revolving Fund is another federally funded program matched by the state under the Safe Drinking Water Act. It supports water supply and drinking water systems such as wells, surface water intakes, water treatment, source water protection, water storage, water distribution improvements, consolidation of smaller systems, and lo- water loss reduction projects. [0:18:22] We get a lot of questions about this. Our current interest rate that we administer from each of these funds is 3.49%. That's our base rate. It's significantly below the market rate, and we also offer discounts for Water First communities, that's a certification that we grant to especially responsible local governments, and Plan First communities, and we offer an additional discount to our interest rate for conservation projects that are being executed by local communities. [0:19:00] In recent years, uh, we've received a significant amount of additional funding on top of what we normally administer via the IIJA, that's the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021. Uh, these are primary programs that were funded, are the Lead Service Line Replacement Program, the Emerging Contaminants or PFAS Program, and the Hurricane Helene Resilience Fund. Uh, to date, under the Lead Service Line Replacement Program, GEFA has been awarded $104 million in federal funds. [0:19:35] In 2025 alone, GEFA executed 66 lead service line, uh, replacement loans totaling $24 million, and 19 million of those loans is actually forgivable. We dispersed $12 million in financing through that fund in 2025, and to date, we've awarded $84.5 million in projects throughout the state. Under the Emerging Contaminants or PFAS Program, GEFA has r- been awarded $117 million in funding from, uh, the federal government. [0:20:13] 77 million of this funding is already committed. Uh, the IIJA does require public water systems to complete initial PFAS monitoring by April 2027, and to comply with EPA's maximum contaminant level by April 2029. That said, EPA has indicated to us that it intends to extend that deadline to 2031. [0:20:38] Finally, in, in- I do have a question there. Um, how do our legislators know of this? Are there notices sent out to, um, the different local governments? Or how do they know to start applying for this? Via our funding. Mm-hmm. Uh, we do a call for projects, and, you know, those communities, uh, can access our website. We have that publicly available on there. We also have a email list that we send out and circulate that I'll provide the link to at the end of our presentation. [0:21:15] S- so essentially, you respond to their inquiries, is, is how it- Yes, ma'am. Okay. All right. Thank you. Just want the legislators to know to get that information out to our- Absolutely ... constituents. Yeah, we love to hear from y'all. Okay. Um- We got one more question. Okay. I st- [0:21:35] Oh, thank you, Madam Chair. I just wanted you to repeat the amount. I, I, I didn't catch it. For the PFAS funding? Yes. Georgia has been awarded 217 million total. 77 of it is already spoken for, but that leaves about 40 more. And as a quick follow-up, is that from the 50 billion federal funding, uh, the infrastructure- Yes, ma'am. Okay. Thank you. Yes, ma'am. [0:22:07] Um, we also are administering the Hurricane Helene Resilience Fund. Um, that is currently underway. Uh, we recently issued a call for projects, and based on that call for projects, we intend to apply to EPA for the following amounts. Uh, 124.9 million for clean water, 359.5 million for drinking water, and 8.9 million for decentralized wastewater. I'll also note that that Hurricane Helene Resilience funding comes with a baked-in 30% principal forgiveness amount, so that's the baseline. [0:22:45] Uh, we also are considering increasing that amount based on need, but every award or every loan administered th- via that program will have at least 30% forgiven. [0:23:06] One thing that I'm really, really proud of and excited about, uh, is GEFA's focus on small and disadvantaged communities across our state. Um, we do this by offering principal forgiveness on a case-by-case basis. Uh, and we also consider interest rate reductions based on need and qualification. We have kind of a calculus that we use. Our team, uh, coordinates with these communities. We receive their financial information, and then we consider based on the, uh, 11 different factors that we have listed on the screen there. [0:23:45] We... Really, the point that I'm trying to make is if you've got a community that has a need, we wanna work with them, and we wanna do what we can to help them. Uh, we're not, you know, in our ivory tower, um, trying to protect our pile of gold. We're here to serve Georgia's communities, and we wanna do what we can to get people qualified. So if you have communities that have needs, please encourage them to at least give us a call. [0:24:18] The next thing I want to talk about is, uh, Georgia's need for water funding. Um, we recently issued a 2026 call for projects, and I've got the numbers up there on the screen for the amounts that came back, uh, requested from communities. But if you'll look, we're looking at over $2 billion in expressed need from local governments for water infrastructure alone. [0:24:47] As you all know, Georgia's economy continues to boom. Our population is still skyrocketing, and our infrastructure in many parts of the state is aging every single day. So this is a crucial, a crucial area of need, and we're so grateful for the funding that the legislature has given us in the past, and we're doing our best to be good stewards of it, but also to get that money into local hands as quickly as we can. [0:25:16] Next, I wanna talk about our energy division and our state energy program. Uh, a lot of our local communities really know us for our water loans, but another key role that we play is we are Georgia's state energy office, and we do a lot of work in that space as well to fund energy efficiency, renewable energy, and resilience projects. Uh, one thing I really am excited about that we do is our ES12 coordination that we provide. Uh, through that program, we work closely with GEMA, the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency, as well as other state agencies and private sector stakeholders to develop energy emergency planning resources and to lead exercises designed to ensure better emergency management coordination. [0:26:04] In this role, our energy team actually played a very key role in the state's response to the ice storm a couple of weeks ago. So we're very involved in keeping the lights on, uh, when the weather gets bad. [0:26:20] Another program that our energy division handles is the Federal Weatherization Assistance Program. This program dates back to the Carter administration. It's got a lot of history here in our state, and it focuses on providing energy efficiency and health and safety upgrades to the homes of Georgia's residents that are in the most need. Uh, we prioritize elderly, people with disabilities, and families with children to help update their homes and make them more efficient. [0:26:50] Last year, in fiscal 2025, we serviced over 1,000 homes along with our local partners, and we received $12 million annually from DOE and HHS. Uh, additionally, the IIJA, uh, has given us an additional $84.3 million for that program that we will administer through 2029. Not now. Okay. Gotcha. [0:27:25] Another, uh, windfall that we received from the federal government a couple of years ago via the IIJA is the, uh, Georgia Home Energy Rebates funding. Uh, there's kind of two wings to this program. Uh, one we call HER, uh, the Home Efficiency Rebate, and the other we call HERE, the Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates. These focus on, uh, low to middle income Georgians, uh, who need updates to their home to increase, uh, energy efficiency like HVAC, uh, water heaters, uh, more energy efficient appliances, insulation, things like that. [0:28:05] And these two programs provide a significant amount of funding for that. I was in Washington last week for a conference, uh, that, uh, dealt with state energy offices, and Georgia is actually, um, number one or two in the country in the ability that we have shown to get this money into the hands of Georgia's citizens. There are many states that haven't even started on their programs yet, and we're off and running. Uh, to date, we have provided $17.8 million in rebates to over 1,300 households throughout the state of Georgia, but there's still a good bit of funding there that, uh, we would love for your constituents to be aware of to apply for. [0:28:46] They can go to our website, which again, I'll provide at the end of this, um, at the end of this talk. But really, we, we're trying to way- raise awareness for these programs 'cause this is federal money that can come to help Georgians, uh, that will expire at a certain point if we don't get it all out the door. [0:29:11] Some additional funds that we've been awarded via the IIJA and the Inflation Reduction Act are the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant, providing $2.9 million for grants to local governments to perform energy audits, energy efficiency upgrades, fleet electrification, and other energy upgrades to public facilities. The 40101D Grid Resilient State and Tribal Formula Grant that provides $43 million for local electric uti- utilities to improve their electric grid infrastructure. [0:29:44] And the Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnership, working with some of our private partners to strengthen our grid, especially in rural and hard-to-reach communities. Uh, this funding did come down from the previous administration. Uh, it's under review, uh, by the current administration, but we're hoping to get good news and have that funding released soon. [0:30:13] Next, I wanna look at, uh- Our amended fiscal year 2026 and our fiscal year 2027 budget recommendations. Um, as many of you may know, uh, SB13 that was passed last year by the legislature and signed by the governor gave GEFA the authority and ability to grant loans for, uh, natural gas infrastructure for local governments. Uh, that's something we've been getting a lot of questions about, a lot of interest from our, uh, our communities across the state. [0:30:46] And the Governor Kemp has recommended $35 million in the amended budget for that. We're very grateful to him for that. And the House has also, uh, recommended $50 million for the amended budget for rural infrastructure at-- Rural infrastructure for economic development. So those funds could be used for water or gas projects, hypothetically, for economic development. We're very grateful for that recommendation as well. We're still waiting to hear what our friends in the Senate, uh, think about everything going forward. [0:31:21] But again, uh, we've received a lot of calls and a lot of attention, uh, for the potential for these natural gas projects. We're very, very excited, uh, for the potential that we think is there. Uh, we're working on building out a program, an application process, an underwriting process, and we hope to be awarding loans by the end of 2026. [0:31:52] And finally, we've got our nifty little QR here if you wanna scan that. That'll take you a link to our website. It'll give you the ability to sign up for our mailing list, I promise we don't spam you, and links to our exciting social media accounts as well. Um, thank you so much again for having me here today. I'm so excited to be at GEFA. I'm looking forward to working with y'all and your constituents. So grateful again for the work that you're doing for our state, and I'm happy to answer any questions that you may have. [0:32:23] We do-- We will have some questions, but before we start, and to the committee, how many of you knew about this agency before I posted it? [0:32:31] A few of you, yeah. [0:32:32] All right, that's more than I thought. You are the best-kept secret up here in Georgia for all our local governments and our citizens. And, um, I think it would help all of us to make this information available to our constituents. And, um, talk a little bit more about why it was so important for us to start funding, um, grants for, for gas lines in, in, in our more rural areas. I don't think, um, city dwellers quite understand that. [0:33:01] Sure. Well, um, I've actually learned a lot about this in the last couple of months from, uh, members of the legislature, but also local communities that have been coming to us. But there are several areas of the state that don't have access to local-- uh, to natural gas right now for, uh, just basic home energy needs, but also for, uh, uh, economic development. Uh, we've had a lot of attention from communities that are hoping to bring new businesses to their, uh, to their counties and to their cities that are interested, and they're telling them, "Hey, we just need a reliable energy source there." Um, uh, primarily in some of the more rural areas of the state that have been coming to us are those that have been affected by the setbacks with the timber industry, uh, that are looking to pivot and to attract new businesses to those locations. [0:33:50] And the businesses are telling them, "Hey, we gotta have natural gas." So these are the kinds of projects that we've been approached with thus far. A-and like I said, we're, we're just so excited for this new era at GEFA and for the ability to help drive economic development, create jobs in our local communities that need it the most. [0:34:10] Thank you. Now we'll start with some questions. Number 22. [0:34:15] Thank you, Madam Chair. Director Bennett, uh, good to be-- see you today. Thank you for coming and sharing this information with us. [0:34:22] Thank you. [0:34:22] And we're very grateful for the additional funding that's been put in the budget to help support, uh, water projects around our state. I live in Northwest Georgia, and of course, PFAS is an extremely big issue up our way. And, um, as the feds continue to push closer to changing the allowable limits for what PFAS may or may not be, and I know we've been talking about that for a long time, but it's very likely that the majority of our systems around the state could be out of compliance if we have to meet that higher standard. [0:34:55] Um, are there internal discussions about what, what our plan may be when that happens? Do you think it would be a situation where there would be a phase-in for many of these systems where it wouldn't be all at once? Uh, because just the magnitude of the funds needed to do that, um, for some of these systems, you know, they're very old. Um, uh, I, I'm just trying to figure out what kind of internal conversation there's been about should that happen and, and what the-- what, what our local communities would turn to if they were faced with, "Hey, you gotta update." And either, I guess, they're gonna have to raise taxes locally. [0:35:31] They may not be able to do that, um, but they're gonna have to be in compliance. So just curious if you had any thoughts about that. And I do have one other follow-up question after he answers this. [0:35:42] Sure. Thank you so much for the question. Uh, to be honest, we are more on the financing end for, for h-helping communities deal with the requirements that are being passed down via EPA than through, uh, EPD. So, uh, you know, I don't, I don't know that I can speak to, uh, what those policy requirements are going to be. We have received this funding from the federal government. We are aware that the need is likely going to be huge. Um, and we're hopeful to, uh, potentially get more funding, but our, our-- we're gonna do everything we can to help communities respond to this in the most affordable way possible. [0:36:21] Um, and our water division director, uh, Judy Adler, is here. Uh, I don't know if she has any additional thoughts that she might be able to address the committee with. [0:36:33] Judy, yes, come to the front and, um, share, share the bur- or right there is fine. [0:36:39] Yeah. Nice to meet you, Judy Adler. Um, Trey did an excellent job answering that question. You know, it really is up to EPA and EPD as far as the timing for compliance. Um, and we recognize, just like Trey said, we do have funding now, but it's limited. The need to add the advanced treatment to water systems is going to be tremendous. Now, folks can come to our drinking water, um, SRF program, our Georgia Fund, those are a- those are eligible projects for those other pots of money as well, um, if we get to a point where we've expended all of those PFAS projects. [0:37:18] And one thing I do wanna mention is that we work really closely with EPD, and so when they do their testing, for water quality testing, and identify PFAS, they come to us and we work together to try to provide those financing solutions to community, especially in northwest Georgia. So just as Trey said, we know that the need is going to be much larger, and we're hopeful that in the futur- future we'll receive additional funding for that- [0:37:44] Mm-hmm [0:37:44] ... to help communities. [0:37:46] Yeah. And, and I thank you for that, and I think it's incumbent upon our, our committee and our leadership to have, continue to have this conversation, 'cause it's very real. And it may be that technology fixes it. It, it may not necessarily be as much on the capital side as- [0:38:00] Mm-hmm [0:38:00] ... I mean, technology's constantly changing, and it might be something like that. [0:38:04] Yeah. [0:38:04] But it's top of, it's top of mind. One last thing I'll, I wanna just mention, say, um, the line item in there for the Georgia Rural Water Association, you know, they are a lifeline to our rural communities, and, uh, I don't know what we would do without them, and I just appreciate the work that they do. I don't know if they've got anybody... Well, they, they do kind of have some representation here today, but they, they do a great job. [0:38:28] So today looks like we're giving y'all a chance to advertise. You mainly you mainly provide, and, I mean, it falls to the rest of us, our state agencies, I think the money that's- ... been able to draw down from the federal government. So I, I guess I wanna emphasize on this part of the conversation, the State of Georgia is not ignoring this problem at all, and, um, we are making steps forward to deal with it. It's, it is more that your time is spent solving the problem and saying, "Hey, everybody, we're doing this, this, and this." So I think that's a good message to get out to the general public as well. [0:39:07] Um, w- it is being, and there is attention being paid to this problem. Um, uh, funding is always a hardest issue with, with anything like this we try to do. So how, how much notice do you receive if there's a cutback on federal funds? Because that seems to be the sledgehammer out there a little bit right now. [0:39:35] You don't know. I don't either. [0:39:39] It's, uh, that, that's, you know, the, the funds that specifically that I, I was referencing with the grid resiliency, they, they have not been cut, they're just being reviewed by the current administration. And again, you know, I know some of, uh, our partners are doing a lot of lobbying on, on, uh, the state's behalf to try to get that money moving, and I, I'm not sure of the current status. But, but when funds are cut is kind of subjective based on the decisions and when they're made. [0:40:13] It's yet predicted. [0:40:14] I guess you have to realign and reprioritize. [0:40:17] Yes, ma'am. [0:40:18] All right. But I think the message I wanna get out to everyone today that you are a workhorse agency. You do what you can to help with the citizens of the state, but it helps you if your legislators are informed and know a way to get that connection going. Uh, did you have one more question? I see, yes. Okay. Number seven. [0:40:40] Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you, Madam Chair. [0:40:43] Mm-hmm. [0:40:44] Um, I'm from DeKalb County, and being within Metro Atlanta, I know that a lot of times the funding for GEFA is primarily directing, uh, your underservied and under-resourced communities within the rural counties. Um, with us having our water rates increase 10% for the next 10 years, our bonding debt is increasing. What we're finding is a large amount of need- [0:41:16] Mm-hmm [0:41:16] ... within the metro areas that are labeled or fulfill the definition of disable, I mean, dis- well, not dis- [0:41:28] Disadvantaged [0:41:28] ... but disadvantage, underserved and under-resourced. [0:41:32] Mm-hmm. [0:41:32] Do you have any grants or any funding or any other agency of the equivalent that can fulfill that need within Metro Atlanta? [0:41:49] Well, uh, our, our funds are not specifically designated for rural areas. Uh, we do consider applications from the City of Atlanta, from DeKalb County, and we, and we have awarded many, many projects for them. [0:42:02] Mm-hmm. [0:42:03] The issue that we do run into sometimes is just their projects are so big, and we do have, on the Georgia Fund, we have $15 million limits on our grant, I mean, our loan awards. Uh, that said, we do have some creative ways that we work with that, where we can do phased projects and things like that, where instead of, you know, a $30 million project, you can cut it in half and have two $15 million projects. They, we, we try to work even with those larger communities. [0:42:34] And we do have several loans with, uh, uh, DeKalb- [0:42:37] Okay [0:42:38] ... and, and some of the cities there. I'm not aware of other state resources for these programs. Um, Judy, do you have any thoughts on that? [0:42:52] Trey did a great job answering the question, and as you know, we do have a number of fun- funding, um, loans with DeKalb County, and we look forward to continuing to work with DeKalb County. Um, as far as other sources of funding, GEFA also has something called the Georgia Funders Forum, where different state and federal funding agencies come together to figure out how we can support different communities in the state. Because if there are things that GEFA can't fund, there may be other agencies that can. [0:43:26] I will be honest with you, most of those other agencies, like USDA, for an example, are more focused on rural communities, but there's a program called WIFIA with EPA, which I think DeKalb County is actually applying for, um, that is meant for really large communities that have big capital needs. So I think thinking about DeKalb County, WIFIA is a great program to look into. [0:43:52] Thank you. [0:43:52] And we- [0:43:52] I'm gonna need to move on to... Um, we have other questions. Let me make this point, though. Are y'all available afterwards for us to look in more deeply to what we need to do? [0:44:03] Oh, absolutely. [0:44:04] I, I see everybody waking up. All right, so number 24. [0:44:09] Thank you, Madam Chair. I want to thank the chair for making the committee aware of this organization, and, um, being on a local government, uh, district, I can assure you that we're getting their emails. Uh, I think it comes down to the locals just taking advantage of what is being offered from GEFA. We get their emails rather consistently, uh, so I appreciate, you know, what y'all do. And question is to the demand. Are y'all able to meet the demand that's coming from counties and cities and local governments to improve their water systems? [0:44:43] Um, no. [0:44:45] And if not, then how do you, how do you address it? [0:44:48] Well, we address it on a case-by-case basis. Uh, I mean, we review their application, their eligibility, their... We underwrite like a bank would. Um, and we do the best we can. Like I said, we get as creative as we can to help people become eligible. And, and if they have a huge request that's far beyond our need, y- you know, our ability, uh, like I was telling, um, um, the, uh, uh, the member F- Ms. Davis. And I, uh... I'm so sorry. [0:45:19] But- [0:45:19] No, you remembered. That's amazing at my age. [0:45:23] But like I was telling her, we do offer, uh, phased projects where we'll work with you. And instead of just saying, "No, that's too big, we won't give it to you," or, "We'll only give you a little bit," like, we want to work with you. We want to do what we can to, you know, cut your project up into a couple of phases and then fund it that way if we can. But, but honestly, we just don't have the resources to meet all of the requests and need that we receive. We do, we do do our best to get the money out there as quick as we can, though. [0:45:57] Thank you. I'm looking around for other questions. This is gonna be a story that is continued, and, um, I really appreciate your time and your introduction to our committee. The other thing I want to point out, with our larger urban areas, they have more staff, more people, more resources. Um, and like under the ARC, Atlanta Regional Commission, c- can a constituent or a legislator not go to them and say, "What do you have in your bank that can help?" [0:46:25] Absolutely. [0:46:26] And that, I mean, your small counties, cities, your, your county commissioner's probably cutting the grass off the highway over somewhere. So they do everything, one or two people. And I, I do know urban areas have m- many more resources, and maybe that's one thing we can do, is try and get a list of what other advantages there are out there. But you are the silent worker for the state of Georgia, and, um, I'm glad our committee's been able to, to meet y'all. [0:47:00] And at the same time, we have a lot of people who follow this committee, so, uh, you just, you know, hire somebody to answer the emails and all like that, that's coming your way. [0:47:11] All right. [0:47:11] But, um, and your invitation was, um, February 26th? [0:47:16] Yep, February 26th at 10:30, and cap 2:30 is when I see. [0:47:20] 2:30, okay. [0:47:21] So step out after the morning orders and come get you a coffee and a donut. [0:47:24] All right. [0:47:24] All right. [0:47:25] And again, thank you. And to the people of the state of Georgia who are listening, um, we're a huge state. We have 159 counties. We're a large geographic area. I think we're the largest maybe east of the Mississippi. So it's amazing what our different agencies are able to do. But there's always more to be done, but usually there's a smarter way to do it as well, so thank you so much. [0:47:51] Thank you. [0:47:51] Appreciate it. And committee, we stand adjourned, but be on the lookout for any postings that might come your way.