U.S. Rep. Doug Collins and Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens are pushing legislation in hopes of stopping a tactic environmental groups sometimes use to get stricter regulations known as “sue and settle.” GreenLaw's Stephanie Benfield weighs in.

Fifty years ago, the Atlanta Journal and Constitution carried an article entitled “Jekyll at the Crossroads,” which staked the future of Jekyll Island on the interpretation of the state law limiting development of Jekyll Island to 35 percent of the land area that lies above mean high tide.

April showers bring Mayflowers, which sometimes trigger allergies and asthma attacks. Only pollen is not the only factor contributing to the incidence of asthma attacks. The children of Georgia have a higher rate of the chronic airway disorder than the national average, so our children are especially vulnerable to air quality.

The Green Energy biomass plant proposed for Lithonia received its air quality permit to operate from the Georgia Environmental Protection Division on April 26.

The 23-page permit said that “at all times, including periods of startup, shutdown, and malfunction, the Permittee shall maintain and operate this source, including associated air pollution control equipment, in a manner consistent with good air pollution control practice for minimizing emissions.”

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution discusses the difference of opinion between the Jekyll Island Authority and residents and environmentalists and why the issue has reached the state Attorney General's office.

Developers of Plant Washington, a planned 850-megawatt, coal-fired power plant outside Sandersville, say they are in a “dead sprint” to meet an imminent deadline to begin construction. If the plant is not “under construction” by April 13, it won’t be exempt from the first-ever carbon pollution limits for U.S. power plants.

GreenLaw's environmental justice attorney, MaKara Rumley, spoke at a recent symposium about how the production and consumption of energy affects communities of color. Read more from the cleanenergy.org blog.

GreenLaw's Stephanie Stuckey Benfield talks to the Atlanta Journal Constitution about Georgia Power's announcement to discontinue some of its coal-fired plants.

The Stone Mountain-Lithonia Patch covered the Dec. 18 EPD public hearing regarding a proposed biomass facility. GreenLaw encouraged residents to attend and is leading the fight against added pollution in DeKalb County.

CrossRoadsNews, June 15, 2012: In comments filed to the EPD on Green Energy Partners application for an air permit to operate the facility, GreenLaw and Citizens for a Healthy and Safe Environment (CHASE) said the developer underestimated the amount of pollution the $60 million plant will emit.

GreenLaw's Stephanie Stuckey Benfield and MaKara Rumley discussed the organization with Beth Bond on Southeast Green Radio!

We're proud to stand with the Ogeechee Riverkeeper to fight pollution from King America Finishing. GreenLaw's associate attorney, Ashten Bailey, discusses the ongoing legal battle in this Savannah Morning News article.

Savannah Morning News, August 15, 2012: By WALTER C. JONES
MARIETTA — Sen. Johnny Isakson is reviewing whether to call for federal involvement in blocking a permit to discharge into the Ogeechee River by King America Finishing.

Savannah Morning News, August 11, 2012 By Larry Peterson
The state is allowing King America Finishing to continue dumping pollutants into the Ogeechee River but is imposing what it calls “stringent” conditions.

The Georgia Environmental Protection Division on Friday issued a wastewater discharge permit for the company’s textile processing plant in Screven County.

Friday, August 3, 2012: Congressman John Lewis honored Stephanie Stuckey Benfield from the well for her work in the Georgia House of Representatives, and commended her for a job well done. "Although we will miss Stephanie's enthusiasm and infinite knowledge in the General Assembly, I applaud her for continuing to be a proponent of the environment. Upon the end of her term, she will be the full-time leader of GreenLaw, where she will maintain her pledge to prevent air and water pollution that endangers human health and degrades Georgia's natural resources."
Click the link above to read the full speech.

The Saporta Report, July 29, 2012, by Stephanie Stuckey Benfield: As the mother of two young children, I try to teach them a few basic life lessons. Treat others with honesty and respect. Tell the truth. Clean up after yourself.

These are lessons that King America Finishing (KAF) has unfortunately failed to heed. The Chicago-based textile manufacturer illegally dumped harmful toxins into the Ogeechee River for five years, resulting in the worst fish kill in Georgia history in May of 2011.

Savannah Morning News
Posted: July 25, 2012

By Mary Landers
The Ogeechee Riverkeeper has filed suit against King America Finishing, seeking to have the textile processing company sanctioned for discharging from a fire retardant line for more than five years without a permit.

July 23, 2012: GreenLaw Attorney David Deganian discusses a new ordinance designed to rid Atlanta of nuisance scrap tire dumps with Channel 2 Action News.

By Mary Landers, Savannah Morning News, July 23, 2012:

A Bulloch County Superior Court judge sided with the Ogeechee Riverkeeper Monday, invalidating what many see as the state’s weak punishment of textile processor King America Finishing and upholding the right of the nonprofit to challenge the EPD’s actions.

In his four-page decision Judge John R. Turner wrote “it is the finding of this Court that the Consent Order is invalid for a lack of public hearing and that the Ogeechee Riverkeeper has standing to bring this action.”

The Savannah Morning News, July 6, 2012. By Mary Landers.

When a nearly 3-foot-long catfish was found blistered and dead in the Ogeechee River on Independence Day, Effingham County Emergency Manager Ed Myrick decided to act.

He issued an advisory on Thursday telling residents not to swim or fish in the river until further notice.

Savannah Morning News, May 5, 2012 By Mary Landers:
State regulators will hold a public hearing June 12 on the draft permit for King America Finishing, the company caught illegally discharging after 38,000 fish were found dead below its outflow pipe on the Ogeechee River.

River advocates had sought the hearing.

April 26, 2012: People remain worried about the health of the Ogeechee River.
A large crowd gathered Tuesday at Savannah State for an environmental forum. The group, Citizens for Clean Air and Water, focused on last year's massive fish kill in the Ogeechee River, its financial and ecological impact and a lawsuit against King America Finishing.

There are worries another fish kill could happen. Tests done by the Ogeechee Riverkeeper suggest there are elevated levels of formaldehyde and ammonia in the water. Investigators believe these same things led to the deaths of nearly 40,000 fish almost a year ago.

A new study by the environmental advocacy group GreenLaw identified two sections of Douglas County among the five biggest pollution hot spots in metro Atlanta.

The year-long study also found an issue with the high pollution spots — all were located in areas with a large minority population or high percentage of people who don't speak English.

JOHN BACHMAN: Poor metro Atlanta neighborhoods attract more pollution, that’s according to new research we got today. It highlights 52 air, water and toxic release pollution points throughout in the metro, and a lot of them are in areas where people simply can’t fight to stop the pollution problem from growing.

Charles Edwards for WABE: An environmental advocacy group looked at the problem of pollution in 14 counties in Metro Atlanta.

The results released today highlight 5 areas with more sources of pollution than anywhere else in the region. Researchers say pollution is not the only thing they have in common.