October 16, 2026

Meeting Summary: Coastal Georgia Council Meeting, 12/03/2025

Coastal Georgia Regional Water Planning Council Meeting

December 3, 2025

Draft Meeting Summary

 

Introductions and Council Business (Benjy Thompson – Coastal Chairman)

  • Benjy Thompson (Chair) opened the meeting at 9:05am and had the council members and guests introduce themselves. 
  • The meeting summary from the joint council meeting that was held with Savannah-Upper Ogeechee on September 23, 2025, was approved by consensus.
  • Chairman Thompson then briefed the group on an implementation assessment of activities related to the Council’s 2023 plan being developed by the Georgia Water Planning and Policy Center (GWPPC).

 

EPD Updates (Veronica Craw, Johmar Haye – GAEPD)

  • Veronica Craw provided a high-level summary of the recommendations/proposed changes to the state water plan that will be considered by the Legislature during the 2026 session. She noted that GAEPD had received 17 public comments concerning the proposed changes and that the state water council would be meeting on December 9.
  • Johmar Haye (GAEPD) highlighted the preliminary schedule for the next planning cycle including the resource assessments used to inform development of the next plan.

Coastal Permitting Advisory Committee (CPAC) Purpose (Katherine Zitsch – GWPPC)

  • Katherine distributed a list of CPAC members to the council and reviewed the purpose of the committee. She noted some purposeful overlap between CPAC and the council’s membership but also inclusion of other voices as well. 
  • Chairman Thompson offered his appreciation for this approach and encouragement for the planned stakeholder engagement throughout the process. He noted that recommendations from the CPAC will flow through the Coastal Council to GAEPD. 
  • Veronica Craw mentioned that documents and materials supporting the work of the CPAC will be available to the public.

What Do We Know? (Wei Zeng – GAEPD, Kristin Rowles – GWPPC)

  • Kristin Rowles (GWPPC) led a facilitated discussion between council members and Dr. Wei Zeng (GAEPD) regarding updated data collection, modeling efforts and other technical components under consideration by GAEPD with respect to coastal groundwater management strategy and permitting. Topics discussed included:
  • Definition of saltwater encroachment and characteristics of the Floridan Aquifer in the coastal region.
  • History and updates (completed or pending) to the Coastal Sound Science Initiative (CSSI) model to include recent observations compared to modeled predictions.
  • Monitoring of the salt plume movement in Georgia and South Carolina.
  • Sensitivity analysis recognizing recent reductions in groundwater use including International Paper facilities in Savannah.
  • Review of the pillars governing GAEPD’s update to groundwater permitting strategy in the coastal region of Georgia and an acknowledgement/appreciation of the CPAC, Coastal Council and other stakeholders interest and participation.

Implementation Assessment Discussion (Katherine Zitsch – GWPPC)

  • Council members then completed a small group exercise to gather input on the following question: “If you had a wish list, what topics or priorities would you like the Coastal Water Plan Update to consider?” Council input and suggestions were collected by members of the GWPPC team.

Public Comment(s) 

  • Tony Ploughe (City of Tybee Island – City Council) expressed concern about saltwater intrusion and looks for additional study to further research and understand that risk for Tybee and surrounding areas. 

Closing Comments (Benjy Thompson – Chairman)

  • Chairman Thompson provided closing remarks including a comment of appreciation to Bruce Azevedo (Savannah-Upper Ogeechee Council Chair) for his attendance at this meeting and past/current cooperation with the Coastal council
  • Mark Masters (GWPPC) played the Coastal Georgia video developed by Above the Line films in which Benjy Thompson, Mickey Daniell, and Phil Odom share their thoughts about the Coastal Georgia water planning region
  • Chairman Thompson adjourned the meeting at 11:33 a.m.

 

Meeting Attendance:

Council Members in Attendance

Phil Odum

Benjy Thompson

Brent Howell

Pete Peterson

Jim Vaughn

John Godbee

Bruce Azevedo

Mickey Daniell

Jim Thomas

Mark Smith

Eddie Deloach

James Thomas

*Randal Weitman

Georgia EPD:

Bil Frechette

Veronica Craw

Johmar Haye

Michelle Pizzo

Hanifa Pasya

Beth Stevenson

Wei Zeng

Jennifer Welte

*Parris Maguire

*Tim Fields

*Russell Nix

*Clete Barton

GWPPC:

Mark Masters

Katherine Zitsch

Kristin Rowles

*Sarah Skinner 

*Megan Stanley

Other Attendees:

Alice Keyes

Pete Gulbronson

Daryl McCorkle

Dagny Pariani 

Tony Ploughe

Chris Stacy

Jason Mallard

Omar Senati

Cloe Lemaire

Adam Van Brommer

Kirk Croasmun

Dominic Weatherill

Bret Bell

Jeff Beauvais

Chase McClure

Tre Wilkins

Trent Long

Laura Hines

Christie Montford

Steven Lewis

Jeremy Mitchler

Trent Thompson

Damon Mullis

Tony Rojas

Chris Benson

Mary landers

Evan Ingersoll

*Chris Novack

*Joseph Koon

*Marcus Sack

*Sara Lips

*Charles Akridge 

*Jack Foskey

*Leigh A. Monroe

*Richard Keith Evans

*Kate Pontello Karwacki

*Online attendance

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