March 07, 2023

Meeting Summary: Middle Ocmulgee Regional Council May 24, 2023

To:         Middle Ocmulgee (MOC) Regional Water Planning Council

 

From:    Veronica Craw, GA EPD, MOC Liaison 

              Paula Feldman, Freese and Nichols 

              Olivia Snyder, Freese and Nichols

Subject: FINAL Meeting Summary

Date: May 24, 2023

Welcome and Introductions

Middle Ocmulgee Chairman, Elmo Richardson, welcomed the group and called the meeting to order at 10:00 AM. Everyone in attendance introduced themselves.

Council Business
  • Council members approved the March 14, 2023 meeting minutes.
  • Council members approved the May 24, 2023 meeting agenda.

Regional Water Planning Update

(Paula Feldman, FNI)

  • Regional Planning Update
    • This council is on schedule to meet the June 2023 regional water plan update deadline.
    • EPD will adopt the Final Plan by June 30, 2023 if consistent with State Water Plan, Rules, and Guidance.
    • Today’s meeting is the 2nd quarter meeting with objectives to review public comments, discuss responses, and review final touch-ups to the Plan.

Public Comment Review

(Paula Feldman, FNI)

  • Public comments were received from four entities/commenters.
  • Two commenters directed feedback towards all 10 of the planning councils.
  • Two commenters directed their comments towards the Middle Ocmulgee Regional Water Plan specifically.
    • Wildlife Resources Division (B. Baker)
      • Olivia Snyder presented the proposed language changes from Brandon Baker in Section 3.3.3 Wildlife and Fisheries
      • Council agreed with inclusion of proposed language; however, John Bembry suggested in light of the newly signed law on navigable waters in Georgia (SB115), a legal review of the language in this section may be advisable.
    • Inter-basin Transfers (C. Hawkins)
      • Paula Feldman presented the comment from Charles Hawkins, who states: “the Plan currently ignores the risk of one basin entering another basin and changing the scenario of accountability. Obvious basin transfers should be addressed in the Plan (e.g., Newton County water supply withdrawal from Cornish Creek Reservoir (Middle Ocmulgee) and returning to Little River WRF (Upper Oconee)”.
      • Mike Hopkins: NCWSA does not currently discharge to Little River; water is pumped from the Scott Emmons WRF to the Yellow River for discharge in the Ocmulgee Basin. Water is supplied from Cornish Creek/Alcovy River to Walton County (Upper Oconee) until Hard Labor Creek water treatment plant is in operation and can supply Walton’s needs.
      • Mike Hopkins: Charles Hawkins in the former mayor of Social Circle.
      • Veronica Craw: Every withdrawal and discharge is accounted for in the resource assessment modeling.
      • Paula Feldman: Gail Cowie prepared a general response to this comment which recognizes that there will always be inter-basin transfers in Georgia. Response language will be shared with the Council prior to sending to Charles Hawkins.
      • Johnny Bembry: Is there any way to put a metric on “major” or “significant” inter-basin transfer?
      • Tony Rojas: There are more gallons received into the Middle Ocmulgee basin than out of the basin. There is no updated inter-basin transfer data at the basin level.
      • Tony Rojas: EPD could notify Council when there is a request for inter-basin transfer. If the Council has concerns, there will be a chance to express them.
      • Tony Rojas: Could we add the total volume of transfer in/out of the basin annually to the Plan somewhere?
      • Paula Feldman: We can dive into whether this data is available and how it relates (timing-wise) to the data used to development forecasts.
      • Les Ager: The Ocmulgee Basin is a net receiver of inter-basin transfer, but during crises this can lead to uncertainty due to dependence on inter-basin transfer to maintain instream flow requirements.
      • Paula Feldman: Upstream of Middle Ocmulgee is Metro North Georgia. If they have updated inter-basin transfer data, this could provide additional information for the Plan.
    • Georgia Ecological Services (P. Maholland)
      • Olivia Snyder presented the comments from Peter Maholland, summarized as follows:
        • Regional Water Plans should address the State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP) High Priority Habitats, High Priority Species, and High Priority Conservation Actions.
        • Regional Water Plans should contain species numbers tracked by the Georgia Natural Heritage Program and species and habitats protected under the Endangered Species Act.
        • Regional Water Plans should address Clean Water Act Section 303(d) impaired waters and objectives to bring impaired waters into compliance.
      • The Council agreed that the Plan can reference the documents, websites, and organizations listed in the comments.
      • Elmo Richardson: The issue of 303(d) impaired waters is adequately addressed in the Plan.
    • University of Georgia Odum School of Ecology (A. Rosemond)
      • Paula Feldman presented the comments from Amy Rosemond from UGA, summarized as follows:
        • Concerns regarding the representation on the Council due to conflict of interest with business and industry. Would like to see more Council members appointed who do not have business interests and have more focused expertise with water planning management.
        • Limited recognition of current poor condition of Georgia’s waters and addressing the impaired waters and assimilative capacity challenges.
        • How will the funding be obtained for the additional long-term monitoring recommended? More attention needs to be given to extreme weather events such as long-term droughts.
      • Elmo Richardson: The Council is fairly well-balanced, and the number and people who are appointed is outside the council members’ control.
      • Tony Rojas: Additional funding can be obtained for groundwater monitoring/modeling through ARPA.
      • Veronica Craw: Language on Seed grants could be included in the Plan to further inform the public of available funding to be used for long-term monitoring.
      • Tony Rojas: Could reference how Seed grants have been used in other regions as well.
      • Paula Feldman: The Resource Assessments modeling account for long-term droughts.
  • Veronica Craw: EPD is preparing a general response to all comments. All comment responses will be shared with the Council. Commenters will be notified that the Council reviewed and discussed comments.

Final Plan Touch-Ups

(Paula Feldman, FNI)

  • Paula Feldman presented the final “touch-ups” to the Regional Water Plan for council consideration.
    • In Section 6.3, the Funding category will be updated to include language on Seed grants: “Continue to promote use of the Regional Water Plan Seed Grant Funds and provide technical support to potential applicants.”
      • Veronica Craw: Adding this language will help inform the public of available funding to be used for long-term monitoring.
        • Tony Rojas: Could also reference how Seed grants have been used in other regional councils.
      • Also in Section 6.3, the Funding category will be updated to include language on funding for innovative research: “Fund innovative research strategies to address state-wide water resource challenges, such as treatment of emerging contaminants or detailed mapping and modeling of groundwater resources.”
      • Tony Rojas: We should remove the reference to emerging contaminants but keep the portion of the sentence regarding groundwater resources.
      • Section 7.1.1 will be updated to include the following: “limited implementation funding may be obtained through GA EPD’s Seed Grant program, which specifically seeks to support and incentivize local governments and other water users as they undertake their Regional Water Plan implementation responsibilities.”
      • Paula Feldman presented an example of a county-level summary.
      • Tony Rojas and Johnny Bembry: The county-level summaries are a good idea and could be added to the Plan as an Appendix.
      • Johnny Bembry: Can a paper copy of the Plan be provided to council members?
      • Veronica Craw: Yes, I can make a note of that for you.
      • Tony Rojas: EPD uses forecasts for future permitting. If a County has two facilities, they are combined. How can we obtain forecasts for an individual utility?
      • Paula Feldman: Information is developed at a county-level and not individual utility level.

Next Steps and Wrap Up

  • Draft Appendix A is a summary of changes from the 2017 Plan
  • The Final Draft Regional Water Plan will be sent to Council for review in Early June
  • Draft Forecasting Technical Memorandum is currently in review by EPD and will be ready for Council review in Early June.
Council Members Present:
  1. Elmo Richardson, Chairman
  2. John Bembry
  3. Tony Rojas
  4. Les Ager
  5. Cassandra Cox
  6. Don Cook
  7. Ben Copeland, Jr.
  8. Robert Dickey
Partners & Visitors
  1. Mike Hopkins, Newton County Water & Sewer Authority
  2. Carol Flaute, Northeast Georgia Regional Commission
GA Environmental Protection Division
  1. Veronica Craw, MOC Council Liaison & EPD Nonpoint Source Program Manager
Freese and Nichols, Inc. (Planning Contractors)
  1. Paula Feldman, Council Lead
  2. Olivia Snyder, Council Support

 

 

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