What Is Goin’ On?

If you haven’t heard of GEFA, you need to. It may have a lien on your toilet–or at least the sewer pipe that connects to it.

Chris Clark is Executive Director of the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority (GEFA), a little known (to us ordinary folk, anyway) state authority that will hand out $288 million in 2007 to city and county governments in loans for infrastructure. In addition to his responsibilities with GEFA, Chris is also a member of the Water Council, and as head of GEFA, finances the Governor’s Land Conservation Program. On top of all that, GEFA houses the State Energy Office which administers the State Energy Program.

Chris and I started out discussing the rather mundane but important job of financing community infrastructure, like water and sewer. A lot of the money he dispenses comes to us from Washington in one of those don’t tax and spend programs. (I didn’t mention it to Chris, but GEFA sounds like the perfect Democratic scheme for funding things government can’t otherwise raise taxes to afford.) No offense Chris, I am all for government funding of essential government services, but I just could not resist the comparison.

The we hit the Governor’s Land Conservation Program which buys up land that is worth preserving in perpetuity to save it from development. (I did not ask Chris if this is the program that would have bought that property located next to the Governor’s last year, but the decision was made to let it go to the developers.)

And then we turned to water. Chris told me some things you might want to know, as well: (1) the current population of Georgia is around 9 million and is expected to grow to 18 million iby 2030, (2) our drought levels across the state have recently been changed to Levels 2 and 4, and (3) Lake Allatoona is apparently empty! That last one bothers me.

He indicates that at least part of the answer to the water problem is building more reservoirs to supply more water to North Georgia, meaning Atlanta. Currently it takes 14 years to plan and build a reservoir from start to finish. Chris says they want to cut this time in half. The problem with reservoirs: they are expensive. Chris estimates that it will cost billions of dollars over the next 30 years to build the water supply infrastructure that we need to deal with these problems. (I just don’t see where the money is coming from with all the tax cuts we have grown to love.)

If you wonder why Lake Allatoona is dried up, you need to listen to my interview with Neill Herring. Lake Allatoona is supplied by the Etowah River and provides a portion of the water that Atlanta needs. Alabama also gets water from the Etowah and Lake Allatoona and is threatening to sue Georgia demanding more water from this source.

When it came to the issue as to whether or not development in Atlanta will have to restricted in order to deal with this issue effectively, Chris was hesitant to jump into that pond. I don’t blame him, but the answer appears pretty clear. Atlanta has got to curb its growth or there are going to be more dried up Lake Allatoonas and Etowahs all across the state.

And remember, attacking Atlanta is political suicide, even if it is an environmental necessity. The guy that tells Atlanta to quit growing better have a club of some kind, a big one, because his days in power will be numbered, unless the rest of the folks in this state pick up a club and join him. Is there such a person who has the interest of all Georgia at heart? Do we have a leader who doesn’t owe the developers and the Chamber of Commerce and the insurance lobby their poliitcal loyalty? We sure as hell better be looking for one, because around 2030, I am expecting some armed combat!