The River
Solutions
Flint Riverkeeper is strives to provide solutions to the river’s needs
such as Clean Water, Protected Flow, and raising the levels of Education and Outreach across the river basin.
Clean Water
Stopped damaging grease operations in Taylor Co & Upson Co, Richard Harville in jail.
Stopped the dump on the mountain in Upson County.
Urged and supported the Decatur County NPDES consent order.
Made ATV’s in creeks and rivers illegal.
Stopped rollbacks on right-of-appeal on environmental permits.
Urged and supported City of Thomaston NPDES enforcement/upgrades.
Stopped issuance of bad TenCate permit, twice; developed litigation strategy to clean up TenCate illegal effluent from their LAS, forcing direct discharge of clean water; prepared lawsuit due to fact of continuing, chronic pollution in spite of improved permits; brought the suit; won early filings and decisions on the legal merits of the case; currently in settlement talks.
Supported the stoppage or relocation of Sabal Trail gas pipeline; failed on a multitude of filings but won in federal appeals court; final outcome pending.
Supporting landowners affected by the Lee County north bypass; protecting wetlands and vulnerable species.
Completed a review of the Albany Combined Sewer Overflow situation: legal, engineering, budget; set the stage for advocacy/legal campaign.
Working to move the Plant Mitchell coal ash piles; won commitment from Georgia Power to do so, and won concessions on monitoring of water effluent during the dewatering phase.
Working to move the Crisp County Power coal ash pile; won commitment from the Crisp County Power Commission to move the pile; won commitment from CCPC for state-of-the-art closure procedures.
Working on establishment of comprehensive groundwater protections by the State of Georgia.
Working to clarify the law and rules addressing buffers on state waters.
Flow
Working on establishment of comprehensive groundwater protections by the State of Georgia.
Working to clarify the law and rules addressing buffers on state waters.
With American Rivers and utility partners, co-initiated on-the-ground, in-the-river flow-restoration projects in the upper Flint, with much more to come
With industry, local government, and farmers, co-initiated on-the-ground, in-the-river flow-restoration projects in the lower Flint, with much more to come. Already Fayette County, owner of four substantial reservoirs, have increased dry-weather releases from their facilities, supporting baseflows in the upper Flint. And, Clayton County has initiated work on a new wastewater treatment plant that will reverse and long-standing interbasin transfer, returning water to the upper Flint that belongs there. Plus, we are VERY excited about plans to restore the dry-weather flows of an iconic spring feeding the lower Flint.
Stopped and then modified SB 213; carefully marshaled rulemaking; preserved public nature of water resource, protected private property rights for the Flint’s riparian owners.
Assisted with the development of major reports on upper Flint flows (‘Running Dry’) and statewide agricultural water use (‘Watering Georgia’).
Developed a flow-litigation strategy and publicized it, maintained a low-litigation profile.
Large impact on ACFS activities and products; ACFS plan excellent from a Flint perspective.
Education and Outreach
Provided co-management of several key statewide legislative activities, annually, for the GA Water Coalition (2009 to present); provided statewide fundraising chairmanship for the GWC; provided annual input to the ‘Dirty Dozen’ and ‘Clean 13’ campaigns of the GWC.
Produced a paddling/fishing map for the lower Flint; initiated production of a paddling/fishing map for the middle/upper Flint; assisted with production, editing, and sales of the ‘Flint River Users Guide (authored by Joe Cook); provided logistical support and major input to the Flint River Water Trail initiative.
227 public presentations and appearances, all age groups and group types.
36 testimonies to public officials, plus hundreds of hours of staff and volunteer lobbying.
Over 1,200 paddlers placed and guided on the Flint or her tributaries.
Over 2,500 active memberships (families, farms, businesses; totaling nearly 5,000 individuals); Over 10,000 Facebook connections; 244 Twitter followers.
Over 180 press hits, local and regional inclusive, radio, television, print, and online.
2,300 unique email addresses in the email contact database.
Helped organize and promote over two dozen river/creek cleanups.
Three full-time staffers; on track to four FTE’s during Q2 2018.
Increased budget from $115,000 (2009) to $434,000 (approved for 2018), for an organization that was started, literally, at the beginning of the Great Recession.
The Flint River needs YOU! And so does FRk.
Get involved today by visiting our Membership page and joining the FRk to start receiving information about our efforts to protect this vital resource for our region.
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