On Friday, May 7, 2010, Georgia Power Company will sponsor their annual “Lake Burton Cleanup Day”. The cleanup effort will begin at Murray Cove boat ramp at 9:30 AM. Georgia Power will furnish the trash bags and provide lunch! The “big crane boat” will be there, too . . . so come, help out, and enjoy. In order to assist the sponsors with an expected head count, please send an e-mail to the Georgia Power Land Office at dspendre@southernco.com with the number of volunteers in your group.

 

We need a few good men & women to compete with Lake Rabun golfers for the prestigious Lakes Trophy. Lake Rabun has won this far too many times — it’s our turn! The tournament will be held on Friday, May 7th at Kingwood Golf Resort. The shotgun start will be at 1:00 PM. The entry fee of $75.00 includes green fee, cart, and a light lunch. (Kingwood members will not be charged green fees.) Get a partner and send your check to LBCA, P.O. Box 349, Clayton, GA 30525.

 

Last fall, the Governor’s Contingency Water Task Force reviewed proposals to pipe potentially millions of gallons of water from Lake Burton, Lake Hartwell, and others to metro Atlanta in the event Lake Lanier is not reauthorized for the purpose of drinking water and water supply. Thankfully, these transfers (called interbasin transfers) were not found to be cost-effective or timely solutions right now. However, many elected officials, community leaders and citizens are concerned that the current state law only requires that the Director of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division send a press release to local newspapers in areas that would be affected by a massive water transfer seven days before approving a permit.
The good news is that Senator Jim Butterworth has introduced Senate Bill 462 to ensure Georgia EPD does not allow interbasin transfers of water unless fair and equitable for all Georgians. The bill also requires a higher level of public input. SB 462 has been co-sponsored by almost half of the Georgia State Senate.  For more information regarding efforts to oppose such interbasin transfers, go to www.garivers.org or www.nowatergrabs.com.