A huge thanks to everyone who has signed this petition so far! Efforts are mounting to put dam removal and river restoration on the table as an alternative to relicensing Tugalo Dam. In addition to sharing this petition with others, here is what you can do right now:
Georgia Power is now seeking federal approval for a license amendment in order to invest over $20 million in upgrades to the dam's turbines and control room. Even with these upgrades this plant will still account for less than 1% of the company's total energy portfolio, while doing nothing to address dam safety or climate resilience.
If approved, these investments will be used as a selling point to regulators and a message to YOU that relicensing this dam for another lifetime is a foregone conclusion regardless of environmental assessments, cost-benefit analysis, or public opinion. The deciding factor should be YOUR voices, not how much money is sunk in this aging infrastructure.
Please take a moment to tell the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to:
- Require an Environmental Impact Study for an evaluation of alternatives and analysis of impacts caused by extending facility operation for the next 50 years
- Deny the license amendment until Georgia Power provides critical and transparent information on the economic and business reasons why modernization of the Tugalo facility should happen
- now, prior to the 2036 relicensing process
- without full evaluation of impacts caused by the facility for the next 50 years
- without comparing it to less impactful renewable alternatives like solar.
The deadline for submitting comments is November 26, 2021. Follow this link:
https://ferconline.ferc.gov/QuickComment.aspx
Fill out your contact information. You will then receive an email taking you to a commenting page. Enter Docket Number P-2354-152, select the docket, then fill out your comment and submit.
Thank you again for your continued support. More updates will follow as things progress. See you downstream!