ATLANTA – State Representative Bill Werkheiser (R-Glennville) today announced that he will file legislation to require greater transparency between the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) and the citizens of southeast Georgia, where hazardous waste is being disposed. Recently, a private company announced its plans to bring large volumes of coal ash from outside the region, which was done legally but secretly.
“Just last week, we learned of a spill of hazardous material that happened nearly five years ago,” said Rep. Werkheiser. “Again, no laws were broken and no rules were violated, but residents were not made aware of this accident until it was reported by a newspaper that discovered the accident buried in reams of documents.”
Rep. Werkheiser’s bill would require the EPD to report certain actions to the official legal organ, the affected local governments, as well as the surrounding landowners. These actions would include, but are not limited to, any new permit application, a change in an application and evidentiary indication of a violation of a permit.
Coal ash is the waste left behind when coal is burned to produce energy. The estimate from the company that plans to store the waste is approximately 10,000 tons of coal ash a day.
“The process that has taken place in Wayne County has caught everyone off guard and jeopardized the period of time where public comment would have been allowed,” added Rep. Werkheiser. “We will not get a second chance to get this right, and we need to do what we can to rectify this situation going forward.”
Representative Bill Werkheiser represents the citizens of District 157, which includes portions of Evans, Tattnall, and Wayne counties. He was elected into the House of Representatives in 2014, and currently serves on the Industry and Labor, Information and Audits, and State Properties committees.
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