February 29, 2008
NEWTON COUNTY TO HOLD INFORMATIONAL MEETING
ON BEAR CREEK RESERVOIR
Thursday, March 6, 2008, 7:00PM at the Newton County
Courthouse
The requests to the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to hold a
public hearing on Bear Creek Reservoir (BCR) was great enough to merit a
response; however, that response has come from Newton County’s Attorney,
William T. (Tommy Craig), and not the USACE.
See letter
here: http://www.taxdogs.com/BCR%20Info%20meeting%203.6.08.pdf
Many citizens in Jasper County can recall Tommy Craig’s
“informational hearing” at the Jasper County Courthouse in December, 2003,
showing all the reasons why Jasper County should become a 25% partner in a
reservoir that wasn’t permitted and didn’t exist.
Tommy Craig is not only the applicant for the reservoir as well as
the Newton County Attorney, but he is also involved with the firm of Joe Tanner
& Associates. Joe Tanner, former DNR head; Harold Reheis,
former EPD head; and Tommy Craig all were presenters at a seminar this past
December titled “Permitting Water Reservoirs in Georgia—Guidance for meeting
your Future Water Needs.”
See Seminar Info here: http://www.taxdogs.com/Reservoir%20Seminar%2012.12.07.pdf
Having Mr. Craig and members of his law firm (Scott Cole) hold
public informational meetings will more likely be a propaganda show as to why the
reservoir is necessary. When you are a
“water consultant” for many reservoirs, your main job is to convince people how
good reservoirs are. As they said in the
seminar, Joe Tanner & Associates can show “how to best navigate the course
to water independence.” As one citizen
commented, “This is more like the fox watching over the hen house. The USACE should be holding this hearing.”
Following is an article that ran Saturday in the Newton Citizen
about the meeting and BCR.
http://www.newtoncitizen.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=2329&SectionID=2&SubSectionID=&S=1
3/1/2008 12:01:00
Meeting on Bear Creek is Thursday
Crystal Tatum
Staff
Reporter, Newton Citizen
COVINGTON
- The public has the chance to get an update on the Bear Creek Reservoir and give input at a meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday [March 6, 2008] at the
Newton County Historic Courthouse on the Square.
A general overview of the project will be
given, followed by a question and answer session, said Scott Cole with the
County Attorney's Office.
On Jan. 9, a Joint Public Notice was issued for the project by the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers. A Joint Public
Notice is an open comment period when the Corps seeks input from all adjoining
neighbors, environmental groups and other agencies on the potential impact of
the reservoir.
The comment period expires March 10.
County officials decided to hold a meeting to better inform the public, though
it is not a Corps requirement, Cole said.
Representatives with the Corps
will be present to observe the meeting, however, he said.
"We've invited all the people adjacent to the reservoir and the people who
have commented so far, we've invited," he said. "Input given by anybody that wants to
come to it will certainly be considered in the process," he added.
After public comment closes, the
Corps will investigate all issues raised, and it will likely take
another 12 to 18 months before a permit is issued, Cole said.
The 1,242 acre pump-storage reservoir is intended to serve Newton County's
water needs through the year 2050, pumping approximately 28 million gallons of
water per day, according to the Corps.
The reservoir will be located in southeast Newton,
and will overtake most of the more than 2,000 acres purchased by the county in
1996 along with Gaither Plantation, though the historic Gaither home, barn, log
cabin and Harris Springs Primitive
Baptist Church
will remain.
Crystal Tatum can be reached at crystal.tatum@newtoncitizen.com.
Citizens are urged to
attend this meeting. BCR will affect Jasper County
by affecting Jackson Lake and the Alcovy River
with 24/7 pumping to fill the reservoir.
