Blog - Coosa River Basin Initiative

Eddied Out: Thinking about Rivers in a Time of Social Distancing

By: Nik Bergill “It looks like a goose flying backwards!” the young girl in my raft exclaimed. On another clear ...
Read More

Connect with a Cause Through Citizen Science

By Courtnee Pope Hello, CRBI friends and family! My name is Courtnee Davenport and I am working as CRBI’s summer ...
Read More

2020 Bacterial Monitoring Results

Green: 0-126 cfu/100mLconsidered safe for recreational use by the state of GeorgiaYellow: +126-235 cfu/100mLmoderate risk of illnessRed: +235 cfu/100mLhigh risk ...
Read More

River Magic

Written By: Liz Spencer I love the water. Oceans, rivers, seas, lakes, ponds, puddles. I’ll jump into them all. By ...
Read More

Upper Coosa Kayak Paintball League Postponed

April 1, 2020 2020 Upper Coosa Kayak Paintball League Do you play paintball? Do you kayak? Have you ever thought ...
Read More

Educational Activities for the Kids

ACTIVITIES Merlin App - Take a walk outside and see many different bird species you are able to identify with ...
Read More

Trust Fund Honesty Heads to a Ballot Near You!

Watch as the Georgia Senate unanimously approves HR 164 - a constitutional amendment that will allow the General Assembly to ...
Read More

Ban the Bag in Georgia

Senate Bill 280 would prohibit the distribution of single-use plastic bags by retail stores, with some exemptions (bags used for ...
Read More

2020 Legislative Tracker

Georgia's 2020 legislative session is in full swing and we want to keep you in the know on CRBI's legislative ...
Read More

Soundtrack for “To Kingdom Come” lands for purchase and download

To Kingdom Come (soundtrack) by Various Artists At our most recent screening of To Kingdom Come, a documentary about the ...
Read More

The Environmental Protection Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources recently conducted the opening hearing of the 2019 Triennial Review. This occurs every three years and provides an opportunity for the EPD to reevaluate the designated usage of water bodies. The designation of a body of water is based on primary usage and directly correlates to water quality standards. In other words, the designated use determines the stringent nature of permits and fines for pollution. The three most common…

The Replacement Rule threatens Clean Water

February 18, 2019

Advocacy, Education

For 50 years, the Clean Water Act has protected families and communities by preventing unchecked and unlimited pollution from contaminating our waterways and drinking water sources. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is now proposing a new rule, the Replacement rule that would dramatically shrink the protections of the Clean Water Act. In 2015, the Clean Water rule was added as an amendment to the 1972 Clean Water Act to extend protection to small streams, wetlands, stream headwaters, and waters that…

Georgia Power announces plan to close Plant Hammond

February 12, 2019

Coverage, Plant Hammond

Georgia Power announced on Thursday, January 31, 2019, their plans for the decertification of Plant Hammond, a coal-fired power plant located West of Rome, Georgia on the Coosa River. In recent years, Georgia Power has slowed updates for the 1954 plant to a halt, and this announcement did not surprise many. Currently, the Hammond property houses four coal ash ponds. The ponds store coal ash, the byproduct of burning coal to generate electricity, which contains a large number of toxic…

PUBLIC SCREENING OF TO KINGDOM COME

February 4, 2019

Events, Press Releases

CRBI, Georgia Highlands College, and the Berry College Environmental Studies program have teamed up to co-sponsor a special screening of the 2018 Rome International Film Festival Audience Award winner for Featured Films, To Kingdom Come, at Heritage Hall Centre Stage on February 21, 2019 at 6pm. To Kingdom Come presents the multi-generational relationship between General Electric and the Rome community. The story is told from the unique and diverse perspectives of the earliest employees of the Rome GE transformer plant, local riverkeepers…

CRBI Welcomes New Outreach Coordinator

January 8, 2019

Press Releases

Recent Berry College graduate Ashley Ray joined the Coosa River Basin Initiative (CRBI) staff as Outreach Coordinator earlier this month. A Chattanooga native, Ray previously served as a Crew Member for the Southeast Conservation Corp based out of Chattanooga, where she spent several months building and restoring trail systems along the Hiwassee River to prevent excess rainwater runoff. She is a 2015 graduate of Berry College, where she studied Environmental Science. She is currently seeking a Masters in Business Administration…

Coal Ash Pond Problems at Hammond and Bowen

December 13, 2018

Advocacy, Coverage, Plant Hammond

Coal Ash is the byproduct of burning coal to generate electricity. It also contains several toxic, harmful substances that are known to cause cancer, impact child development, cause kidney and liver failure, and a litany of other health problems. Traditionally, this material has been held in coal ash ponds that surround the coal-fired power plants. Unfortunately, Georgia Power’s coal ash ponds across the state are not lined and a recent report from Earthjustice, utilizing Georgia Power’s data from test wells,…