Rural Georgia fury over power plants burning railroad ties spurs legislation

Folks in a pair of northeast Georgia counties knew two new wood-burning power plants might mean nuisances or pollution — but they also knew the plant owners could be valuable taxpayers.

But the noise, the chemical-laced logs and state environmental citations angered people enough in a rural area north of Athens that now some influential Georgia legislators are ready to change state law.

Anything that stops the power plants burning railroad ties treated with creosote should solve some of the problems, said David Ramsey, one of the members of the Madison County Clean Power Coalition. His group is fighting a new biomass-fired power plant outside Comer, owned by Alabama-based Georgia Renewable Power.

Next door in Franklin County, a sister plant spawned a sister group of opponents in the Franklin County GRP Renewable Energy Plant Fallout Group.

Read more: https://georgiarecorder.com/2020/02/12/rural-georgia-fury-over-power-plants-burning-railroad-ties-spurs-legislation/