GEFA news quarterly, Vol. 1, 3rd. Qtr. 2008

GEFA News

Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority

QUARTERLY

233 Peachtree Street, NE Harris Tower - Suite 900

WATER ENERGY LAND FUEL VOLUME 1, THIRD QUARTER 2008

Atlanta, Georgia 30303-1506

Tel: 404.584.1000

www.gefa.org

Letter From The Executive Director





















































During the past legislative session, the General Assembly grappled with many important issues. I'd like to bring you up to date on the legislation and the appropriations that affect GEFA.
e Georgia General Assembly approved and Governor Sonny Perdue signed the amended state budget for FY 2008 (HB 989) during the past legislative session. e Amended FY2008 budget bill allocated $40 million to GEFA for grant funds for the development of water supply projects by water and sewer authorities and local governments. e Amended FY2008 budget also designated $500,000 for GEFA's Sewer Grant Program. e FY2009 budget allocated an additional $500,000 to the Sewer Grant Program, for a total of $1 million.
e FY2009 budget allocates $850,000 to GEFA for two of our environmental programs: $350,000 in pass-through funds for the Georgia Rural Water Association and $500,000 for the Sewer Grant Program. e Land Conservation Program received $10 million. e Division of Energy Re-

sources received $875,014 in the FY2009 budget, consisting of $139,232 for energy savings programs, $200,000 for the State Energy Program, $500,000 for the State Utilities Program, and $35,782 for the Southern States Energy Board.
GEFA also received $80 million as a funding source for bonds GEFA will issue for water supply projects, $30 million of which will be used for low interest loans for reservoirs and water supply projects. In addition, the Fuel Storage Tank Division received $3 million from the Georgia Building Authority.
e statewide water plan passed quickly in the opening week of the session and Governor Perdue signed it into law on February 6, 2008.
On May 13, 2008, the Governor signed SB 342. e bill
forms a water supply division at GEFA;
creates the Georgia Reservoir and Water Supply Fund;
allows GEFA to issue bonds for water supply projects;
creates a one-stop shop to assist local governments with the reservoir and water supply permitting process;
and amends the existing ENERGYSTAR Sales Tax Holiday to include water efficient products.
In response to the legislation, GEFA launched the Georgia Water Supply

Competitive Grant Program to provide funding for water supply projects across the state.
e one dollar per tire fee for the Georgia Solid Waste Trust Fund was reauthorized for three years; GEFA's Recycling and Waste Reduction program is funded with money from the Trust Fund.
GEFA supported two land conservation bills sponsored by Representative David Knight. e Legislature passed HB 1176, which amends the Georgia Land Conservation Act of 2005 to allow low interest loans to private sector non-governmental organizations and broadens the pool of eligible grant applicants to include all pertinent state agencies as well as cities and counties. HB 1274 amends the Conservation Tax Credit Act of 2006 to align the GLCP better with federal IRS code.
I would like to thank Governor Perdue and the General Assembly for their support of GEFA's programs. ese are exciting times in GEFA's history. I appreciate the role of the board members, our employees, our customers and our supporters as we find new ways to help maintain and create a healthy and sustainable Georgia.

GEFA News Quarterly
Division Reports

ENVIRONMENT
As a result of the 2008 legislative session, the responsibility to finance water supply reservoirs was assigned to GEFA's Environment Division. e program should be operational in the late summer/early fall. GEFA's Kevin Kelly, formally with GEFA's Division of Energy Resources, joined the Environment Division as the State Water Plan Program Manager. Kelly will be responsible for coordinating GEFA's role in the implementation of the Comprehensive Statewide Water Management Plan.
e Environment Division staff held two "GEFA 101" workshops in March.
ese are free workshops used to inform local communities about GEFA's programs. Approximately 45 attendees attended the workshops in Americus and Dahlonega.
In the 1st quarter of FY08 (January to March 2008,) the Environment Division approved $90 million in new loans, grants, and/or increases. e Environment Division is on track to equal or exceed their FY07 total of $282,973,994.
ENERGY
In February, Energy officially welcomed David Gipson as the new Director of the Divison of Energy Resources.
e Weatherization team led training sessions for community action agencies in Brunswick and Atlanta during February. In addition, the Weatherization team attended the National Association of State Community Service Providers (NASCSP) conference in Washington, D.C. and the annual Weatherization Coordinators Meeting in Cohutta Springs, Georgia. In addition to these events, the team oversaw the successful weatherization of 282 homes.
e GEFA State Energy Program sponsored the 2008 Greenprints Conference and Tradeshow that took place March 13 to 14. e conference attracted more than 600 practitioners, policy

makers, building owners and concerned citizens interested in exploring better ways to link planning, architecture, construction and the use of natural resources.
e Division of Energy Resources also awarded more than $500,000 in grants during the first quarter of 2008. Recycling and Waste Reduction grants totaling $241,125 were awarded to 11 Georgia communities for much needed recycling infrastructure.
e E85 Retail Infrastructure Grant Program kicked off with $297,986 in total grant approvals for 22 retail fuel stations.
e grants will be used to install or convert equipment for the retail sale of E85, a blend of clean-burning ethanol and standard gasoline.
The State Utilities Program (SUP) continues to update GEFA's database of state government utility bills. During the first quarter of 2008, SUP saved the state approximately $1,260,927. SUP also organized a class for state facility managers. e class focused on helping facility managers better understand Georgia Power's electricity rates.
FST/ALTERNATIVE FUELS
Approximately 300 USTs (underground storage tank) operators from state-owned facilities across Georgia successfully completed the 2008 UST. e curriculum provides a comprehensive overview of the UST operator training requirements stipulated by the Energy Policy Act of 2005. e FST Division will resume UST training later this year.
Underground storage tanks were removed in Ben Hill, Irwin, Berrien, Atkinson, Coffee, Bacon, Appling, Jeff Davis, Marion, Muscogee, Stewart, Sumter and Telfair counties. Bids were received for two additional removal projects that will take place later this spring. Remediation activities continued on multiple sites around the state.
Seven projects to replace and/or upgrade fuel storage tanks are underway. e projects include work in fourteen different counties for fourteen different agencies.

FINANCE
Within the next couple of weeks, Division Managers will receive requests to provide input into the FY 2009 Annual Operating Budget. During this period, teams are expected to collaborate on essential operational needs that add support and value, while streamlining any unnecessary spending. e Finance Team has placed an updated Finance Loan Application for interested communities to complete on the GEFA website (www.gefa.org) to help reduce processing time and reinforce the goal of faster, friendlier, easier customer service.
LAND CONSERVATION
e GLCP approved grants and loans to Bulloch County for a new park in Statesboro and to Glynn County for an addition to the Fort Fredericka National Monument on St. Simons Island. Program Manager Jennifer Spivey left the program in March to help build an exciting and important "green" real estate program in the private sector.
GEFA authored and supported two bills in the Georgia General Assembly. House bill 1176 amends the Georgia Land Conservation Act of 2005 to allow low interest loans to private sector non-governmental organizations and broadens the pool of eligible grant applicants to include all pertinent state agencies as well as cities and counties across the state.
House bill 1274 amends the Con-
servation Tax Credit Act of 2006 to
better align the GLCP program with
federal IRS code.

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GEFA News Quarterly
Program Profile

E85 Retail Infrastructure Grant Program

One of GEFA's newest programs is the E85 Retail Infrastructure Grant Program. In May 2007, the Georgia Assembly directed GEFA to design, implement and administer the program, which awards grants of up to $20,000 to motor fuel retailers to encourage the sale of E85 at fuel stations throughout the state. E85 is a mixture of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline that can be used in flexible fuel vehicles; the ethanol alcohol in E85 is produced from plant sugars. e grants can be used to offset the cost of replacing, installing or upgrading the equipment necessary to store and dispense E85. In Georgia, $400,000 was available for the E85 Retail Infrastructure Grant Program; since last year 22 applicants have been awarded funds in varying amounts. While 22 applicants may not seem like much, only four fuel stations in Georgia offered E85 to retail customers prior to this year, with only one location in metro Atlanta. "When these projects are complete," said GEFA Executive Director Chris Clark, "E85 will be available to thousands of Georgians with flex-fuel vehicles who didn't previously have a station offering E85 near where they live and work." Compared to standard gasoline, E85 has numerous benefits. E85 can be produced domestically, and its use can help lessen the amount of imported fossil fuels. According to the EPA, E85 produces fewer total toxins and lower levels of ozone-forming volatile organic compounds compared to gasoline. E85 also emits fewer emissions of nitrogen oxide (NOx) and particulate matter. e CO2 released when ethanol is burned as a vehicle fuel is offset by the CO2

captured when crops used to make the ethanol are grown. As a result, ethanolpowered vehicles produce less net CO2 than gasoline-powered vehicles per mile traveled. E85's lower fuel economy (compared to standard gasoline) can be offset in whole or in part by E85's typically lower price per gallon.
Nonetheless, E85 is not without critics. In the U.S., most ethanol is currently produced from corn and other grain products. Recent spikes in the price of grain have called into question the wisdom of using such staple food crops to fuel vehicles, as these demand pressures could lead to higher prices. Also, the production of E85 is currently centered in the U.S. Midwest, and the distribution system outside of the region is limited. e result is that significant inputs of energy must be used to produce and deliver E85, which offsets a portion of the CO2 reducing benefits. Finally, only a portion of the more than 200 million vehicles on the road in the U.S. are flexible-fuel vehicles capable of using E85.
ese and other concerns are legitimate but solutions abound. Much of

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the recent increase in food prices can be attributed to the falling dollar, the rising cost of fossil fuels used in production of fertilizers, pesticides, and transportation fuels, along with the steadily increasing worldwide demand for agricultural commodities. However, not all E85 is produced from food crops. For example, in November 2007, the nation's first "cellulosic" ethanol production facility broke ground right here in Georgia. At the Range Fuels facility in Treutlen County, ethanol will be produced from non-commercial pine stock, a non-food product that is abundant in Georgia's Bioenergy Corridor. Savings in cost and energy inputs are anticipated as ethanol production expands in Georgia, using locally grown feedstocks to supply local markets. Finally, with a wide range of available models capable of running on E85, the number of flex-fuel vehicles in use is rapidly increasing, from fewer than one million in 1998 to over seven million in 2008.

GEFA News Quarterly

Comprehensive Statewide

Water Plan

to assess water resources, to forecast future water supply and capacity needs, and to identify regional solutions to

water issues.

GEFA has a crucial role in the implementation of

the water plan. GEFA partnered with EPD and EPA to

secure funding for the first year's implementation of the

Water Plan and will assist EPD with the procurement of

important hydrologic and engineering services. Addition-

ally, the amended FY2008 budget bill authorizes GEFA to

provide $40 million in grant funding to local governments

and water and sewer authorities for the development of

reservoir and water supply projects.

In response, GEFA established the Georgia Water Sup-

ply Competitive Grant Program and developed program

guidelines to govern the program. e purpose of the

On February 6, 2008, Governor Sonny Perdue signed HB 1022, the Comprehensive Statewide Water Management Plan. e plan lays out statewide policies, management practices, and guidelines for regional planning. e provisions of the plan will be used in regional water planning efforts statewide. "Water management is one of the most critical issues facing Georgia today," said Governor Perdue. " is plan was created by an inclusive process, allowing all parties to contribute and offer their solutions from local governments to business owners to the agricultural community and the general public. Georgia now has a comprehensive, statewide plan for managing and conserving this precious resource."
e Environmental Protection Division (EPD) developed a draft water plan and presented it to the Water Council. e Water Council was charged with providing oversight in the plan's development and submitting a final plan to the Georgia General Assembly for action during the 2008 session. During the development of the plan, EPD, in cooperation with the Water Council, assembled basin advisory committees, a statewide advisory committee, and technical advisory committees to discuss potential water policies and management practices and to consider regional concerns. Hundreds of individuals representing agricultural and business interests, local governments, nonprofit agencies, trade associations and others have provided input into the plan's development through an extensive public involvement process. e resulting Comprehensive Statewide Water Management Plan provides a framework

Georgia Water Supply Competitive Grant Program is to assist local governments in their efforts to improve water supply in the state and make local water supply more resistant to periods of drought. Under the program, GEFA will provide funding for water supply projects, including: interconnecting systems, drilling new wells, reopening inactive wells, lowering intake structure/pipes, expanding existing water supply or flood control reservoirs, converting flood control or recreational reservoirs to water supply reservoirs and establishing new water supply reservoirs. Water and sewer authorities and counties and municipalities will be eligible to receive grant funding.
Kevin Kelly will coordinate GEFA's role in the implementation of the Comprehensive Statewide Water Management Plan.
In the future, GEFA may take on additional responsibilities in assisting communities with developing new water supply. In early April 2008, the Georgia General Assembly approved SB 342. e bill does several things, including authorizing the Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission to award federal grant dollars to local governments for costs related to expanding existing dams and building new reservoirs and directing the EPD to provide for expedited permitting for reservoirs. SB 342 also amends the Georgia Code to form a water supply division at GEFA, create the Georgia Reservoir and Water Supply Fund, and permit GEFA to issue bonds for water supply projects. GEFA looks forward to the future role our organization will play in the implementation of the water plan.

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GEFA News Quarterly
Tips and Facts
Energy Saving Tips:

New Employee David Gipson

Reduce lighting expenses. Replace standard incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). CFLs use up to two-thirds less energy and last six to ten times longer than traditional lighting.
Adjust the thermostat. During the heating season, set your thermostat to 68 degrees, and during the cooling season to 78 degrees.
Install programmable thermostats. Consider installing and using a programmable thermostat that is compatible with your heating and cooling system to control heating and cooling cost.
Seal the gaps. Air can leak into interior areas from attics, basements, and crawl spaces and cause heating or cooling loss. Insulate doors and windows with weatherstripping or caulking. Seal around the ducts, plumbing and any other openings in walls or ceilings to reduce air leakage. Install foam gaskets on electrical outlets.
Replace furnace and air conditioner filters. e dirtier the filters, the harder the furnace or air conditioner works. Clean filters are essential for heat pumps -- airflow is critical and can add years to the life your heat pump.

David Gipson was appointed Director of the Division of Energy Resources. David replaces Elizabeth Sparrow Robertson who retired last November. As director of the division of energy resources, which functions as the state energy office, Gipson will promote energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy. He will also direct the division's energy assistance programs. Previously, David served as assistant director of the Pollution Prevention Assistance Division (P2AD) of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Before joining P2AD in July 1998, Gipson was a business project manager at the West Central Indiana Solid Waste District. Gipson holds a master's degree in public administration from Georgia State University and earned his bachelor's degree in environmental protection, with a minor in energy resources, from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. David joined GEFA on February 18, 2008.

Conserve heat in your oven. Preheat your oven only when needed -- and never for more than 10 minutes.

Reduce the water heater temperature. Turn down your water heater thermostat to 120F; insulate your water heater; look for the EnergyGuide label to find the most efficient water heater.

Use household appliances efficiently. Refrigerators, freezers, and dishwashers are the biggest energy users and together can cost several hundred dollars a year to operate. Use toaster ovens, pressure cookers or other small appliances instead of the oven when possible.

Seal and insulate ductwork. Poorly sealed ducts can increase your home's total heating and cooling costs 10 to 30 percent. is is especially costly if ducts travel through unheated or uncooled spaces such as attics, basements or crawl spaces. Use mastic or mastic tape instead of duct tape to seal ductwork.

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GEFA News Quarterly
GEFA Board of Directors
Commissioner J. C. Warren, Chairman
Screven County Board of Commissioners
Mayor Matt Beasley, Vice Chairman
City of Hartwell
Russell Hinton, Secretary
State Auditor
Mayor Jimmy Andrews
City of Sandersville
Mike Beatty
Commissioner, Department of Community Affairs
Commissioner Harold W. Carlisle
Monroe County Board of Commissioners
Commissioner Eugene Dyal
Bacon County Board of Commissioners
Dennis Love
At-Large Member
Doug Mitchell
At-Large Member
Ken Stewart
Commissioner, Department of Economic Development
Mayor Gerald Thompson
City of Fitzgerald

GEFA Senior Sta
Chris Clark
Executive Director
Greg Mason
Chief Operating Officer
Tom Steinmetz
Chief Financial Officer
Glendale Jones
Chief Administrative Officer
Shane Hix
Director, Public Affairs
Beverly McElroy
Director, Environment Division
Curt Soper
Director, Land Conservation Program
David Gipson
Director, Division of Energy Resources
Jill Stuckey
Director, Alternative Fuels
Bob Wiggins
Director, Fuel Storage Tank Division

HR Corner

The Human Resources and Payroll Departments From an administrative standpoint, the application will have been busy during the month of March integrate information that once had to be retrieved from file working on the creation of a website that will cabinets and across departments into a single application.

combine information employees currently access from two Not only will this application help better manage benefits

different websites. e new website will include a human and compensation, and reduce payroll processing time, it

resources management component and an employee self- will help meet GEFA's increasing demands and ever chang-

service portal.

ing environment by providing a more comprehensive and

Hosted by GEFA's payroll provider on a secure online fully integrated information source that will help simplify

server, the portal will function as a customized gateway to management decision making.

benefits, compensation and other employee information Full implementation of the web portal is expected by

and will simplify the time employees spend searching for the middle of May. In the coming weeks, staff will receive

human relations-related information. In addition to the an employee announcement letter introducing them to the

ability to view such diverse information as pay stubs, W2's, portal and instructing them on how to log on and register.

and leave balances, employees will also have the ability Any questions regarding the portal should be addressed to

to make minor changes to their pay data such as address the Payroll and/or Human Resources departments.

changes, tax withholding changes, and more - all from a

single web portal.

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