GEFA news quarterly, Vol. 2, 2nd Qtr. 2009

GEFA News

Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority

QUARTERLY

233 Peachtree Street, NE Harris Tower - Suite 900

WATER ENERGY LAND FUEL VOLUME 2, SECOND QUARTER 2009

Atlanta, Georgia 30303-1506

Tel: 404.584.1000

www.gefa.org

Letter From The Executive Director





















































As my time as GEFA's Executive Director comes to an end, it is with great fondness that I write my last letter for the GEFA News Quarterly. I cannot thank everyone at GEFA enough for your professionalism, your devotion to the agency and its mission, and your willingness to embrace change over the past two years. I want to take this opportunity to recognize many of your accomplishments during this time we have spent together. 1) Culture of Change. GEFA made significant changes in its operations, processes, human resources, policies and legislative involvement. Each staff member has a better understanding of the need for continuous improvement in order to benefit our customers and the taxpayers of Georgia. 2) Customer Service. e GEFA staff has fully embraced providing excellent customer service and shown leadership in adopting the Governor's customer service priorities and initiatives. 3) Legislative Initiatives. Each bill that GEFA presented to the Governor and to the General Assembly passed with

overwhelming support. Our legislative accomplishments include:
GEFA was instrumental in the passage of the Comprehensive State-wide Water Management Plan;
e water resources division was a centerpiece of the Georgia Water Supply Act of 2008;
e Georgia Land Conservation Program was improved by clarifying the land conservation tax credit and by expanding the eligibility for loans and grants to include non-governmental organizations; and
GEFA benefited from increased bond funding and additional funds for fuel storage tank construction and remediation projects.
In January, we will ask the General Assembly to change GEFA's name to the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority, which will better reflect our focus while maintaining our brand identity. GEFA will also ask the General Assembly to support the energy division's performance contracting legislation, which will lead to significant energy savings for the state.
4) Leadership Development. More than 50 percent of our staff completed courses through the Georgia Leadership Institute.
5) Organization. anks to Greg Mason, Glendale Jones and Tom Steinmetz, GEFA streamlined its organizational chart and improved an already stellar operational model.

6) Communication. anks to the leadership of the public affairs division, we have grown GEFA's reputation and influence with the media and with stakeholders throughout the state. While GEFA may never become a household name, we now have a strong brand that will be reinforced by the name change. I believe we also communicate better internally but we need to continue to make it a priority moving forward.
7) Information Technology. In addition to keeping our computer and communication systems running efficiently on a daily basis, new hardware and software upgrades have improved our performance and our external and internal communications. e IT division also saved the agency thousands of dollars by identifying a new phone service provider.
8) Relationships. We improved our working relationships with the utility sector, state legislators, non-profit organizations, the private sector and others. ese relationships are vital to GEFA's success and I know that GEFA will continue to cultivate them.
9) New Programs and Responsibilities. In just the last 18 months alone, GEFA has added these new programs and responsibilities to our mission:
Conserve Georgia; Governor's Energy Challenge;
Cont'd on page 3

GEFA News Quarterly
Division Reports

WATER RESOURCES
During the second quarter of FY2009, the water resources division continued to assist local governments in financing important wastewater, drinking water and water supply projects while also focusing on enhancing GEFA's long-term cash flow by shepherding older open loans into repayment. .
e water resources division presented $15.6 million in loans in the second quarter of FY09 to the GEFA board, a loan volume considerably lower than the second quarter of FY08. is trend appears to mirror a general slowdown of infrastructure development due to the uncertainty in the current economy.
During the second quarter FY09, the water resources division formally launched the Water Supply Technical Assistance Program, a new state service to provide a "one stop shop" for local governments to get guidance related to developing water supply projects, particularly new reservoirs or existing reservoirs being modified for water supply purposes. GEFA, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division, the Department of Community Affairs and the Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission met with two communities in December to provide assistance with developing new drinking water reservoirs.
ENERGY
In September 2008, hurricanes Gustav and Ike disrupted motor fuel supply to Georgia. While GEFA responded to this shortage by implementing many of the measures in the state Energy Emergency Plan, when the shortage ended in October, the Energy team initiated a multiagency effort to develop an emergency response plan specifically for motor fuels.
e new plan will update some sections of the existing Energy Emergency Plan, and should make responses to future shortages more effective through improved communications between state agencies and fuel providers and through coordinated conservation messaging to

the public. e Governor's Energy Challenge (GEC)
continued to gain support in the second quarter of FY09, with the number of individuals, businesses, and local governments committing to reduce energy consumption by at least 15 percent by 2020 increasing to 115.
e State Utilities Program drafted guidance for state agencies on developing strategic energy management plans to help them meet Governor's Energy Challenge.
e Weatherization Program completed the weatherization of 660 units in the second quarter of FY09. By helping low-income customers make their homes more energy efficient, the Weatherization team estimates that 20,949 million Btu have been saved across the state.
FST
FST successfully managed the remediation project at the former Georgia Department of Public Safety Post in Garden City, Georgia. e project consisted of the removal of petroleum impacted soils from the site, backfilling with clean fill material and restoration of the site.
Bids were evaluated for remediation work at the Department of Juvenile Justice site in Atlanta; a contractor was selected, and preliminary work has begun at the site.
Remediation activities continued on multiple sites around the state.
A contract was awarded for aboveground fuel tank removals and installations at stateowned locations in Meriwether and Clay counties Georgia.
FINANCE
Although demand for loan funds has slightly diminished, GEFA expects demand to increase in the spring and summer months as Georgia hopefully emerges from the drought and if the expected stimulus package is passed by Congress. New highs were reached for the Georgia Fund Loan Program last year which reached over $175 million in new loans and almost $160 million in disbursements. For all programs, GEFA realized almost $280 million in loan volume for the third year in a row.

LAND CONSERVATION
e Land Conservation Council approved three projects at its quarterly meeting on November 11. e Virginia-Highland Civic Association was approved for an $855,500 loan. eir project was completed in December, and is the first loan to be executed between the state of Georgia and a non-government organization. e Conservation Fund was approved for an $8,317,638 loan to acquire 1,792 acres in Decatur County, which will be purchased by the state and added to the Silver Lake Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in 2009. e Georgia Department of Natural Resources was awarded a $200,000 grant to purchase 488 acres in Dawson County, which will be incorporated into the Dawson Forest WMA.
GLCP has begun issuing small grants to state agencies to pay expenses associated with accepting donated conservation easements.
ese grants allow agencies to cover costs, such as property surveys and legal fees, that easement donors would otherwise have to pay.
EIC
e Georgia Energy Innovation Center hosted two one stop shops during the the second quarter of FY09 with a total of 11 companies participating. EIC also announced the Woodlands Pellet Project which will create 50 new jobs and bring $15 million in investment to the state.
IT
As organizations have integrated IT into the fabric of their operations, a change in the requirements for technology has increased the need for continuous access to business data. No longer is a good DR (disaster recovery) plan sufficient to ensure continuing business functionality in the event of a business interruption.

Cont'd on page 3

!

"

GEFA News Quarterly
Division Reports
(Cont'd)
While disaster recovery plans may help get an organization's data and systems back up and running, it does not address the continued operation of its core business functions. at is where Business Continuity Planning comes in.
Whether it is due to catastrophic weather, a hazardous materials accident, civil unrest or a malicious computer attack, organizations today are continually faced with threats to maintain their business operations. Business Continuity Planning (BCP) focuses on providing solutions to these real life incidents and on restoring business functions in the shortest possible time.
GEFA recently adopted a seven step process to develop and maintain a plan that is unique to our needs and priorities.
e steps include: 1. Develop a contingency planning policy statement; 2. Conduct the business impact analysis (BIA); 3. Identify preventive controls; 4. Develop recovery strategies; 5. Develop an IT contingency plan; 6. Plan testing, training, and exercises; 7. Plan maintenance. To date, we have completed the first three steps, with plans to complete step six before the end of FY2009.

Conservation Tips
Energy and Water Conservation Tips:
During the winter, set the thermostat to 68F when you are home (health permitting) and lower when you are away. Lowering the temperature 3 to 5F can save you up to 20% on heating costs. Replace or clean furnace filters regularly and get a furnace tune-up. Keeping your furnace clean, lubricated and properly adjusted can help you save on heating costs. Turn off unnecessary lighting and use task or desktop lamps with CFLs instead of overhead lights. Unplug electronics, battery chargers and other equipment when not in use. Cut water use by installing faucet aerators, low-flow showerheads and low-flush toilets. Turn your water heater down to 120 or the "Normal" setting when home, and to the lowest setting when away. Water heating accounts for about 13% of home energy costs. Wash clothes in cold water. About 90% of the energy use in a clothes washer goes to water heating. Run your dishwasher and clothes washer only when fully loaded. Fewer loads reduce energy and water use. Use the air-dry option instead of the heat-dry. Check and clean the dishwasher drain. Make sure your dryer's outside vent is clear and clean the lint filter after every load.

Letter from the Executive Director (Cont'd)

Water Supply and Reservoir Fund; Water Supply Technical Assistance Program; Funding support for the Comprehensive State-wide Water Management Plan; Energy Innovation Center; Clean Energy Property Tax Credit; and E85 Retail Infrastructure Grant Program. GEFA is also developing a stand-alone fuel emergency plan to better prepare the state of Georgia for future fuel shortages and recently completed an update to the State Energy Strategy. 10) People. Most importantly, we have nurtured, promoted and recruited incredible people. e cornerstone of any organization is the men and women that work hard each and every day. is agency is full of talented and dedicated people and we have added to the quality of our staff by recruiting new people to GEFA. To further help us retain talent we have also launched an impressive list of new human resource programs thanks to our our HR team: Career paths for every employee; Bonus and reward programs for exceptional performance;

Revised employee recognition program; Training program for managers/employees; and Computer training lab (in partnership with the IT division). In conclusion, I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to have worked closely with each one of you. I have learned so much, and I am very happy that I spent this part of my career in service with you. My replacement will be very lucky to inherit such a great team. Lastly, I want to thank Kim Yawn for her dedication and support of my family and me. She wakes up every day trying to make my life easier. Kim does so much to make this a special place to work for the entire GEFA team. I do not know of anyone that I have ever met who better represents true servant leadership. GEFA is lucky that she is staying here
God Bless,
Chris Clark

#

$

%

GEFA News Quarterly

Issue Profile

President Obama's Energy Policy
With the recent inauguration of President Obama, new policies will begin to be implemented. According to the White House Web site, President Obama's energy policy is built around four principal actions: providing short-term relief to American families; eliminating current imports from the Middle East and Venezuela within ten years; creating new green jobs; and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050.
By enforcing laws against excessive energy speculation and swapping oil from the strategic petroleum reserve to cut prices, the administration aims to provide short-term relief to American families. To eliminate imports from the Middle East and Venezuela, President Obama pledged to increase fuel economy standards, establish a national low carbon fuel standard, and create a new $7,000 tax credit for purchasing advanced vehicles. President Obama intends to raise the average fuel economy from 27.5 miles a gallon for cars and 22 miles a gallon for trucks to 35 miles a gallon for the whole fleet by 2020. e President also plans to lessen the nation's dependence on foreign oil by getting one million plug-in hybrid cars on the road by 2015, implementing a "use it or lose it" approach to existing oil and gas leases and promoting the responsible domestic production of oil and natural gas.
President Obama intends to create millions of new green jobs by ensuring that ten percent of our electricity comes from renewable sources by 2012 and 25 percent by 2025 and by making energy efficiency a central theme. In

addition, President Obama also plans to create green jobs by weatherizing one million homes annually, developing and deploying clean coal technology and by prioritizing the construction of the Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline.
To reduce the nation's greenhouse gas emissions, the administration has pledged to implement an economy-wide cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050 and to make the U.S. a leader on climate change.
Members of the Administration President Obama's top energy and environmental ap-
pointees include Steven Chu as secretary of energy, Lisa Jackson as the Environmental Protection Agency adminstrator and Carol Browner as White House coordinator of energy and climate change policy.
Secretary Steven Chu is a Nobel prize winning physicist and is the former director of the Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson was the former chief of staff to the Governor of New Jersey and the commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. "Energy czar" Carol Browner was administrator of the EPA under President Bill Clinton and since leaving the EPA in 2000, she has been a principal at the Albright Group.

GEFA Career Path Model

GEFA's HR division recently created a career path model as a tool to help better retain GEFA's current employees as well as to recruit new ones. Employees are content when they feel comfortable, competent, challenged and valued and the career path model is an attempt to help meet those needs better. Our agency size is under 50 employees with a unique niche of talents to serve our customer base; therefore, we needed to create a tool to develop and grow our staff for the next level within our organization. We are unable to advance all employees up the traditional career ladders due to low turnover, limited positions available within our agency, etc. e HR division had to become creative in order to offer our staff upward and horizontal mobility opportunities to advance within our agency and to keep the employees engaged. e idea was to create an avenue for employees and managers to chart out a career path based on the employee's qualifications, competencies, behavior, performance, readiness, and the employee's track record in the employee's current

position. Human Resources presented several versions of the
model to the senior management team for feedback and questions prior to presenting the final models to staff. e career path model was completed in October 2008 and presented to the staff in late November 2008. With the new career path models, HR has outlined a career path for each position within our agency. We will continue to evaluate the process and the individual career path models to see if the paths are working as we intended or to make necessary improvements to ensure that each employee has the opportunity to move up within our agency providing that the employee has met the necessary requirements to do so.

&

'

(

GEFA News Quarterly
Event Highlights

New Silver Lake Wildlife Manage-
ment Area
Recently GEFA staff was invited to partipate in ceremonies celebrating the preservation of McLemore Cove in Walker County, the Lost Corner Preserve in the city of Sandy Springs, Radium Springs in Dougherty County and the Wiley Farm in Walton County. rough the Georgia Land Conservation Program (GLCP), GEFA provided funding, on-site consultations, and other technical assistance that helped conserve these cherished places.
Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Commissioner Noel Holcomb and GLCP Director Curt Soper were among the speakers who addressed a group of more than 100 community members, conservationists, and state legislators in Walker County to celebrate the acquisition of McLemore Cove.
" e opportunity to protect this ecologically rich area is possible because of the generous partners who have joined with us in recognizing this valuable natural resource," said Commissioner Holcomb. GEFA provided DNR with a $6.5 million grant to purchase 1,873 acres in McLemore Cove (pictured below). GEFA also negotiated and awarded grants for conservation easements covering 1,035 acres on two adjacent properties.
In Sandy Springs, various conservation partners gathered on a 22-acre tract of forestland to acknowledge the generous landowner who helped transfer the site to the

2

3

4

5

6

7

4

8

9

@

A

B

3

C

D

4

8

E

3

C

D

4

F

F

G

H

H

G

4

E

A

B

I

4

@

E

P

Q

C

A

H

R

D

4

F

F

G

H

H

G

4

E

D

@

Q

G

B

S

F

Q

E

I

A

T

T

U

G

E

C

Q

B

V

R

W

Q

C

W

G

B

X

F

Q

E

Y

I

4

E

A

H

`

a

4

b

4

9

G

a

Q

b

D

A

E

3

A

B

R

Q

E

V

c

V

F

G

E

G

H

3

B

Q

S

3

4

B

5

G

a

@

Q

B

V

D

B

4

d

V

G

H

city to use as a public park. " is project is the culmination of the stewardship
ethic and commitment to conservation of Peggy Miles," said Curt Soper, Director of GEFA's Land Conservation Program. Ms. Miles, whose family had owned the property for more than one hundred years, resisted much higher offers from real estate developers in favor of protecting the
land, now called Lost Corner Preserve. GLCP provided a $250,000 grant to the city to help acquire the property.
Dougherty County welcomed a crowd at the former Radium Springs Country Club to celebrate the preservation of 397 acres along the Flint River. e county purchased the abandoned golf course, surrounding habitat and riverfront with a $721,805 grant from the GLCP, and plans to convert it into a community park.
" is is probably one of the best river front green space projects in the state," said Bill Swan, Former Chairman of the County's Greenspace Committee.
In November, Mr. Dale Wiley hosted members of the public and staff from the Governor's Office, Walton County, and the Land Con-

Cont'd on page 7

)

0

1

GEFA News Quarterly
Board News

conveyed Governor Perdue's thanks to J.C. Warren, chairman of the Screven County Commission, for his performance as chairman of the GEFA board. Hills was joined by GEFA Executive Director Chris Clark, who highlighted the significant accomplishments GEFA has enjoyed during the two years of Warren's leadership. Warren, who will continue to serve on the GEFA board, was recognized for his leadership as he now turns over the board chairmanship to Hartwell Mayor Matt Beasley.

State of Georgia Chief Financial Officer Tommy Hills (left) and GEFA Board Chairman J.C. Warren (right) recognize Bacon County Commission Chairman Eugene Dyal (center) for his two years of service on the board of directors of the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority.
Recently the GEFA board of directors recognized three board members for their service to the board. At the November 18, 2008, meeting of the board, GEFA board Chairman J.C. Warren and state of Georgia Chief Financial Officer Tommy Hills presented proclamations of appreciation from Governor Perdue to two board members who were ending their service to GEFA. Tommy Hills thanked former Monroe County Commission Chairman Harold Carlisle and former Bacon County Comission Chairman Eugene Dyal for their service and guidance. Hills also
Monroe County Commission Chairman Harold Carlisle (center) accepts the Governor's proclamation of thanks from State of Georgia Chief Financial Officer Tommy Hills (left). GEFA Board Chairman J.C. Warren (right) also shared his appreciation to Carlisle for his service to the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority.

Screven County Commission Chairman J.C. Warren (center) is thanked by Tommy Hills (left) and GEFA Executive Director Chris Clark (right) for his leadership to the board in his former role as chairman.

e

f

g

GEFA News Quarterly
Event Highlight (Cont'd)
Walton County, and the GLCP at his farm in Walton County.
"It's been a long road and I appreciate all the help I've had," Wiley said. GEFA granted $120,000 to Walton County to purchase a conservation easement on Mr. Wiley's 168-acre farm near Jersey, Georgia, 35 miles east of Atlanta.
Brent Dykes, executive director of the Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission and Land Conservation Council member, said of GLCP, "It's a great program and more than 90,000 acres have been protected in the past three years."

New Employees
PJ Newcomb, State Utilities Engineer. PJ was hired in October 2008 and brings 14 years of engineering experience to GEFA. His previous work includes pollution prevention technical assistance, environmental performance and sustainability research, software development and supply/packaging quality control. PJ earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in mechanical engineering from Georgia Tech. PJ also earned a master's degree in history and sociology of technology and science from Georgia Tech.
Jeffrey Frye, Weatherization Program Monitor. Jeff has worked in the Weatherization Program for the past two
months. His role as Program Manager included compliance
monitoring, assessing contractor/provider performance,
training and technical assistance.

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 Operations Officer
Tom Steinmetz
Chief Financial Officer
Glendale Jones
Chief Administrative Officer
Shane Hix
Director, Public Affairs
Beverly McElroy
Director, Water Resources
Curt Soper
Director, Land Conservation
David Gipson
Director, Energy
John Martin
Director, Information Technology
Jill Stuckey
Director, Alternative Fuels
Bob Wiggins
Director, Fuel Storage Tank Division

h

i

p