Governor names members of water task force

Submitted by the governor's office

ATLANTA – Governor Sonny Perdue today hosted the first meeting of the newly-formed water contingency task force and announced the business, government and environmental leaders from around the state that have agreed to serve on the group.

“I am very appreciative of the time and effort these leaders from across Georgia have committed to the important task at hand,” said Governor Perdue. “I have asked this group to look at any and all possible solutions and let the facts drive their recommendations.”

Today’s first meeting of the task force focused on the history of water litigation and negotiations as well as discussion of the Governor’s four-pronged approach to dealing with Judge Magnuson’s July ruling. One of the strategies includes contingency planning, which is the focus of the task force.

Coca-Cola Enterprises Chairman and CEO John Brock and Tim Lowe of Lowe Engineers are serving as co-chairs of the task force, which will meet throughout the fall and present recommendations before the January 2010 legislative session.

“The Governor has named an outstanding group of leaders to serve on this task force,” Brock said. “We are eager to begin work on the charge the Governor gave us today – to develop a contingency plan that considers both conservation and water supply. This issue will affect Georgia for decades to come.”

“This task force brings together business, conservation and government leaders from throughout our state and it is that equal representation of all interests that will allow us to be successful,” Lowe added. “To a member, this task force is committed to working together to ensure that our state is well-prepared to meet our water needs long into the future.”

More than 80 leaders have agreed to serve on the task force. The members are:

Brock, John, Coca-Cola Enterprises (co-chair)

Lowe, Tim, Lowe Engineers (co-chair)

Amos, Paul, AFLAC

Anderson, Richard, Delta Air Lines

Armstrong, Kerry, Duke Realty

Bannister, Charles, Chair, Gwinnett County Commission

Barella, Jose, Merial

Bennett, John, Chair, Coosa-North Georgia Regional Water Council

Black, Gary, Georgia Agribusiness Council

Blake, Frank, The Home Depot

Blanchard, Billy, Columbus Bank and Trust

Boner, Rex, The Conservation Fund

Cagle, Casey, Lt. Governor

Carruth, Bill, Chair, Georgia Board of Natural Resources

Chase, Donald G., Chair, Upper Flint Regional Water Council

Clark, Chris, Commissioner, GA Department of Natural Resources

Collier, Darin, Worthing SE

Cornelius, Ken, Siemens

Cross, Ron C., Chair, Savannah-Upper Ogeechee Regional Water Council

Currey, Brad, Rock-Tenn Company

Davis, Scott, UPS

Dempsey, Lynn, Dempsey Auction Company

Deriso, Sonny, Atlantic Capital Bank

Dillard, Doug, Dillard & Galloway, LLC

Dunlap, Kit, Chair, Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District

Eason, Darvin, Chair, Suwanee-Satilla Regional Water Council

Eaves, John, Chair, Fulton County Commission

Ellis, Burrell, CEO, DeKalb County

Fischer, Christian, Georgia-Pacific

Floyd, Bill, Mayor, City of Decatur

Fox, John, Emory Healthcare

Franklin, Shirley, Mayor, City of Atlanta

Garrard, Gardiner, The Jordan Company

Garrett, Mike, Georgia Power Company

Gellerstedt, Larry, Cousins Properties

Glover, Taylor, Turner Enterprises, Inc.

Green, Steve, Stephen Green Properties, Inc.

Harbin, Ben, Chair, House Appropriations

Harris, Duane, Sea Georgia Adventures

Hatcher, Bob, MidCountry Financial Corp.

Hays, Richard, Alston & Bird

Hill, Stephen, Solvay Pharmaceuticals

Hodge, Al, Greater Rome Chamber of Commerce

Howard, Pierre, Georgia Conservancy

Hughes, Dale, Cox Enterprises

Hyland, Greg, Mueller Water Products

Jackson, Bruce, Arnall Golden Gregory

Johnston, Bob, MEAG Power

Ketchum, Mark, Newell Rubbermaid

Lakly, Shelly, The Nature Conservancy

Lanier, L. Brinson, Chair, Altamaha Regional Water Council

Lesser, Craig, The Pendleton Consulting Group

Maltese, Joe, City of LaGrange

Markwalter, Jack, Invesco

McSpadden, Richard, Chair, Upper Oconee Regional Water Council

Nash, Al, The Columns Group, Inc.

Nuti, Bill, NCR Corporation

Olens, Sam, Chair, Cobb County Commission

Pate, William, Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau

Poitevint, Alec, Southeastern Materials, Inc.

Price, Mike, Oglethorpe Power Corporation

Rice, John, GE

Richardson, Elmo A., Chair, Middle Ocmulgee Regional Water Council

Royal, A. Richard, Chair, Lower Flint Regional Water Council

Scheible, Dave, Graphic Packaging

Sheldon, Donna, House Majority Caucus Vice-Chair

Sitherwood, Suzanne, Atlanta Gas Light

Smith, Gary, Strategic Value Properties

Smith, Jack, Chair, Fayette County Commission

Smith, Lynn, Chair, House Natural Resources & Environment

Smith, Rick, Equifax Inc.

Stack, Tim, Piedmont Healthcare

Tankersley, Jan, Bulloch County Commissioner

Tapp, Helen, Trust for Public Land

Tarbutton, Charles, Sandersville Railroad Company

Thomas, Mike, Clayton County Water Authority

Thompson, Benjamin, Chair, Coastal Georgia Regional Water Council

Tolleson, Ross, Chair, Senate Natural Resources & Environment

Tuggle, Clyde, The Coca-Cola Company

Weber, Dan Chair, Senate Education

Wells, John, Interface Americas

Wilheit, Philip, Wilheit Packaging

Williams, Virgil, Williams Group International, Inc.

Willis, Betty, Emory University

Windom, Matt, Chair, Middle Chattahoochee Regional Water Council

Wood, Jenner, SunTrust Bank

Wood, Paul, Georgia EMC