Cooper Creek in Columbus will be the site of the city’s first floating trash trap, a novel invention that both collects floating trash and hosts native river plants at the same time. Installed by nonprofit Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, the floating triangle module comes from Australian-based Atlan Stormwater. This is the first of their products to be installed in the U.S., but the company has years of testing and development back home, with studies showing the benefits of how native plant roots positively affect water quality. Students from Columbus State University will help monitor and operate the trap, removing trash weekly. If all goes well more floating traps are expected to be installed in coming months, further cleaning up Columbus’ treasured streams and rivers.
Atlanta, Fulton Co. square off in tax fight
The City of Atlanta has long used tax allocation districts (TADs) as an economic development tool, leveraging property tax increases to pay for local infrastructure projects. But the Fulton County Commission has slammed on the brakes, voting 4-1 to reject a proposed 30-year extension of Atlanta’s TADs. That sets up a major budgetary clash, as the Fulton TADs would be expected to generate over a billion dollars over that period. Now the county will vote on TADs on a case by case basis, with stricter oversight and enforcement, leaving Atlanta’s money faucet DRIFTING…
