Green Power in Florida for a Fee

Florida Power & Light has offered green power alternatives to its 3.6 million residential customers for a price of $9.75 a month. By participating in the program, called "green pricing," FP&L officials said its customers will reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the state of Florida. For every 10,000 customers who sign up, it will provide 150 kilowatts of solar capacity in Florida. FP&L officials are confident their residential customers will support the program, which gets its energy from solar, wind and bio-energy.

Georgia Governor Recants, Will Give $500M for Atlanta Sewers

We reported in November that Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue shot down a proposal to assist the city of Atlanta with $500 million in state money to overhaul the city's sewer system. Well, in December, Perdue had a change of mind and agreed to dole out the $500 million. The total cost to fix Atlanta's sewer problems is estimated to be $3 billion (that's with a "b").

Maryland Governor Plans Chesapeake Cleanup

Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich has introduced legislation that would create the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fund. The program would give the state about $1 billion to improve water treatment plants in the state that dump more than 16 million pounds of nitrogen into the bay each year. Gov. Ehrlich said the plan would cut nitrogen pollution in half. The initiative would be funded by a $2.50 monthly surcharge on residential sewer bills in the state and a $2.50 per month increase for every 250 gallons of water discharged by industry.

Jacksonville Weighs the Weight of Water

Following Tampa Bay's lead, officials with the St. Johns River Water Management District are conducting a study that includes actual sites for the location of a saltwater desalination plant. Jacksonville officials maintain water resources in North Florida remain high, however, 20 years from now, that may not be the case. A desalination plant recently began producing fresh water from saltwater in the Tampa Bay region.