SHORELINES

Renew Our Rivers passes 15 million pounds of trash ousands of volunteers, working with Alabama Power, have made 'an overwhelming difference.' By Gilbert Nicholson e number 15 million is a lot. It's more than three times the number of men, women and children in Alabama. It's also the number of pounds of trash that has been removed from Alabama Power and other Southern Company lakes since the Renew Our Rivers (ROR) cleanup campaign started in 2000. "Fieen million is a staggering number in and of itself," said Susan Comensky, vice president of Alabama Power's Environmental Affairs department, which oversees ROR. "But when you apply it to the amount of trash and debris that otherwise would be in these lakes, it is beyond staggering. Renew Our Rivers has made an overwhelming difference." It was late last year the 15-million-pound milestone was reached. e first cleanup, started by now-retired Plant Gadsden regulatory compliance supervisor Gene Phifer, gathered unsightly trash and junk from a 2-mile stretch of the Coosa River near the plant. What was then dubbed "Renew the Coosa" morphed into ROR. As the effort gained recognition, Alabama Power plants companywide and then Southern Company operating companies embraced it. "Although the cleanup was started by a single power company employee, and has been championed and led by Alabama Power these past 19 years, Renew Our Rivers has only had the level of success that it has had because of all the volunteers," said Mike Clelland, an Environmental Affairs specialist who coordinates ROR cleanups. Some 110,000 people have volunteered systemwide; 83,000 from Alabama alone. Last year, 4,714 volunteers removed more than 295,000 pounds of trash from Alabama lakes, rivers and shorelines. "HOBO (homeowner and boatowner) groups, lake associations, municipalities and school students – enthusiastic volunteers like these are 100 percent the reason Renew Our Rivers has been successful. ey're the reason this cleanup program will be successful in the future," Clelland said. Alabama Power employee volunteers assist at each Alabama cleanup, providing guidance and supplies to event organizers. ROR is just one of many initiatives in which Alabama Power partners with others to promote conservation and environmental stewardship in communities across the state. For an up-to-date listing of ROR cleanups scheduled this year on the Coosa, Tallapoosa, Black Warrior, Cahaba, Alabama, Mobile and Chattahoochee rivers, please visit apcshorelines.com/blog/. For more information, contact Clelland at mbclella@southernco.com. Photo: Phil Free 28 | 2018 Vol:1

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