ATLANTA – Southern Company, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, National Association of Counties and Wildlife Habitat Council today awarded nine new grants to benefit wetland conservation projects in the Southeast through EPA’s Five Star Restoration Program.  

Southern Company, the program’s newest corporate sponsor, recently pledged $1.2 million over five years to fund community-based wetland and streamside restoration across its four-state service territory.  This year, Southern Company, the Environmental Protection Agency and partner organizations have contributed a combined total of more than $431,000 to benefit projects in Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi.  Collectively, these projects will impact 25 acres of land and improve 7,860 feet of riparian buffers as well as educate the local communities about important wetland issues.

The Five Star Restoration Program is a national initiative providing financial and technical support to wetland, riparian and coastal habitat restoration projects.  It brings together citizen groups, corporations, students, landowners, youth conservations corps, and local, state and federal government agencies to build diverse partnerships and foster local natural resource stewardship through education, outreach and training activities.  

“We’re pleased to be a new partner in the Environmental Protection Agency’s Five Star Program,” said Southern Company Senior Vice President for Research and Environmental Affairs Chris Hobson.  “The funding that Southern Company and our partners provide will help to build new and strengthen existing relationships with environmental organizations across the Southeast.  It’s also a great extension of Southern Company’s existing Renew Our Rivers program as it gives our employees the opportunity to actually revitalize wetlands in the communities where they live and work.”

Southern Company will collaborate with partners in the program to select the projects each year and distribute funds to grantees.

The following organizations have been awarded Five Star grants in 2006:
 

·         BaldwinCounty Commission – To restore five acres of degraded coastal wetlands, streams and riparian areas within ecologically and culturally significant Magnolia Springs County Park in Baldwin County, Ala. 

·         Benjamin Moore and Company – To revitalize approximately ten acres of wetland habitation on the banks of Fishing Creek in St. Clair County, Ala., through the use of natural vegetation.   Southern Company subsidiary Alabama Power will be among the partners participating in the project.

·         MurphyHigh School in Mobile, Ala. –   To restore a half acre of marsh wetland along the western shore of Alabama’s Mobile Bay by planting native emergent grasses. 

·         FreshwaterLandTrust (two grants)– To increase the habitat area of the endangered Watercress Darter by restoring three acres of riparian buffer along Seven Springs in Birmingham, Ala.  Program partners will also create a nature sanctuary and outdoor classroom for environmental education programs.

To restore the riparian habitat and improve water quality of a section of Five Mile Creek in Jefferson County, Ala., by removing invasive plant species and reintroducing native plant species to the area.  Alabama Power will be among the partners participating in the project.

·         DeKalbCounty in Georgia – To re-establish 70 feet of an urban tributary to South Peachtree Creek within Medlock Park in DeKalb County, Ga.  Additionally, workshops to promote environmental education and public awareness of water quality will be offered to neighborhood associations and Medlock Elementary School.

·         ConasaugaRiver Alliance – To restore three acres of wetlands within Varnell Springs, a tributary of the Conasauga River in Varnell, Ga.  Interpretive signs will also be placed in the area to educate the public and hundreds of students on school field trips about the springs.

·         CDR Environmental Specialist, Inc. – To revitalize a half mile of oyster habitat along Clam Creek near Jekyll Island, Ga., to promote community awareness of the critical function that oysters serve in this region’s ecosystem.  Southern Company subsidiary Georgia Power will be among the partners participating in the project.

·         Land Trust for the Mississippi Coastal Plain – To restore 2.5 acres of wetlands within the Bennett Bayou in southern Mississippi by removing boardwalk, riprap and invasive vegetation along a channel of the bayou.  Additionally, field trips will be conducted to educate the community on the importance of native plants and wetlands in the region.  Southern Company subsidiary Mississippi Power will be among the partners participating in the project.

With 4.3 million customers and more than 40,000 megawatts of generating capacity, Atlanta-based Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is the premier energy company serving the Southeast, one of America’s fastest-growing regions. A leading U.S. producer of electricity, Southern Company owns electric utilities in four states and a growing competitive generation company, as well as fiber optics and wireless communications. Southern Company brands are known for excellent customer service, high reliability and retail electric prices that are significantly below the national average. Southern Company has received the highest ranking in customer satisfaction among U.S. electric service providers for seven consecutive years by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). Visit our Web site at www.southerncompany.com.