December 23, 2022

Transmitted via: Email (Jamie.lancaster1@dnr.ga.gov)

Attn.: Ms. Jamie Lancaster

Surface Mining Unit
Georgia Department of Natural Resources
Environmental Protection Division
4244 International Parkway, Suite 104
Atlanta, Georgia 30354

Dear Ms. Lancaster:

This letter is a follow-up response to a November 9, 2022 Water Division Memorandum. Our November
10 response stated that we were still gathering information to respond to the following question:

TP seemed to have drilled a total of 385 boreholes in YEAR(S). There is

insufficient information indicating the entity (entities) or person(s) who
conducted that drilling or whether it was supervised by a Georgia-licensed
Professional Engineer or Professional Geologist. TP does not have a bond
posted with Georgia or a license issued by Georgia for drilling, thus EPD
presumes that the drilling was conducted without proper licensing or bonding
from the relevant State of Georgia regulatory authority. EPD notes this as a
compliance issue to be resolved, and requests further information from TP
regarding this drilling as further described below.

Based on our investigation, we disagree that any boreholes were drilled without proper licensing or
bonding. The relevant facts are as follows:

• The boreholes were drilled by Twin Pines and a contractor in the Spring of 2018. The purpose
was to determine if minable minerals were present on site, and in what concentrations. The
boreholes were not water wells or piezometers.
• This work was performed under the supervision of James H. Powell, Jr., an employee of Twin
Pines who has been registered as a professional geologist in the State of Alabama since 2006
(License #979 effective Sept. 21, 2006). Mr. Powell submitted an application with the
Professional Licensing Division to “publicly practice” geology in the State of Georgia on
September 13, 2017, five months and 13 days before any boreholes were drilled.
• Georgia’s licensing statute provides that persons licensed to practice geology in other States,
and who otherwise meet Georgia’s requirements, “may be registered, upon application,
without further examination.” O.C.G.A. § 43-19-14 (emphasis added). Based on this, it is our
understanding that this statute as allowing out-of-state geologists to practice in Georgia so
long as an application to the Professional License Board is pending – a reasonable
interpretation, especially given the extreme backlog at the Professional Licensing Division.

• Twin Pines began drilling exploratory boreholes on February 26, more than five months after
Mr. Powell submitted his application. This first effort continued through Mid-March. The drilling
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was performed by Cascade Drilling, a licensed water well contractor. The contractor license
was not required under O.C.G.A. § 12-5-125, however, because the boreholes were not “water
wells” or “geothermal boreholes.” Mr. Powell supervised the drilling of these boreholes.
• Twin Pines acquired a drill rig of its own on April 24, 2018 and began drilling additional
exploratory boreholes on April 25, 2018. Mr. Powell supervised this work.
• The Professional License Division issued Georgia Professional Geologist License No.
PG002274 to Mr. Powell on May 24, 2018.
Finally, the November 9, 2022 Memorandum correctly states that TPM did not post a bond, but it is
not clear to us that this requirement under O.C.G.A. § 12-5-135 applies. The only persons who are
required to post a bond are “water well contractor[s] or driller[s].” We interpret the key phrase as
applying to “water well contractors” or “water well drillers.” Consistent with this interpretation, O.C.G.A.
§ 12-5-122(13) defines a “driller” as a person who “engage[s] in drilling and drilling operations and
the installation of pumps and pumping equipment.” O.C.G.A. § 12-5-135 (emphasis added). The use
of the conjunctive “and” means that both conditions must be satisfied to be a “driller” within the
meaning of the Water Well Standards Act. TPM is not a “driller” because it did not engage in the
installation of “pumps or pumping equipment.” Our point is not to contest EPD’s interpretation, but to
explain why we did not post a bond based on our own reading of the statute. We are more than happy
to post a bond now to put this matter to rest, however. A completed “Performance Bond for Drillers”
form will follow under separate cover in the coming days.

I hope these answers are satisfactory. Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Sincerely,
TTL, Inc.

J. Mark Tanner, P.G.

Senior Principal Geologist
Georgia License No. 886