Attorney General Thurbert Baker announced today the appointment of Savannah resident Michael Vaquer to the Attorney General’s Water Advisory Council. The Council was formed in the Summer of 2003 to advise the Attorney General on water issues faced by the State of Georgia. In announcing the appointment, Attorney General Baker stated, “Water is the life’s blood of growth, prosperity, hope and health in the future. Water quantity and quality will determine the quality of life Georgia residents will experience as well as whether our state continues to attract businesses that will keep our economy moving forward. I look forward to the perspective that Mike Vaquer will bring to the Council, both as a coastal Georgia resident and an individual with years of experience in the paper industry, which depends on water availability for its very existence.” Vaquer is currently the principal in The Vaquer Firm, a government relations firm in Savannah. Prior to that, he worked with International Paper and its predecessor, Union Camp, most recently serving for the last five years as their Regional Public Affairs Manager. Vaquer is joined on the Council by:

Dr. Ron Carroll, Institute of Ecology, The University of Georgia

Ciannat M. Howett, Southern Environmental Law Center

Dr. Aris Georgakakos, Georgia Water Resources Institute, Georgia Institute of Technology

Kevin Green, Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce

Dr. Jim Hook, College of Agriculture & Environmental Science, The University of Georgia

Bob Scanlon, Environmental Affairs Officer, City of Savannah

Dr. Stephen Draper, Water Law & Policy

Laurie Fowler, Institute of Ecology, The University of Georgia

Woody Hicks, J.W. Jones Ecological Research Center.