Officials with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the office of Georgia Governor Nathan Deal said re-districting conflicts are the reason that Joe Hatfield, formerly Stephens County’s representative on the DNR board, along with another individual, are no longer on the board.
Those officials confirmed Wednesday that Joe Hatfield and Steven R. Woodruff are no longer on the DNR board.
Hatfield represented the 10th Congressional District on the DNR Board and Woodruff represented the sixth district on the DNR board.
State officials said that when Congressional district lines were re-drawn in Georgia following the 2010 Census, the new districts created conflicts regarding DNR board representation that had to be resolved.
As a result, the board was re-configured to match the current Congressional district lines.
Hatfield and Woodruff had drawn attention from some local residents fighting the Wilbros odor issue. Those residents said the two men have had involvement in Wilbros and question whether that is a conflict of interest considering they served on the DNR board. The EPD, which regulates Wilbros, falls under the banner of the DNR. EPD Assistant Director Jim Ussery has said that he does not believe there is a conflict of interest.