Going straight to the top over the decades-old, stuck-in-neutral Florida-Georgia water wars has paid off.
Gov. Rick Scott announced Monday that the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to take up Floridas lawsuit against Georgias overconsumption of waters that is impacting the Apalachicola Bay region. See the lawsuit here.
Said Scott, This is huge news and a major victory for Florida, and marks the first of many important victories for the families and businesses of Apalachicola.
"We took bold action last year to protect the waters of Apalachicola from Georgias unchecked use of these critical resources. For 20 years, Florida has tried to work with Georgia, and families have continued to see their fisheries suffer from the lack of water.
"The Supreme Court takes up so few cases, and their willingness to hear Floridas demonstrates the merits of our case before the court. We are fighting for the future of this region, and we wont quit until these resources are restored.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said, We are pleased with the United States Supreme Courts decision to grant Floridas motion and to allow the lawsuit against Georgia to move forward.
"Georgia has delayed long enough," said Bondi, "and this lawsuit is essential to protect Florida from the environmental and economic harms caused by Georgias overconsumption of water. We look forward to continuing our fight to protect Floridas fair share of water in the United States Supreme Court.
In August, a day after federal officials issued a disaster declaration for the oyster fishery along the Northwest Florida coast -- and much to the consternation of Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal -- the Florida governor, with U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., at his side, announced the state of Florida would take historic legal action, filing a lawsuit in the U.S. Supreme Court to stop Georgias growing and "unchecked consumption of water."
Apalachicola Bay has had its oyster harvest devastated by a lack of freshwater flow.
For almost two decades, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida have been battling over the future allocation of water in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) river basins that cross their borders.
After years of attempting to negotiate an equitable apportionment of the waters that flow through the states, the collapse of the ACF Compact in 2003 left Florida and Alabama in the same disadvantaged position. Meanwhile, Georgia had improved its standing at the expense of its neighbors by staking increased claims to the river waters for itself.
Georgia wants to have enough water to allow metro Atlanta to continue growing, while Alabama and Florida -- the downstream users -- want enough water flowing for their own economic well-being.
Georgias consumption is expected to nearly double to 705 million gallons per day by 2035, as Atlantas population and water consumption grow unchecked. That estimated daily consumption represents the approximate water volume of the entire Apalachicola Bay.
The dispute involves several federal agencies, courts and mediators, and certainly its outcome is one of the most important environmental issues in the region today.
Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at 228-282-2423. Twitter: @NancyLBSmith
