The cast party following the wrap of the month long trial between Florida and Georgia known as the water wars may not be the social event of the season for the participants who exited the case largely as they entered it: in opposite corners. A decision on the water turf
Early Salvos Fired In The Florida / Georgia Water Wars
One of the storied college football rivalries is the annual gridiron battle of teams of the University of Georgia and University of Florida. Last weekend’s football battle, held at the Jacksonville site where the Tri-State Water Wars between Florida, Alabama, and Georgia were heard in Multi-District Litigation five years ago, ironically tipped off the Supreme Court litigation between Florida and Georgia that commenced on October 31. Special Master Ralph Lancaster, sitting by designation of the Supreme Court of the United States, heard opening remarks in the three year old case of Florida v. Georgia, Supreme Court Docket No. 142, which is proceeding under the original jurisdiction of the Court. At issue is Florida’s assertion that it should be granted a consumption cap for its upstream neighbor in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (“ACF”) basin based upon a claim of a substantial injury predicated on a variety of theories. Florida ceded away any claim of delivery of a specific amount of water at the state line earlier in the litigation. To prevail, Florida must demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence a substantial injury that is redressable by the Court.
Special Master Appointed in Florida v. Georgia “Water Wars” and New ACT Lawsuits
The tri-state water wars continue to divide the Southeast as litigation moves forward. In Georgia, two river basins supply water to metropolitan Atlanta—the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) River Basin which flows through Georgia, Florida, and Alabama and the Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa (ACT) River Basin which runs through Georgia and Alabama. Litigation is pending over water allocation for both the ACF and the ACT basins.
Florida v. Georgia – The Buck Stops Here
The tri-state water wars between Georgia, Florida, and Alabama are far from over. In fact, they have now been escalated. On October 1, Florida filed a complaint in the United States Supreme Court requesting that the Court equitably apportion the waters of the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (“ACF”) River Basin between Florida and Georgia. Florida argues that Georgia has permitted withdrawals of both surface and groundwater that are allegedly adversely impacting the Apalachicola Region’s ecosystem and economy. Florida cites declines in its fisheries and in particular claims that reduced flows impact oyster fisheries. As support for its complaint, Florida alleges impacts to ecosystems, threatened and endangered species, recreation and Florida’s economy. Georgia has yet to respond, but the state will likely raise issues related to conservation measures implemented by Georgia, Florida’s abandonment of its appeal of endangered species consultations between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Florida’s own over-fishing of the oyster fisheries, and salinity issues created by Florida’s insistence upon Sikes Cut, a navigation channel through St. George Island.