Water Dispute Goes to Court

Lawyers in Alabama, Florida and Georgia argued in federal court Monday about how the water in Lake Lanier should be used, and whether it could be used to supply metro
Atlanta's thirst.

State lawyers for Georgia say the water at man made Lake Lanier can be used to supply metro Atlanta, while attorneys for Florida and Alabama say the law clearly
states the federally operated dam can only serve three functions: flood control, maintaining flow levels and generating power.

Arguments lasted about four hours at the Jacksonville, Florida court house. The judge hearing the case says the ruling will "take time."

Last year, the three states held secret meetings to try and resolve the issue before this court date, those meetings fell apart, and now Georgia Senator Johnny Isakson is calling on the states to get back to the negotiating table.

"It's time for the governor's of the three states, and the leadership in Congress, to sit at the table and honestly do what's right for Georgia, for Alabama, and for Florida. No state should trump the other."

Tri-State Water Fight Now in Florida Courtroom

With the fate of metro-Atlanta's drinking water supply now in the hands of a federal judge, U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson says it's time the attorneys stepped aside. And, with no quick decision expected in the case, Isakson says lawyers have argued the case for nearly two decades and nothing's been accomplished. He says it's time cooler heads prevailed.

"We've had far too much litigation and not enough conversation. People with cool heads have got to sit down. We can't start lobbing bombs at one another and trying to gotcha each other politically. It's too important an issue that has hurt this region for far too long."

And, Isakson has volunteered to kick start the dialogue.

"If we get a bad ruling, the first thing that I'm going to do is invite (the senators from) Alabama and Florida, to join Saxby and I at a lunch to sit down and talk about how we cannot afford to play gotcha politics with the drinking water … that [the] basin provides."

This latest case, now being heard in a Florida court, consolidates seven cases into one and centers on metro Atlanta’s share of water from Lake Lanier. Lake Lanier is the area's primary drinking water source.

Florida would like an increase in the amount of water released from the dam to protect endangered shell fish. Alabama wants more water to cool its nuclear power plants.

Dredging for Brunswick Harbor

The Port of Brunswick could soon welcome bigger ships with more cargo thanks to some new federal funds. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is spending $3 million dollars to dredge the entrance of Brunswick Harbor. Senator Saxby Chambliss, who along with Congressman Jack Kingston and Senator Johnny Isakson, helped secure the money, says Georgia's ports are vital to the state's economy and this project comes at a critical time.

State lawmakers push for U.S. military command center

Top Georgia officials are making a pitch to get a major U.S. military command center. They says it could bring hundreds of jobs.

Military officials are considering moving U.S. Africa Command, known as AFRICOM, from its current home in Stuttgart,Germany. The command center is in charge of operations in over 50 African countries.

U.S. Defense officials are considering several locations in the United States, including three base sites in Georgia--Fort McPherson, Fort Gillem, and Dobbins Air Force Base. All are in the metro Atlanta area.

Senators Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson made Georgia’s case in a letter to Defense officials this week. They were joined by three U.S. House Representatives and Governor Sonny Perdue.

Lawmakers tout as selling points the runway network of Dobbins in Marietta, and the rail connection from the three base locations to Savannah’s port.

Officials say the joint command center could bring around 1,300 jobs.

Georgia Senators vote 'yes' to bailout

Georgia’s two Senators voted ‘yes’ to the revised bailout bill Wednesday night in Washington. Republican Johnny Isakson calls the new plan "without question the most important vote and most challenging vote I’ve ever been asked to cast in 30 years as an elected official". Both Isakson and fellow GOP colleague Saxby Chambliss will lobby Republican House colleagues before its vote, possibly tomorrow.

Chambliss released this statement following the vote:

Our country is facing the most serious and critical domestic issue I have dealt with in my 14 years in Congress. We have been betrayed by many people, and greedy Wall Street executives have abused the system, leaving taxpayers to feel the pain.

Today, I had a significant choice to make between two very different courses of action – do nothing at all or do what I truly believe is best for America. I believe to the core of my being that doing nothing will devastate our economy, destroy the financial security of millions of Americans and could possibly force our nation into a depression. I just as strongly believe the bill as it has been negotiated, and that I just voted for, will provide stability during this crisis and will begin to turn our economy around.

Let me be clear – this is not a bailout. This bill has been carefully crafted to arrest our current financial crisis, restore security for the American taxpayer and ensure that our nation is the strongest economic power in the world.

And every citizen can know with confidence that any individual who engaged in illegal activity – whether they are the executive of a financial institution or a member of Congress – if their illegal actions forced our nation in to this crisis - then they will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

I know that my vote in favor of this package was not the politically popular thing to do, but this is not a popularity contest. This is about the future of our country and the future that my children and grandchildren will inherit. I have absolutely no doubt in my mind or my heart that my vote tonight in support of this measure was the right thing for our economy, for Georgians and for our country.

State fights for gas help

As parts of Georgia still struggle with low supplies of gas, top lawmakers are asking the federal government for help. U.S. Senators Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson sent a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency in support of Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue’s request for help. They want the government to temporarily extend relief from the federally enforceable sulfur gasoline requirements in the 45-county fuel control area. The requirements are for metro Atlanta and they are meant to reduce toxic emissions.

McCain drops in on Georgia

Republican presidential nominee-in-waiting John McCain collected over one-and-a-half million dollars from his fundraiser in Georgia Monday. The event lasted about an hour, and drew around 200 people. McCain was joined by U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman, who gave praise to Georgia’s two Senators--Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson, and Governor Sonny Perdue.

Isakson says 'no' to Governor run in '10

Georgia Republican Johnny Isakson says he will not make a run for governor in 2010, instead focusing on a re-election bid to the U.S. Senate.

Isakson has been viewed by many as a top GOP candidate to succeed Republican Sonny Perdue as Georgia's governor in 2010.

Isakson won his Senate seat in 2004.

Lawmakers tour sugar refinery rubble

Today some of Georgia's Congressional delegation toured what remains of the Imperial Sugar Refinery in Port Wentworth near Savannah. Senators Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss, along with U.S. Representative John Barrow, met with families and employees affected by last Thursday's explosion. The officials pledge to urge the federal government to conduct a thorough investigation into what caused the blast. Eight people were killed, 50 were injured, and one worker is still missing.

Savannah port project under-funded

Construction to deepen the Savannah Harbor didn’t get funded in Bush’s 2009 budget. Dismayed Georgia lawmakers on Capitol Hill say the budget only allows for preliminary engineering and design work.

The Savannah Expansion Project will deepen the channel 6 more feet in order to accommodate larger ships, which Senator Johnny Isakson says is critical to Georgia’s economic future. He intends to campaign for the project in the appropriations process with Representative Jack Kingston and Senator Saxby Chambliss, but they say with the recent backlash against earmarking, it will be an uphill battle.

Green light to Corps for water manual update

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers now has the ‘green-light’ to begin the process of updating a 50-year-old manual that manages a critical river basin serving Georgia, Alabama, and Florida.

The Secretary of the Army says the Corps will start work on a new water control plan for the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin. This is the basin that includes Lake Lanier, and serves water users downstream into Florida and Alabama.

Currently, the Corps uses a 1958 manual that does not account for a population boom in the region, and the Endangered Species Act. The original manual focuses mainly on flood control, navigation, and recreation.

Georgia, Florida and Alabama have been fighting over water in the basin for well over a decade. Georgia Senator Johnny Isakson says a new manual will help lead to a resolution in the dispute.

"Any tri-state water compact the Governors agree to, is going to be conditional to having a modernized water control manual. It really accelerates the process forward, and I think it puts the pressure--appropriately so--on the states to come to an agreement".

Corps officials say the process of updating the manual could take up to three years.

Bill seeks homebuyer tax credit

Senator Johnny Isakson is proposing a $15,000 tax credit to lure home buyers back into a slumping market. Isakson's bill would spread the $15,000 credit over three years for the home buyer. The Georgia Republican says the incentive would help distressed homeowners and banks that are trying to make the best of bad loans. Isakson said it also would boost the real estate and construction industries, including homebuilders who can't sell newly built houses.

Ga. lags in scoring water infrastructure earmarks

Rocky shoals signal low water on the Chattahoochee River at the Eagle-Phenix Dam, Columbus. (File photo: Dave Bender)

Atlanta and other drought-stricken Georgia cities miss out on millions of federal dollars to repair leaky water infrastructure because the state's congressional delegation lacks clout on key funding committees in Washington.

In the $555 billion spending bill that President Bush signed last month, Georgia received just $1.6 million in federal "earmarks" from a fund that helps local governments improve sewer systems and replace aging water pipes.

An Associated Press analysis shows that 33 states received more funding, including far smaller ones such as West Virginia, Indiana and Kentucky.

The picture was about the same in 2006, when Georgia received $1.9 million from the Environmental Protection Agency fund while North Carolina and Mississippi took in about $9 million each. At least six municipalities in Mississippi alone - including Pontotoc, Biloxi and Pascagoula - received more EPA earmark dollars than Atlanta, which got just $500,000.

The disparities show how "earmarking" - lawmakers steering money toward pet projects - can skew spending priorities toward politically influential districts. They also highlight the Georgia delegation's weakness in the process: The state for years has ranked poorly in drawing earmarks, according to spending watchdog groups.

Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin said state leaders simply did not make water infrastructure a priority until the recent drought. Atlanta and other local water systems estimate that they lose 10 to 20 percent of treated water due to leaky infrastructure.

"What the entire delegation has said to us is that there is not enough money to go around," Franklin said. "We are basically financing our water system on sales taxes and high (water) rates."

Congress for decades has supported local infrastructure projects through an EPA program that helps systems meet federal clean water standards. Most of the money goes to states based on a complex funding formula, to be distributed to municipalities through a loan fund.

But earmarks aimed at specific projects have eaten up a steady chunk of the funding since 1989, accounting for about $7 billion out of the total $42 billion, according to a recent Congressional Research Service report.

Because earmarks are often tucked inside massive bills with little notice, it's difficult to say exactly how much of those earmarks Georgia has received. What is clear is that the state is not faring well.

Neither of Georgia's U.S. senators, Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss, sits on the appropriations committees that write spending bills. Just two of the state's 13 U.S. representatives are members - Jack Kingston, R-Savannah, and Sanford Bishop, D-Albany.

"We're nowhere near where we should be" with earmarks, said Kit Dunlap, chair of the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District, which represents a 16-county metro Atlanta region.

"But that's what earmarks are all about. They're not necessarily fair, particularly when we looked at our neighboring states, knowing the longevity of some of their folks in Congress."

Dunlap's organization received a $300,000 EPA earmark this year, which she called "a pittance" compared with dozens of small cities elsewhere that got $1 million or more. Her group projects it will need almost $10 billion over the next three decades to upgrade supply, treatment and distribution infrastructure.

Isakson, a Marietta Republican, and Rep. David Scott, an Atlanta Democrat, both pointed out that Georgia gets infrastructure funding in other areas of the budget. In the most recent round of bills, for example, the delegation secured a $1.5 million earmark for Atlanta sewer improvements from an Army Corps of Engineers account.

Click here for more GPB coverage of the drought.

(The Associated Press)

Isakson sees improvement in Iraq

In a conference call with reporters today, Georgia Senator Johnny Isakson praised the “remarkable progress” he witnessed in Iraq last weekend and said Georgian troops made a “significant investment” towards that success. Isakson confirmed reports by military leaders and President Bush that the surge of U.S. troops in Iraq over recent months is working. He also said the improved conditions are encouraging Iraqi political stability, but he urged Iraqi leaders to act quickly: “They have a window of opportunity. When that window closes if they haven’t moved forward, then everything they’ve got could dissipate very quickly.” Senator Isakson’s six day trip to the region included stops in Djibouti and Equatorial Guinea. He last visited Iraq in March 2006.

Lawmakers push to keep fighter production in Georgia

Three Georgia lawmakers are pushing hard in Washington to move the Pentagon to change its plans for ending production of the F-22A fighter jet. The Raptor jet is made at the Lockheed Martin facility in Marietta, and involves two-thousand area jobs. The Defense Department had earlier announced it would phase-out production after 2009, but may be reconsidering. Senators Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson, along with Representative Phil Gingrey have been circulating letters of support among lawmakers in 44 states that host work on the jet. The F-22A fighter is among the most expensive planes in the Air Force, about 140 million dollars each. It's nearly 350 million when research and testing expenses are included.

Drive safer this Sunday

As the Thanksgiving weekend gears up and travelers hit the roads … the U.S. Senate has declared Sunday as “Drive Safer Sunday.” It’s the idea of Georgia Senators Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson. The Sunday after Thanksgiving is the busiest highway traffic day of the year. Last year, 19 people died on Georgia roads during the Thanksgiving weekend.

Little League champs meet President Bush

Warner Robins' Little League world champions met President George Bush in a ceremony yesterday at the White House. The Macon Telegraph reports the team first stopped at Capitol Hill for a meeting with Georgia Senators Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss. Next was the visit to the White House. There, the boys spent a few minutes with the President and had pictures taken in the Oval Office. The Warner Robins American Little League team beat Japan in the Little League title game in late August.

Federal money near for Georgia water projects

Over 127-million dollars could be on the way to Georgia for critical infrastructure projects. The U.S. Senate on Monday passed water resources legislation—-it now goes to President Bush for his signature. Georgia Republican Senator Johnny Isakson was a member of the committee that penned the compromise on the bill.

Georgia’s share of the money would include over 80-million dollars for numerous municipal infrastructure projects across the state. Specific projects include 10-million dollars for Savannah Riverfront development.

U.S. Senate lauds Augusta veteran services

This week the United States Senate unanimously approved a resolution commending Augusta’s service to veterans. The measure was introduced by Georgia Senators Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson. The resolution expresses gratitude to medical organizations and local healthcare personnel for working together to care for wounded warriors.

One example of this collaboration, medical staff from the Eisenhower Army Medical Center and the Augusta Department of Veterans Affairs have routinely met to discuss future patient cases for the Active Duty Rehabilitation Unit.

Since 2004, more than 1,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines have received rehabilitation services at the Eisenhower medical facility.

Isakson: "a few bad actors" caused subprime woes

Georgia Senator Johnny Isakson says America’s mortgage and banking industries need to be more strict in lending money. Isakson told the North Fulton Chamber of Congress today that he believes a few bad actors caused the nation’s subprime mortgage crisis. But the Republican from Marietta said Congress is ready to interfere if the industry doesn’t volunteer more transparency.