Lakes Drying as Governors Hold Water Talks

Lake Lanier marina: Mud flats in foreground are fast approaching the boat berths. If the drought increases, the docks will be unusable. (Susanna Capulouto)

The governors of Georgia, Florida and Alabama are meeting today in Tallahassee for White House-backed water talks as drought conditions worsen in the region.


Lake Allatoona: Boats docked at nearly unusable marina. (Dave Bender)

The three states have been fighting over rights to the water in the Chattahoochee River for well-over a decade. North Georgia is in a record-setting drought and rains over the weekend didn't help much. Reservoir levels have been dropping fast.


Allatoona: Empty berths. (Dave Bender)

After a White House meeting November 1st, the governors of the three states agreed to talk some more, and the US Army Corps of Engineers has since slowed down the releases of water out of Lake Lanier -- Atlanta's main drinking water source. Florida needs water out of the river for the ecosystem in the Apalachicola Bay, and Alabama needs it for power plants.

Today's meeting could be the beginning for talks towards a permanent water pact that would end the tri-state water wars.


Allatoona: Receding shoreline, near bridge to Red Top Mountain State Park. (Dave Bender)


Allatoona: View to the south, from the bridge. (Dave Bender)


Allatoona: Shoal markers, high and dry. (Dave Bender)

Click here for ongoing GPB News coverage of the water crisis.

Timetable Signals Truce in the Water Wars

Alabama Gov. Bob Riley, left, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, left center, U. S. Department of Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, right center, and Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue, right, sit for a photo opportunity before their southeast water meeting, Monday, Dec. 17, 2007, in Tallahassee. (Associated Press)

The three leaders and the Secretary of the Interior met at the Florida governor's mansion to discuss access to water that flows from the Atlanta area south into the Gulf of Mexico.

They agreed to a come up with a water sharing plan by Feb. 15.

Governor Sonny Perdue told reporters, that the weekend weather helped start the meeting off on an optimistic note: "The thing that changed it was, the rainfall that we got over the weekend."

Alabama Governor Bob Riley said after the six-hour parley,"I don't think that I've been at a more productive meeting."

Florida Governor Charlie Crist agreed, saying, "We identified a lot of issues that are important to each and every one of our states."

The four agreed upon a revised schedule to address the short- and long-term needs of the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) and Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa (ACT) river basins.

“Water conservation is precious to our three states and I thank my friends for traveling to Florida to discuss this tremendously important issue,” Governor Crist said. “The people of our state have suffered due to the recent reduction of water flow. Due to recent rainfall, we see increased amounts of water entering Florida that will assist our oystermen. I’m also pleased that we agreed to remove the June 1 deadline imposed by the Army Corps and have agreed to a new date of March 15th to allow state and federal partners to develop improved drought strategies.”

Regarding the Apalachicola, Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers, the Governors agreed to send a high level staff delegation to Washington, DC in early January to discuss steps needed to move toward a new drought protocol for all three states. It was also agreed that the Governors would meet in February to conclude the tri-state water protocol that would take effect on March 15, 2008.

Representatives from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service also participated in today’s meeting to provide factual information on current conditions of both the ACF River Basin and the ACT River Basin (Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa).

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the water crisis.

(With The Associated Press)

High Court Declines Georgia Motion Water Wars Case

Lake Allatoona: a bridge over troubled, and receding, waters (Dave Bender/file)

The U.S. Supreme Court will let stand a lower court ruling that threatens Georgia's long-term water plans for the Atlanta region.

The court's decision Monday raises fundamental questions about Georgia's rights to Lake Lanier, a massive federal reservoir outside Atlanta. It could also play a key role in deciding the
long-running water wars among Georgia, Florida and Alabama.

The case involves a 2003 water-sharing agreement with the Army Corps of Engineers that would have allowed Georgia to take far more water from Lanier for drinking water.

Florida and Alabama contested the pact. A lower court agreed, saying the Corps didn't have authority to use the lake for that reason.

Georgia had appealed to the Supreme Court for another review.

(AP)

Click here for more GPB News coverage of water issues and here for previous reports about the drought.

Alabama water claim disputed

Alabama's Governor has accused the Army Corps of Engineers of illegally holding-back water they need from a Georgia lake. The Corps has fired back, saying its actions are valid.

This latest flare-up in the decades-long water wars involves Lake Allatoona in northwest Georgia. Alabama Governor Bob Riley this week sent a letter to the Army Secretary, saying the Corps has been "obsessed" with keeping Allatoona levels high. Riley says the Corps has held-back 18-billion gallons of water from his drought-stricken state.

Corps of Engineers spokesman Rob Holland says they have a tough job trying to manage water. He says there is no specific requirement that water from Allatoona be released to Alabama.

"That particular river valley, the Alabama-Coosa valley has one of the worst segments of this drought, and we understand they're hurting and need water...but we have to manage it as a system and have to take into account a lot of different factors".

In 2006, Georgia sued the Corps of Engineers for releasing water from Lake Lanier to Florida. A faulty gauge led to an over-release of 22 billion gallons.

Legislative Day 38 ... from the Senate

TRANSPORTATION FUNDING
Dueling legislations have created one of this session’s most contention issues, as lawmakers try to find a middle ground on funding local transportation projects. On the House side, lawmakers suggest allowing local communities to come up with a list of priority projects for the DOT. From the Senate, the proposal calls for either a county or regional voter referendum so residents can decide if a t-splost is needed for a specific project. Republican Jeff Mullis chairs the Senate Transportation Committee. He says it appears House leaders brushed aside the Senate’s concerns. “We feel the House hasn’t taken us seriously at this moment, because they put their entire language back on to our offer. Well, they’ve got to move to middle before we can agree on anything.” If the two sides can come to an agreement, Georgians will vote this fall whether or not to amend the state’s Constitution for a one cent tax to vote to fund local transportation projects.

CONTROVERSARY OVER GRADY HOSPITAL
A bill that would have prohibited vendors or competitors from serving on Grady Hospital’s governing board passed in the senate on Tuesday. It does not apply to the current board of directors, but would to any future board members. The measure also strips away any oversight committee provision, for the financially trouble hospital. Democratic Senator Vincent Fort co-chairs the Grady Coalition. Fort accused other senate leaders of backing away from earlier commitments calling for an oversight committee. “Senator Shafer had made a commitment back in January when Grady was controlled by a predominantly African American board to create an oversight committee for Grady. Unfortunately, he’s backed away from that now that the board is dominated by wealthy, white businessman.” The measure also provoked heated discussion as a last minute floor amendment was added, prohibiting Grady from performing abortions on any paying patients.

LIMITED SUNDAY LIQUOR SALES
Lawmakers voted to boost local economic development by allowing some businesses sell alcohol on Sundays. One immediate beneficiary of the measure ... the proposed Triple-A Braves stadium in Gwinnett County set to open in summer 2009. Senator Renee Unterman represents part of the county. Her floor amendment – which the Senate adopted -- allows alcohol to be sold at the stadium on Sunday. However, Unterman stopped short of endorsing a repeal of the state’s blue laws. “My bill was in no connection to Sunday sales. Unfortunately, in the House, they connected the two. And, that was against my wishes. I said that mine was single issue and I wanted it to stay a single issue.” Under the bill, operators of approved regional economic assistance projects, or REAPS will be permitted to sell alcohol for consumption on site. Projects like golf courses and conference centers. The measure does not however circumvent the power of local governments to prohibit such sales.

WATER WARS, PART DUEX
Competition at the capitol on Tuesday over who should control local water resources in light of Georgia’s on-going drought. One bill proposed by the House would prohibit local governments from imposing tighter water restrictions than those called for by the state. The other --- a Senate bill -- would give local governments the power to impose or lessen additional restrictions over state regulations if a compelling reason exists. Republican John Bulloch chairs the Senate Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee. He says water restrictions fail to take local differences into account. “In a lot of cases, EPD has had a one size fit all for a large area. We have a lot of counties and water authorities that have adequate water and that’s not being considered.” The bill also requires the state’s Department of Natural Resources adopt regulations relating to drought management, which must be updated every five years.

TAX MEASURE PING-PONGS
(from the Associated Press)
House Republican leaders say they've found a way to settle the debate between two dueling tax plans: Adopt them both. House Speaker Glenn Richardson unveiled new versions of the two competing plans today, saying the state could afford the 2 billion dollars that the combined cuts would slash from the state budget. Richardson's plan to eliminate the car tag tax and freeze property taxes remains largely unchanged, although the newrevisions allow only Georgia residents to enjoy the tax breaks. It also removes a tax break sought by Governor Perdue that would have eliminated the state portion of property taxes, worth about 30 dollars a household. But House leaders for the first time signed onto a separate tax break pushed by Senate leaders that reduces the state income tax over five years. Under the new version, the cuts would not start until 2011. And the tax break could not be enacted unless the bill to eliminate the car tag tax is adopted. The two cuts would cost the state 2 billion dollars when they are fully implemented in 2015. There was no immediate comment from Senate leaders and the governor, who is on a weeklong trade mission in China. But Perdue has said the cash-strapped state can't afford either one of the plans. He's pushing for more than 300 million dollars in budget cuts to keep Georgia afloat as state tax collections slow to a trickle. He's accused his fellow Republicans of playing politics with the state's fiscal health.

Perdue, Riley to meet with Interior Sec'y., White House adviser

Water Wars, Water Woes from Dave Bender on Vimeo.
YouTube version: http://youtube.com/watch?v=nASTHXpvyz8

Governor Sonny Perdue plans to meet with Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, and Jim Connaughton, environmental quality adviser to President George Bush, on Friday to discuss the drought, according to a report citing a Governor's Office official.

The two Administration officials, in an effort to head off more acrimony between Georgia, Alabama, Florida and the Army Corps of Engineers over water usage, are to meet later in the day with Alabama Governor Bob Riley.

Riley told The Birmingham News:

''We're going to tell him that the only way all of us get through this is through a concept of shared pain."

Perdue, at a press conference on the fast-drying shores of West Point Lake on Wednesday, Oct. 24, lashed out at both the Army Corps of Engineers and Riley (see video).

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated Chattahoochee, Dooly, Marion, Muscogee, and Talbot counties as primary natural disaster areas, due to drought-incurred losses. Crisp, Macon, Schley, Stewart, Sumter, and Taylor counties were named contiguous disaster areas.

The decision allows farmers in both areas to apply for low-interest emergency loans from the Farm Service Agency (FSA).

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the drought.

Conservation groups grade state's water use

State conservation groups are set to release a report today that grades Georgia’s water efficiency during this drought. Booming growth is expected to be pointed out as a reason and factor in the water shortage. Last week, Governor Sonny Perdue dismissed the idea during a press conference. This report arrives as Perdue is set to join the governors of Alabama and Florida in meeting with President Bush tomorrow in Washington. They’ll try to work-out a truce in the water wars.

Tallahassee Talks in Water Wars (Video)

The governors of Georgia, Alabama and Florida are meeting in Tallahassee to figure out how to break the decade-long water-usage impasse between the three states, during a record-breaking drought.

Click to watch the report.


Click here for more GPB News coverage of the water crisis.