A win in the ongoing water battle
By By Sen. Richard Shelby, guest columnist
On July 17, 2009, a significant federal district court ruling in Jacksonville, Fla. affirmed the State of Alabama’s position in a decades-old, tri-state water rights dispute.
While the fight is not over, our state emerged unequivocally victorious in this major battle. It is now time for all parties involved to build on the legal clarity and momentum this ruling provides to achieve an equitable and lasting resolution going forward.
In 1945-46, Congress authorized the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to construct a dam and reservoir on the Chattahoochee River north of Atlanta for flood control, hydropower generation, and navigation support. The reservoir, later named Lake Lanier, does not belong to any one state; it is federally owned and controlled. Under the Water Supply Act of 1958, Congress made clear that it must approve any major structural or operational changes to the project.
Importantly, the water supply needs of the Atlanta area were not included among the authorized purposes for Lake Lanier. Unfortunately, as Atlanta experienced massive population growth and increased water needs in the years following the enactment of the Water Supply Act, the Corps unilaterally decided to allocate a greater share of the reservoir’s water to the city for water supply needs. In doing so, the Corps ignored the express instructions of Congress and the needs of states and communities downstream.
Alabama and Florida first filed suit on this matter in 1990, alleging that the Corps’ action was illegal. Since that time, Alabama, Florida, and Georgia have been locked in a legal war over the allocation of water from this federal reservoir. In 2007, a drought of historic proportions in the South heightened the acute need for a resolution of the dispute.
On July 17, Judge Paul Magnuson ruled in favor of Alabama and Florida, upholding the states’ argument that such operational changes require Congressional approval. Judge Magnuson’s decision orders a freeze on current water withdrawal levels from Lake Lanier for three years to allow for Congressional action on the matter.
Absent such action by the end of that timeframe, withdrawal levels will return to the much lower levels of the mid-1970s.
This decision follows a 2008 D.C. Circuit Court ruling invalidating a secret agreement between the Corps and the State of Georgia that would have allocated all of the available water in Lake Lanier to Atlanta’s water supply with no concessions in return from Georgia. The decision confirmed that federal law does not permit Atlanta to take more water from the reservoir to the detriment of downstream interests.
The latest ruling does not represent a final resolution, but it marks significant progress and sends a clear message: The Corps’ judgment does not supplant or override that of Congress. In conjunction with the aforementioned D.C. Circuit ruling that the Corps unfairly neglected the interests of those downstream, it provides clear guidelines for the work ahead. The legitimacy of Alabama’s long held arguments regarding the unlawful and inequitable actions of the Corps are now undeniable.
It is critical, however, that Congress refrain from acting until all three states come to the table to negotiate a fair settlement. Each state has legitimate and serious concerns that must be fully considered and taken into account.
Any attempt by any of the parties to circumvent a mutual agreement by all will only detract from the task at hand, further delaying the resolution we all need.
It is my hope that Alabama, Florida, and Georgia will proceed in earnest to produce a compromise ripe for Congressional approval. A resolution is overdue, and the clock is ticking.
