By Alabama Public Radio
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wual/local-wual-553478.mp3
interview with Gil Rogers, attorney Southern Environmental Law Center, on water sharings talks in east Alabama
Tuscaloosa, AL – Court ordered mediation continues past another deadline as Alabama, Georgia and Florida look for ways to share water along two common river basins. Alabama and Georgia share the Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa river basin and all three states share the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint river basin. The talks have struggled and failed at times. But after 16-years, they will continue for another round. A second deadline for the current discussions passed on December 20, 2006. The first deadline was August 3, 2006. The results will affect dozens of communties, business and recreation interests, and important wildlife habitats. The main waterway is the Chattahoochee River, which flows through Lake Lanier. That water system is the main water supply for about 3 million people in metro Atlanta, but also vital to downstream communities and business interests. Southern Environmental Law Center attorney Gil Rogers says the discussions have fragmented and are being held in a handful of different courts. The Atlanta Regional Commission and others have entered a motion to recombine those fragments into one case. Rogers also says the states continue mediation behind closed doors and civic groups are having a hard time following progress. But he says it appears an agreement between Alabama and Georiga for water in the ACT basin is possible. Governors from those states have shown renewed optimism about the talks. However, Rogers says an agreement on the ACF basin seems much farther away. Negotiators now have until January 30th, 2007 to find a formula for sharing water.