By Ben Evans, Associated Press
Washington – The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday it will let stand a lower court ruling that threatens to unravel Georgia's long-term water plans for the Atlanta region, giving Florida and Alabama a pivotal victory in the states' long-running water wars.
The court's decision raises fundamental questions about Georgia's rights to Lake Lanier, a huge federal reservoir outside Atlanta that serves as the city's main water source. It could also play a key role in deciding related water-rights disputes in lower courts.
"Today's decision by the U.S. Supreme Court confirms that federal law does not permit Atlanta to take more and more water from Lake Lanier to the detriment of downstream interests," Gov. Bob Riley of Alabama said. "Georgia tried to pull off a massive water grab, and this decision makes clear that Georgia's actions were in blatant violation of federal law."
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 its drinking supply over the coming decades. The deal would have allowed Georgia's withdrawals to jump from about 13 percent of the lake's capacity to about 22 percent.
Florida and Alabama contested the pact, saying the lake was initially built for hydropower and providing water to Georgia was not an authorized use.
A federal district court sided with Georgia. But in February, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington overturned that decision and invalidated the agreement. Georgia had appealed to the Supreme Court for another review.
While Georgia has sought to cast the case as a narrow part of the overall dispute, Florida and Alabama officials say it sets a strong precedent and should compel the lower courts to invalidate Georgia's current withdrawals from Lanier not just the future withdrawals called for in the contested agreement.
"After nearly 20 years of legal discussions, today's decision should provide the framework needed for resolution of this matter," Gov. Charlie Crist of Florida said.
Gov. Sonny Perdue of Georgia while acknowledging that he was disappointed in the decision argued that "it simply maintains the status quo" regarding the operations at Lanier.
Alabama, Florida and Georgia have been in a legal and political battle over water rights for two decades, and the fight has intensified in the past year as extreme drought has gripped the region.
The dispute centers on how much water the Army Corps of Engineers holds back in federal reservoirs near the head of two river basins in north Georgia that flow south into Florida and Alabama.
The fast-growing Atlanta region relies on the lakes for drinking water. But Florida and Alabama depend on healthy flows downstream for commercial fisheries, farms, industrial users and municipalities. The corps also is required to release adequate flows to ensure habitats for species protected by the Endangered Species Act.
With prodding from President George W. Bush, the governors of the three states began fresh negotiations in late 2007 to seek a settlement. But the talks stalled last year, and the states have grown increasingly critical of one another.
In August, a federal judge overseeing much of the lower-court litigation confirmed the importance of the ruling on Lanier. U.S. District Court Judge Paul A. Magnuson said the questions surrounding Georgia's rights to the lake could render other issues in the case "obsolete" and allow the dispute to be resolved quickly. He said the higher court decision would "undoubtedly affect" the outcome.