Federal Court ruling on Lake Lanier goes against Georgia
source: http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2009/07/13/daily102.html
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In a case that threatens to have a huge impact on growth in metro Atlanta, a federal judge ruled against Georgia Friday in a legal fight over the allocation of water from Lake Lanier.
U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson declared that it is up to Congress to resolve a decades-long dispute between Georgia, Florida and Alabama over releases of water from Buford Dam overseen by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
If federal lawmakers don’t settle the issue within three years, the court will roll back the releases to mid-1970s levels, meaning only Gainesville and Buford would be allowed to withdraw water from the lake.
“The court is sympathetic to the plight of the Corps, which is faced with competing and legitimate claims to a finite resource. Neither the Corps nor the court can make more water,” Magnuson wrote in a 97-page decision.
“However … the Corps’ failure to seek congressional authorization for the changes it has wrought in the operation of Buford Dam and Lake Lanier is an abuse of discretion and contrary to the clear intent of the Water Supply Act.”
Lawyers for Florida and Alabama have maintained throughout the case that only Congress can order changes in releases from the federally managed reservoir. Their Georgia counterparts have argued that the Corps has the authority to allocate the water that flows through Buford Dam.
While Lake Lanier represents a vital water supply to rapidly growing metro Atlanta, Florida has fought to keep enough water flowing through the Chattahoochee River system to maintain marine life on its side of the border. Alabama’s chief interest has been supplying a power plant along the river with sufficient water for cooling.
Magnuson sided with the two states’ contention that Lake Lanier’s original purposes included flood control and hydropower but that it was not intended as a water supply for much of metro Atlanta.
Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue criticized the ruling as based on “decades-old assumptions” about the role of reservoirs as water supplies.
“Our country has changed substantially since the 1940s, when many of these reservoirs were constructed,” he said. “I will use this opportunity not only to appeal the judge’s decision but, most importantly, to urge Congress to address the realities of modern reservoir usage.”
Georgia’s two U.S. senators, Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson, vowed to push for the congressional solution the judge is seeking.
“We will work tirelessly to reach an agreement that is in the best interest of Georgia while at the same time respecting the interests and concerns of Florida and Alabama,” they said in a joint statement.
U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson declared that it is up to Congress to resolve a decades-long dispute between Georgia, Florida and Alabama over releases of water from Buford Dam overseen by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
If federal lawmakers don’t settle the issue within three years, the court will roll back the releases to mid-1970s levels, meaning only Gainesville and Buford would be allowed to withdraw water from the lake.
“The court is sympathetic to the plight of the Corps, which is faced with competing and legitimate claims to a finite resource. Neither the Corps nor the court can make more water,” Magnuson wrote in a 97-page decision.
“However … the Corps’ failure to seek congressional authorization for the changes it has wrought in the operation of Buford Dam and Lake Lanier is an abuse of discretion and contrary to the clear intent of the Water Supply Act.”
Lawyers for Florida and Alabama have maintained throughout the case that only Congress can order changes in releases from the federally managed reservoir. Their Georgia counterparts have argued that the Corps has the authority to allocate the water that flows through Buford Dam.
While Lake Lanier represents a vital water supply to rapidly growing metro Atlanta, Florida has fought to keep enough water flowing through the Chattahoochee River system to maintain marine life on its side of the border. Alabama’s chief interest has been supplying a power plant along the river with sufficient water for cooling.
Magnuson sided with the two states’ contention that Lake Lanier’s original purposes included flood control and hydropower but that it was not intended as a water supply for much of metro Atlanta.
Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue criticized the ruling as based on “decades-old assumptions” about the role of reservoirs as water supplies.
“Our country has changed substantially since the 1940s, when many of these reservoirs were constructed,” he said. “I will use this opportunity not only to appeal the judge’s decision but, most importantly, to urge Congress to address the realities of modern reservoir usage.”
Georgia’s two U.S. senators, Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson, vowed to push for the congressional solution the judge is seeking.
“We will work tirelessly to reach an agreement that is in the best interest of Georgia while at the same time respecting the interests and concerns of Florida and Alabama,” they said in a joint statement.
