Fla. Lawmakers Blast Ga. Water Management

WASHINGTON | Florida lawmakers on Thursday accused Georgia officials of negligence in managing water consumption, urging the federal government to prevent further damage downstream in Florida's Apalachicola Bay.

At a meeting on Capitol Hill, the lawmakers said a recently unveiled federal plan governing the region's river basin gives Georgia a free pass for its conservation failures. They called on the Army Corps of Engineers to rescind the plan and said because Georgia's water consumption affects other states, the federal government should force Georgia to better plan for growth.

"Atlanta is issuing development permits without regard to where they're going to get the water," said Rep. Allen Boyd, a Democrat who represents the Apalachicola Bay area in the Florida Panhandle. "This water is a regional issue, and what we're saying is by golly, if the states can't get it right, the federal government should step in."

Bert Brantley, a spokesman for Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue, responded that Florida's complaints "simply do not match up with reality."

He said the old federal water plan was "literally draining" Lake Lanier, a federal reservoir that is Atlanta's main water source. Lanier hit a record low last year as state officials estimated it held just a few months of easily accessible drinking water.

He added that Georgia is implementing its first-ever statewide water management plan and is budgeting about $120 million for the next two years to help local governments upgrade infrastructure and plan new water storage.

Florida, Georgia and Alabama have been in a legal and political battle over water rights since the early 1990s, but the fight has intensified in the past year as drought has gripped the Southeast.

With prodding from President Bush, the governors of the three states began fresh negotiations last year to work out a settlement. But the talks failed, and the states have grown increasingly critical of one another.

Corps Brig. Gen. Joseph Schroedel, who has played a lead role in the most recent water wars among the two states and Alabama, acknowledged that water planning in the South "is all over the map," but he would not characterize one state as better than another.

Speaking at the Florida delegation meeting, he said the agency does not have authority over state water planning but that he is pushing governors from across the South to form a regional water management commission to develop priorities and more consistent standards.

In April, the corps announced an interim operating plan for the region that would hold more water back in Georgia lakes and reduce flows into Florida and Alabama.

Florida officials say the reduced river flows could irreversibly damage the seafood industry in the Apalachicola Bay and wreck the region's economy.

Schroedel defended the plan Thursday, saying there is simply not enough water to meet competing demands and that all the states are suffering.