Tri-state water talks bog down

By Bob Keefe

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

WASHINGTON - After starting with a rush, negotiations in the water wars between Georgia, Alabama and Florida have apparently slowed to a trickle, leaving the future of metro Atlanta's water supply still in limbo.

In accordance with a federal judge's ruling last year, Georgia's two senators recently took formal steps in Congress to try and keep the water flowing from Lake Lanier to metro Atlanta after 2012.

But their proposed legislation may not make any difference until negotiators and governors of the three states come to an agreement on allocation rates from Lake Lanier and the Chattahoochee River -- something that's taking much longer than anybody wanted.

Negotiators originally said they wanted to have a tri-state pact in place within a few months after their first meeting last December.

Then they wanted to have a deal before their state legislatures adjourned in April.

Now, they've pushed back their deadline to the end of this year.

But with the governors of all three states preparing to leave office, the election season well underway and Congress facing a host of other issues, that deadline may be overly ambitious, too.

"It's obviously going slower than we all had hoped," said Bert Brantley, spokesman for Gov. Sonny Perdue.

It has been almost a year since a federal court judge ruled against Georgia in its long-running dispute with its neighbors over who has rights to the water flowing from Lake Lanier.

In his July 2009 decision, Judge Paul Magnuson ruled that Atlanta has been illegally taking water from the lake for decades, since Lanier was never designated for drinking water usage. Magnuson ordered Atlanta's allocation of water from the lake revert to 1970s levels if Congress doesn't approve a solution by July 2012. Georgia attorneys have appealed the ruling.

Yet members of Congress say they'll be hard-pressed and unsure exactly what sort of legislation to try to pass unless the governors of the three states agree on water allocations. Some in Congress have unequivocally said they will not agree to anything until the states reach a pact.

"A thorough understanding of Judge Magnuson’s ruling leaves no question that the three governors can and should come to an agreement, which Congress should then ratify," Alabama Republican Sen. Richard Shelby said last week through a spokesman.

"The governors, not Congress, need to agree upon an equitable water allocation plan that is worthy of congressional consideration and approval," he said.

Realizing the clock is ticking, Georgia's two senators are nonetheless trying to get something in place.

Two weeks ago, Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson, with the backing of fellow Sen. Saxby Chambliss, formally but quietly requested additions to a federal water bill that are aimed at addressing Magnuson's order.

In his May 18 recommendations to lawmakers who are expected to take up the Water Resources Development Act later this year, Isakson asked that Congress authorize the U.S. Corps of Engineers to formally designate Lake Lanier and Allatoona Lake for municipal and industrial water supply use.

Isakson also requested the Corps upgrade manuals regarding the entire Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River system so it could legally be tapped to meet future municipal and industrial needs.

Finally, he also requested $45 million to upgrade Atlanta's water system and almost $629 million for improvements for the Savannah Harbor.

"Saxby and I have been engaged trying to be of whatever help we can be," Isakson said. "These are important issues to all people of the state of Georgia."

Yet floating legislation is one thing; getting it passed is another thing, especially with the state negotiations still in limbo. Georgia also suffered a setback in Congress when longtime U.S Rep. Nathan Deal, who had been shepherding the state's water issues in the U.S. House, quit to run for governor.

Already, congressional lawmakers from Florida and Alabama -- who together vastly outnumber Georgia's representatives in Congress -- are signaling they'll fight the changes Isakson requested to the Water Resources Development Act.

Shelby blasted Isakson's recent requests.

"Georgia’s poor planning for Atlanta’s drinking water needs should not trump the downstream needs of Alabama and Florida," Shelby said.

Brantley, of Perdue's office, said negotiations are still progressing, albeit slowly.

"We're still meeting, and there have been offers and counter-offers," Brantley said. "Nobody has walked away from the table, and nobody is refusing to participate. But the deadlines we all hoped to (meet) didn't happen, so we've had to move the goalpost."

Though an agreement might not be reached by the time Perdue leaves office in January, "I can tell you from Gov. Perdue's perspective, he'd love to make substantial progress by the end of the year," Brantley said.

Republican U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, whose district includes part of the Chattahoochee, said doubts Perdue, Alabama Gov. Bob Riley and Florida Gov. Charlie Crist will come to any agreement before they all leave office in January. All three governors were Republicans until Crist recently became an Independent in his run for U.S. Senate.

It's much easier, Westmoreland said, for the three governors to leave the problem for their replacements.

Isakson said he is confident that negotiations between the three states are progressing. But he's not leaving anything to chance.

In a private meeting with Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan last week, Isakson made a point to ask how she might rule if the tri-state water dispute reaches the Supreme Court.

Isakson said he hopes the issue never goes that far, but added that "if (Kagan) is on the bench, (she) may eventually end up deciding on the tri-state water compact."

Isakson said he was pleased with Kagan's responses.

"To paraphrase, she said, ‘In the end, you've got to consider the human uses in all these states,' " Isakson said.