Georgia to appeal water wars ruling

By Bill Rankin and Dan Chapman

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The state of Georgia, the Atlanta Regional Commission and other local governments served notice they will appeal a ruling that said metro Atlanta cannot rely on Lake Lanier for all its water needs.

In court filings this week, the Georgia parties said they will ask the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta to overturn Senior U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson’s July 17 order.

“We believe that this decision is flawed in several key respects,” Perdue spokesman Chris Shrimpf said. “We look forward to having the Eleventh Circuit closely review those flaws.”

Todd Stacy, a spokesman for Alabama Gov. Bob Riley, said Georgia’s bid to appeal “represents a refusal to accept reality. ... Rather than engaging in pointless appeals, Georgia would be better served devoting its efforts to negotiating a long-term solution with its neighbors.”

The office of Florida Gov. Charlie Crist could not be reached for comment.

Magnuson ruled that it is illegal for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to draw water from Lake Lanier to meet the needs of 3.5 million metro residents. He stayed the case, giving Georgia, Alabama and Florida three years to work out a water-sharing plan. If a solution cannot be reached, metro Atlanta will have to find most of its water elsewhere.

Since the ruling, Perdue set out a multi-pronged strategy. In addition to litigation, he seeks water-sharing talks with the governors of Alabama and Florida. He has asked Congress to pass legislation allowing the metro area to tap into Lake Lanier. He is pushing North Georgia communities to find other water storage sources, including reservoirs.

Still to be decided is whether the 11th Circuit will allow the Georgia parties to pursue their appeals now or make them wait.

The 11th Circuit must determine if Magnuson’s order staying proceedings for three years constitutes an injunction, which can be appealed. If the court finds it is not an injunction, an appeal may have to wait.

In a separate court filing, the Georgia parties asked Magnuson to enter a final judgment in one of the seven “water wars” cases pending before him. This involves a lawsuit Georgia filed in 2000 seeking a permanent reallocation of about 34 percent of Lake Lanier’s water for Atlanta.

Magnuson denied that, saying the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals had already ruled that even a reallocation of 22 percent of the Lanier’s storage required congressional approval.

If Magnuson enters a final judgment it would give Georgia another avenue to appeal. Both Alabama and Florida have said they will oppose this request by the Georgia parties.