Alabama has passed on the legal fight raging between Florida and Georgia over regional water rights.
The state said in a recent legal filing that it "does not believe that it is a necessary party" in the 2013 lawsuit brought by Florida, which has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to cap Georgia's water usage and allocate how much water each state could drain from federal reservoirs.
"The two states that already are parties do not believe that a third needs to take part, and Alabama itself has made the careful decision not to enter this particular fray at this particular time," said the filing. "It instead is focusing on other [forums] where it believes it can protect its interests."
The two neighbors have argued for decades that Georgia has drawn more than its share from the Chattahoochee and Flint rivers, posing a threat to the ecological system and harming the livelihoods of downstream residents.
Georgia had won a string of legal victories, but the Supreme Court in November surprised state leaders by agreeing to hear Florida's new challenge.
The retreat is a departure for Alabama, which has typically stood alongside Florida in cases involving the three states. Bruce Ritchie, at Florida Environments website, provides some valuable context:
Alabama and Florida often were allies in federal litigation after 1990 as they battled the Corps of Engineers in court over operation of its reservoirs and sought to curb Georgia's water use. But Florida, in its 2013 lawsuit, said its dispute is with Georgia and Alabama didn't need to be involved.
The decision comes about two months after Deal traveled to Montgomery for a secretive meeting with Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley. He said the discussion touched on Deal's plan to build a system of state reservoirs in north Georgia to beef up the state's water supply, but he divulged few other details.
The attorney overseeing the litigation has since warned all parties not to speak with the "relentless and ruthless" media about the case.
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