Perhaps it’s only appropriate that the Georgia-versus-Florida “water wars” trial is set to begin October 31 — Halloween — given the never-ending legal nightmare that haunts Chattahoochee River lovers and taxpayers alike.
Ralph Lancaster, the Maine attorney appointed “special master” by the U.S. Supreme Court to resolve the watery mess, set the date earlier this week. It will take place in a U.S. District Court building in Washington, D.C. It could last two months.
And, so, the 27-year battle to “equitably apportion” the Chattahoochee and Flint rivers, which form the Apalachicola River at the Florida border, heads back to the courtroom. Previous legal skirmishes, some involving Alabama (noticeably absent from this latest legal round), have failed to resolve how much water Georgia must send to Florida.
Yet there may not be a trial if the many attorneys for both sides negotiate a settlement. Both states have told Lancaster they are “actively” pursuing a resolution, and their respective governors have been involved.
A Lancaster ruling, which then must be approved by the nation’s top court, may not end the dispute, a development that probably wouldn’t frighten the lawyers involved in the case. Roughly $50 million has been spent by Georgia litigating the water wars over the last quarter century. Recently, 70 lawyers were on the Georgia payroll.
Read here for an in-depth look at the water wars.
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