A federal judge sided with Georgia over Florida in a long-running case over the right to draw water from a river basin shared between the two increasingly parched states.
Judge Paul J. Kelly Jr. on Thursday recommended the Supreme Court deny Florida’s request to control Georgia’s use of water from the Flint and Chattahoochee river system that flows between the two states.
Florida filed a lawsuit against Georgia in 2013, accusing its neighbor of drawing too much water from the shared river basin. The state argued that the shrinking flow to Florida’s Apalachicola Bay has led to a rise in salinity, hurting the local oyster industry by drawing in oyster-eating predators from further out at sea.
Officials in Georgia have said drought and other factors led to lower water flow in the river basin.
Judge Kelly wrote in his report that there is no “clear and convincing evidence” that Georgia caused the collapse of Florida’s oyster fishery. He wrote that Georgia’s increased use of water from the Flint and Chattahoochee rivers for irrigation and expanding cities in recent decades is not unreasonable or inequitable.
The case will advance to the Supreme Court, the sole arbiter of interstate water disputes.
Florida and Georgia have a fresh opportunity to file objections to Judge Kelly’s report. The Supreme Court can take Judge Kelly’s recommendation after reviewing objections or hear arguments from the two states.
Florida is evaluating its legal options, said Noah Valenstein, secretary of the state’s Department of Environmental Protection. “We are extremely disappointed in the report,” Mr. Valenstein said.
Georgia’s Governor Brian Kemp welcomed Judge Kelly’s recommendation.
“We will continue to be good stewards of water resources in every corner of our state, and we hope that this issue will reach a final conclusion soon,” he said.
Write to Jaewon Kang at jaewon.kang@wsj.com
Copyright ©2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
"water" - Google News
December 13, 2019 at 05:05AM
https://ift.tt/2RHYnto
Judge Sides With Georgia Over Florida in Water-Use Dispute - The Wall Street Journal
"water" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2XpCTT3
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Judge Sides With Georgia Over Florida in Water-Use Dispute - The Wall Street Journal"
Post a Comment