U.S. Water News Online
ATLANTA-- Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue has sent a letter to the governors of Alabama and Florida seeking a personal meeting to resolve the 16-year battle between the three states over water.
The letter, which is dated June 22, came two days after Georgia went to court to stop the federal government from sending as much water downstream to Florida.
"I believe that our personal involvement in mediation at this time is essential," Perdue wrote in the letter. "I feel that there is too much at stake to leave this to a court to decide."
Neither Alabama Gov. Bob Riley nor Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has responded, Perdue spokeswoman Heather Hedrick said.
U.S. District Judge Karon Bowdre has ordered officials with "absolute authority" to resolve the dispute to attend a hearing if the issue is not settled earlier.
If a resolution is not reached by that time, Bowdre has set a status conference in her chambers. The hearing should include officials with "absolute authority to make the decisions necessary to resolve the current dispute," the judge's order said.
Bowdre's order canceled a status hearing, opting instead for another conference call.
Alabama, Florida and Georgia have been trying to determine how much water to send down the Chattahoochee River to protect freshwater mussels in a Florida river but leave enough water upstream for Georgia and Alabama.
Recently, Bowdre increased the water flow by 60 percent. Subsequent conference calls have caused Bowdre to reduce the flow from 8,000 cubic feet per second to 6,250.
Alabama Chief Deputy Attorney General Keith Miller has said negotiations are progressing in a positive direction.
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