Negotiations between Florida, Georgia and Alabama over how to use water from the Apalachicola, Chattahoochee Flint River system will likely move forward in secret. Federal District Court Judge Paul Magnuson ruled last week that the three states can negotiate in secret and also don’t have to disclose any documents they use during the negotiations.
The judge said that “a settlement of such a complicated and inflammatory case such as this can occur only if some negotiations, whether among all parties or among only some of the parties, are conducted privately.”
Magnuson’s order applies to all documents exchanged and statements made during the negotiations. The action was taken at the request of the three governors last week – and it was done quickly. The governors filed a motion for secrecy on January the 4th, Judge Magnuson issued his ruling on the 7th.
There are a number of groups that have reservations about the decision. The Apalachicola Riverkeeper said they are a little scared about the secrecy – in the past secret negotiations almost led to a bad outcome when Florida nearly signed off on a water sharing agreement that was not in the state’s best interest.
The debate over water sharing has been going on since the early 1990’s. The three governor’s say they intend to reach an agreement this year before they leave office.
Motion for Confidentiality - January 2010
Order on Confidentiality Motion January 2010
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