Attorney Ralph Lancaster named special master for Florida/Georgia water dispute

The U.S. Supreme Court has appointed a Maine attorney to serve as a special master overseeing the lawsuit by Florida against Georgia over the use of water in the Apalachicola Chattahoochee Flint River system.

The US Supreme Court appointed Ralph Lancaster Jr. to serve as a special master, which means he’ll call witnesses, issue subpoenas, take evidence and submit reports to the Supreme Court.

He works for a firm called Pierce Atwood LLP, and this is the fourth time Lancaster has been appointed a special master by the Supreme Court.

This case, which will likely define the future of this area, resolves around how water in the Apalachicola Chattahoochee Flint River system is shared by Georgia, Florida and Alabama.

Florida has long contended that Georgia takes too much water from the Chattahoochee to meet the demands of the Atlanta area and water flow is needed to help protect the Apalachicola Bay and its important fisheries.

Low water flows are blamed in part for the recent oyster fishery collapse.

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