Special master tells Florida and Georgia to work it out

The special master overseeing the lawsuit between Florida and Georgia over water use from the Apalachicola Chattahoochee Flint River system has once again asked the states to try to reach a settlement out of court. Special Master Ralph Lancaster was named by the US Supreme Court to hear the case which has pitted Florida against Georgia over how best to share water from the river system. Lancaster heard arguments in the case last November and at that time asked that the states try to work out the issue between themselves since neither side was likely to be happy with his recommendation. On January the 3rd, Lancaster reiterated his request and gave the states until January the 24th to meet. He also ordered the states to file a report to him by January 26th summarizing their efforts to reach a settlement. 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. The State of Florida filed suit against Georgia in 2014 to try to reduce the amount of water Georgia is taking from the River System. Florida believes that Georgia’s water consumption has brought historically-low water flows into the Apalachicola Bay and has caused oysters to die because of higher salinity, increased disease and predator intrusion. Until recently, Apalachicola Bay accounted for approximately 10 percent of the nation’s Eastern oyster supply.  The oyster industry in Apalachicola collapsed in 2012 leading to a Commercial Fisheries Disaster Declaration from the U.S. Department of Commerce in 2013.

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