Congressman Dunn announces legislation to protect the Apalachicola River and Bay

Congressman Dr. Neal Dunn was in Apalachicola on Tuesday to announce legislation he is introducing to protect the Apalachicola River and Bay.

Dr. Dunn announced a plan to halt the Army Corps of Engineers from implementing their revised Water Control Manual.

The manual is the guide used by Corps of Engineers to operate the five reservoirs on the Chattahoochee River and it directly impacts how much fresh water flows through the river system into the Apalachicola Bay.

Under the manual, Georgia is allowed withdraw 242 million gallons per day from Lake Lanier immediately and up to 379 million gallons a day by 2050.

Florida officials say that spells disaster for the Apalachicola River and Bay and the seafood industry it supports.

The issue is currently before the supreme court, but is not going well for Florida.

Florida has argued that Georgia’s unchecked 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. 

Last week, the Special Master appointed by the Supreme Court ruled that while he did find evidence that Florida is suffering harm from decreased freshwater flows in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin, he said Georgia is not the real problem.

He said the issue is the way that water is allocated by the Army corps of Engineers.

Congressman Dunn is now introducing a resolution under the Congressional Review Act to permanently block the Army Corps’ updated Water Control Manual to allow the Florida and Georgia to continue to work on a water sharing agreeement.

Congressional Review Act resolutions permit Congress to overturn Administration rulemakings by a majority vote of both houses of Congress and the signature by the president.

At the announcement Tuesday in front of the Miss Martha Shrimp boat in Apalachicola, Dr. Dunn said Florida has suffered real damage and the fault is the corps adding that the damage to the area is “heart-breaking.”

He said his legislation will stop this governmental overreach and make the corps rework the water control manual to be more fair to all parties.

All of Florida's 27 representatives in congress have also signed a letter urging the corps to hslt the implementation of its updated Water Control Manual and meet with stakeholders immediately to discuss the Corps’ water control practices in the ACF River Basin.

The Franklin County Commission on Tuesday issued a resolution of support for the move – The Apalachicola Riverkeeper is also throwing its support behind the effort. 

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