Florida

The state house today passed water conservation legislation paving the way for Governor Perdue to sign it into law. Under the provision outdoor watering is limited to the hours of 4:00 pm and 10:00 am. Farms and gardens are exempt. The law requires high efficiency plumbing fixtures like toilets, shower heads, and faucets, in new construction. It also includes other voluntary water saving measures. Georgia wants to show neighboring Alabama and Florida that it is serious about water conservation. The move could send good will to the tri-state water talks. A federal judge has given Georgia 3 years to find a water sharing agreement with its neighbors or lose Lake Lanier as a water source for Metro Atlanta.

Lawmakers will review the governor's plan to conserve water this week. The legislation is instrumental in on-going negotiations with Florida and Alabama over Atlanta’s drinking water source Lake Lanier. The so-called Georgia Water Stewardship Act would require more efficient water infrastructure of new constructions and sub-metering at buildings like apartments so individuals can tell how much water they’re using. The sponsor of the companion bill in the senate, Republican Ross Tolleson, says it’s a step toward making everyone pay for what they use. "And it will also give ability over time to charge the person who is using the most water for his water and not as much to the person who is not using as much water," says Tolleson. "It builds the conservation method that makes you think about what you’re using." It would take effect July 2012. That’s also a federal deadline set by a judge that could cut Atlanta off from Lake Lanier’s water. Senator Tolleson says an amendment which makes the state keep track of what water sources farmers are actively using will help Georgia in its water negotiations with neighboring states. "I think by the metering program that the agricultural community has done and now by changing the language of having active and inactive permits," says Tolleson. "It’s going to go a long way to help with Florida, because there again it brings the actual real data to the table." House lawmakers will make their own changes to the bill when they meet Tuesday.

Officials with Georgia, Florida and Alabama are asking a judge to keep their negotiations in the long-running legal fight over water rights confidential. A motion filed this week says the states have already begun “confidential negotiations”, and want a court backing to ensure discussions stay that way. It’s also been announced at least five more meetings have been set to continue water talks, following a governors meeting last month. Last year, a federal judge ruled Georgia has few legal rights to use Lake Lanier for metro Atlanta drinking water needs. The state has three years to reach a deal with neighbor states.

The Governors of Georgia, Alabama and Florida met Tuesday in Montgomery, Alabama to begin water negotiations over use of the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River basin. The three men say they feel confident a deal over Lake Lanier can be reached. Rickey Bevington gets details from John Sepulvado from outside the meeting in Montgomery.

Last week, Governor Sonny Perdue said he hoped the chief executives of Florida, Alabama and Georgia would get together for a "group hug" after discussing the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River basin. On Tuesday, the Governors did meet in Montgomery, Al. to begin water negotiations over use of the ACF. And, in a good humored manner, Perdue did get close enough to wrangle up a group hug with Charlie Crist of Florida and Bob Riley of Alabama. The three men say they feel confident a deal over metro Atlanta's main water source, the federal reservoir Lake Lanier, can be reached. Yet, another potential hurdle to an agreement emerged. The three men announced any deal made will have to be approved by their respective state legislatures as part of a water compact. The Governors would not address whether they were concerned the process could be derailed by local lawmakers in each state, or whether legislators would be able to change any language in a compact through the form of amendments. At the very least, seeking legislative approval ensures negotiations will last until at least May, when Florida's legislative session ends. It also means should something go wrong, Georgia will have less time to get a compact together. The three states are negotiating after a federal judge ruled in July that water from Lake Lanier, which feeds the ACF basin, was being illegally drawn to be used as a drinking water source for Metro Atlanta. The judge set a 2012 deadline to get Congressional approval for those withdrawals. Congress did not implicitly designate the water in Lanier as a major source of drinking water when establishing the reservoir, the judge ruled. Meanwhile, during a twenty minute press conference, Crist and Riley stressed the need for conservation. Both states want to see more water released from Lake Lanier during times of drought. Asked after the press conference whether Georgia discussed conservation during the meetings, Gov Riley of Alabama said "It might have been Charlie [Crist of Florida], it might have been Sonny [Perdue], either way, we're going to get something done." Any agreement could affect water supplies, economic development and recreation in all three states.

A new group trying to protect local interests along the Chattahoochee River says it’s encouraged by a governors meeting next week to negotiate water-sharing between Georgia, Florida and Alabama. But they say their voice needs to be heard to protect as well. Thursday will be the first meeting of the ACF Stakeholders - a group formed a year ago to represent local communities and interests in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint river basin. The group includes officials from local water authorities, power companies, and local business and government. Wilton Rooks with ACF says it’s good the three governors are meeting again, but he worries that local needs might get short-changed: "That does not mean that the governors cannot come up to a decision that will benefit everybody, but I think the governors are in a classical, 'lets compromise and get this issue out-of-the-way' kind of mode". Rooks says this first meeting of the ACF stakeholders in Albany will be used to map-out issues the group plans to focus on.

Two of college football's top conferences will stage championship games today -- both Georgia-connected. Georgia Tech takes the field tonight in Tampa for the ACC Championship Game. The 12th-ranked Yellow Jackets will face #25 Clemson. It's the first appearance for Tech in the ACC's title game since 2006, when the Jackets lost to Wake Forest. Here in 2009, Tech comes-in with a 10-2 record, but off a loss in their last game to the rival Georgia Bulldogs. Clemson is 8-4, and also off a loss to their rival, South Carolina. Kickoff from Tampa is 8 tonight. In Atlanta, it's perhaps the most anticipated game in college football so far this season. The SEC Championship will feature a matchup of undefeated teams--top-ranked Florida battling #2 Alabama. The winner goes to the National Championship in January. Florida's Gators are defending national champions. Kickoff is set for 4pm inside a packed Georgia Dome.

Georgia officials say the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is missing the boat in rewriting the manuals that control flow in the Chattahoochee River. They say it’s a nice effort, but a waste of time and money. Last week the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said it is seeking public input in rewriting the 50-year-old manuals it uses to control Lake Lanier and other reservoirs along the Chattahoochee River. It is doing so because a judge ruled this summer that Georgia can no longer use Lanier by 2012 as a drinking water source. Georgia officials had tried to get new manuals written for years, they say, especially as metro Atlanta was growing. But each time, they say, the effort was blocked by Alabama Senator Richard Shelby. He is a powerful member of the appropriations committee. Since the judge’s ruling this summer, that block has been lifted and the Corps has started the process of rewriting the management manuals. Governor Perdue's spokesman Bert Brantley says any resources that are put into updating the manuals will be wasted. "It's work that should have been done years ago," Brantley says. "We'll get a resolution to water sharing, and the effort is useless. They'll have to rewrite them again." Governor Perdue is appealing the judges ruling. He also wants to keep negotiating with Florida and Alabama over sharing the water, while hoping that Congress will authorize Lake Lanier as a water source for Atlanta.

Unless Congress intervenes, millions of metro Atlantans will lose access to water from Lake Lanier by 2012. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is already making plans for that cut-off and opened a public comment period Thursday. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers can’t wait for Congress to decide the final chapter of Georgia’s on-going water war. It has to plan now because of a federal judge ruled in July that metro Atlanta is illegally drawing water from Lake Lanier. The judge gave Georgia three years to work out a water-sharing deal with neighboring states and get Congress’s approval … or be cut off. Pat Robbins with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says, "These are the parameters that we will develop the water control manuals around based on the judge’s ruling, unless things change. So that’s what we are soliciting comments on." People can submit their ideas on the Corps’ website for the next 45 days. However, with that’s not the only place the public can have influence. The Governors of Georgia, Alabama, and Florida face increasing pressure to work out a deal.

Members of Congress from Alabama, Florida and Georgia have sent a letter to the governors of the three states urging them to act quickly in resolving the ongoing water dispute. The letter sent Tuesday came about after a meeting of the tri-state delegation last week. The 52 members of the states' House and Senate delegations and urge the governors to meet soon and develop a plan. A federal judge ruled in July that the Atlanta region was illegally tapping Lake Lanier. He said Georgia would lose access to the federal reservoir in three years if it can't push a settlement through Congress authorizing the use. The ruling gave Florida and Alabama the upper hand in the states' two-decade dispute over river basins in the region.