Georgia lawmakers blasted Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama on Wednesday for inserting language into a massive year-end spending bill blocking updates to the manuals that guide water rights in the region.
Although the provision was in previous drafts of the bill, Sens. Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss said they were surprised that it survived in the final version that passed the Senate late Tuesday night. The Georgia Republicans accused Shelby, also a Republican, of trying to obstruct ongoing water negotiations that have shown promise in recent weeks, suggesting that he was violating the "spirit of cooperation" between the states.
"The governors of Georgia, Alabama and Florida are finally at the negotiating table finding a way forward on this very difficult issue," Chambliss said. "It is mind-boggling to see this language in the omnibus bill intended to block that progress."
U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Marietta) also blasted the bill.
"At a time when the Southeast is experiencing perhaps the worst drought on record, Senator Shelby slips into this omnibus language to tie the hands of the Corps in updating decades-old water control manuals," Gingrey said. "These outdated manuals have unquestionably exacerbated this drought and complicated the ability of the Corps of Engineers to manage our precious water resources. While our governors have been meeting to find common ground on this difficult issue, it is regrettable that this language was airdropped into this bill."
Shelby, an influential member of the Appropriations Committee that wrote the bill, said he is only looking out for his state's interests.
"This is about Alabama getting its fair share of water from federal reservoirs, and my language merely ensures that all stakeholders have a clear understanding of the water allocation information ... before any changes can be implemented," Shelby said in a statement.
The standoff over water manuals for two major river basins in the area has become a fundamental and at times emotional front in the yearslong water wars between the states, feuding that has intensified with this year's record drought. The manuals - which govern how the corps manages water resources - have not been updated for years as the states have fought over water rights in court.
Georgia lawmakers have demanded new manuals, arguing that the current guidelines do not reflect their state's rapid growth.
Alabama officials have fought the updates, accusing the corps of focusing on Atlanta's needs at the expense of communities downstream. They argue that current allocations are unfair and that the corps should stay out of the fight until the states resolve it - either through negotiation or in court.
The corps moved toward Georgia's side in October by announcing it would rewrite manuals for the Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa river basin, which originates in north Georgia and runs southwest through Alabama.
Shelby's amendment - which he has tried unsuccessfully to push through Congress in previous years - bars the agency from implementing those changes. It also orders the corps to provide more specific information about water withdrawals from the river basins.
Shelby initially wrote stronger language that would have prevented the corps from even beginning the updates, which take about two years to complete. That provision passed in committee this summer. The final language, which Shelby's spokeswoman said came about during recent negotiations, allows work on the manuals to begin but bars any update from being implemented.
Chambliss and Isakson said they would try to reverse the provision in next year's appropriations bills.
According to the Peachtree City office of the National Weather Service, Atlanta and Athens are on track for the driest year on record.
From Jan. 1 through Tuesday, Cobb received about 30.6 inches of rain, authority general manager Glenn Page said. Normal annual rainfall is about 50.2 inches through Dec. 31.
At full pool, Lake Allatoona is 840 feet above sea level. On Wednesday, the lake was measured at 819.32 feet, or 3.68 feet below the winter pool of 823 feet.
On Dec. 14, Allatoona sat at 818.88 feet, its lowest level since 1961, Page said.
Page said that according to Corps meteorologists, a La Nina weather pattern is gaining strength and transitioning from a moderate to a major event. Meteorologists predict a warmer and drier winter through April with about half the normal rainfall.
Marietta Daily Journal Staff Writer Kelly Brooks contributed to this report.
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There's nothing wrong with Georgians working to unseat Shelby in the 2010 race. By the way, why were Chambliss and Isakson asleep at the switch?
If the Hooch is totally within the state of Georgia, (until it gets to Fla)doesn't Alabama need Georgia's permission to cross the state line to obtain Georgia water?