Locals attend river trip summit

Several Jackson County residents took part in a three-day river trip this week which was arranged especially for two top commanders with the Corps of Engineers.
It was a combination of water trips and discussions on land along the way.
Corps Gen. Joseph Schroedel and Col. Byron Jorns were taken all over the lower Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint river system basin.
They started with a boat ride Monday in the Apalachicola River and Bay, and the event culminated in a discussion session Wednesday near the Flint River in Bainbridge, Ga.
The trip was co-sponsored by the Apalachicola Riverkeeper and Tri-Rivers Waterway Development Association. They are two key stakeholders in the ACF river system, which courses through Florida, Alabama and Georgia. Many issues are in play as stakeholders in all three states struggle to find the right balance in sharing the resource.
Homer Hirt of Sneads, Greenwood resident Chad Taylor and Jackson County Commissioner Jeremy Branch all took part in one or more of the discussions and/or water trips.
Taylor, who helped coordinate the trip, said it was a multipurpose event, and after it was finished said he was encouraged.
“To me, while this was for the Corps colonel and general, is also brought stakeholders together, all six riparian counties were represented, all three states, and I think we did as well as we could do in creating, fostering and enhancing dialog about the issues on the ACF,” Taylor said.
“You have legal issues, you have science and policy, and then you have what I consider the third rail – the people who live on the river, the stakeholders in the basin, working to make sure the lawmakers and policy makers do the right things.”
Taylor and the other local participants talked Wednesday afternoon about three major issues on the minds of stakeholders who took part in the three-day summit.
One of the most vital issues, Taylor said, is water allocation practices on the Apalachicola River and how the Corp manages Lake Seminole and the other four reservoirs on the Chattahoochee River.
Taylor said he hoped getting the the Corp leaders out on the water with those who live and work on it will leave them better informed as they go forward with decisions.
“The Corps controls the flows, by way of dams and lakes. There are a bunch of stakeholders in Georgia, Alabama and Florida who want the Corps to understand the impacts that management and allocation decisions have on the Apalachicola River and Bay, and in particular the negative impact of low flows,” he said. “We hope this trip put a face on the Apalachicola River.”
At issue here is Atlanta’s attempt to reserve more water in Lake Lanier. With growth there expected to add another five million people over the next 10 years, some downstream users feel that Atlanta is taking more than its fair share and is being irresponsible by not better managing water resources.
Downstream users are worried about a number of potential negative environmental, economic and human impacts if Atlanta is allowed increasing storage and draw-downs.
Navigation and channel dredging is another key issue, and not all stakeholders agree on the appropriate status for navigation on the Apalachicola. Hirt, an advocate, spoke on that aspect at Wednesday’s meeting. See an accompanying story for more on his comments.
Branch focused his attention on the legal aspects of the water wars, and said he got a surprising and frightening answer when he posed a question to the general.
Branch wanted to know why the Corps is allowing the state of Georgia to reserve more water for consumption when a U.S. court of appeals has ruled that it has no authority to do so. The authorized uses of the water managed in the Corps-controlled dam and lake systems are limited to the creation of hydropower, flood control and recreational uses.
According to Branch, Gen. Schroedel made contradictory statements he finds worrisome.
On one hand, Branch said, the general implied that, because of riparian water laws, the state has the authority to use water as it pleases once it falls within its sovereign boundaries.
Branch said he took that to mean that the general was saying the Corps, in effect, has no power to stop Georgia.
A moment later, Branch said, the general cited the authority of the U.S. Congress in determining allocations.
Branch said it scares him to think that a Corp leader would operate on the assumption that it has no power to control the impoundment of water.
Both he and Taylor said that was the first time they’d heard the Corps take such a position.
Taylor went on to say that he thinks the general was taking “a twisted legal view” of the court of appeals ruling cited by Branch in his question, and that further clarification of the decision is needed. Taylor said he understood the general to respond to Branch’s question in part by saying that the Corps is currently authorizing storage space in Lake Lanier, rather than the withholding of water for whatever use, and therefore is not in violation of the court’s decision. Taylor scoffed at the differentiation, and said more clarification of the ruling is needed.
Branch said he thinks the state of Florida should be prepared to challenge that interpretation of law.
Those issues may come up when Branch speaks at a July 21 meeting called by Congressman Allen Boyd.
Scheduled for 1 p.m. CDT at the Corps district office near Chattahoochee, the forum is to focus on the impact of the southeastern drought and low freshwater flows on the Apalachicola River, Bay and communities in North Florida.
Taylor emphasized that, while he disagreed with what he understood the general to say, he is glad to see that more dialogue has opened up between the Corps and downstream communities. He said the commander has agreed to meet with the river trip group again in the fall and would share information on some Corps computer models that are being revised. The models are used in developing action plans on the water resources in the ACF system.
The group that participated in the river trip included representatives of several federal and state agencies from all three jurisdictions, along with advocacy groups from the three states.