Download the Tri-States Litigation Motion for Summary Judgment January 2009 here.
A Motion for Summary Judgment and supporting Memorandum of Law submitted by the Lake Lanier Association , the State of Georgia, the Atlanta Regional Commission, and a number of water supply providers are included in the documentation now being reviewed by the federal judge during Phase 1 of the Tri-States ‘Water Wars’ litigation over the allocation of water in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) basin. Judge Paul A. Magnuson, a U.S. District Court Judge from Minnesota, is presiding over the seven cases in this litigation in the US District Court in Jacksonville.
Judge Magnuson has organized these court proceedings into two phases.
The focus of the first phase is primarily on the Corps’ operation of Lake Lanier for municipal and industrial water supply. As such, Phase 1 will address the original statutory authorization for the creation of Lake Lanier. Florida, Alabama, and the Southeastern Federal Power Customers maintain that Lake Lanier was created for flood control, navigation and power generation only and that Lake Lanier should not be operated for purposes of supporting municipal water supply and recreation. The Lake Lanier Association, along with the other Georgia parties, contends that water supply and recreation are of equal importance as flood control, navigation and power generation. Motions for summary judgment in Phase 1 were submitted by all parties on January 23, 2009; respondents’ opposing motions are due by March 2 and replies to these by March 25. Judge Magnuson has scheduled a hearing on all parties’ motions for May 8, in which the Lake Lanier Association’s attorney, Clyde Morris, will participate.
The second phase of the litigation will focus primarily on the US Army Corps of Engineers’ management of the ACF basin under the Interim Operations Plan it instituted in April, 2006. Phase 2 will thus include consideration of competing water flow requirements of the ACF for water supply, recreation, and endangered species in the Apalachicola River. The judge has not yet set deadlines for this phase.
As you know, the Lake Lanier Association is the only intervener in this litigation that is not either a government entity or a utility operator, and is the only party dedicated to representing the interests of LakeLanier individual and business stakeholders. We appreciate your support of our efforts to safeguard the interests of all LakeLanier stakeholders in this important litigation.
The Motion for Summary Judgment can be read in its entirety (84 pages) on our Web site at. Please download the Tri-States Litigation Motion for Summary Judgment January 2009 here.
