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CHATTAHOOCHEE, FL—Congressman Allen Boyd (D-North Florida) brought together local officials, Florida stakeholders, and oystermen at a Congressional Forum in Chattahoochee, Florida, on July 21, to discuss the impact of the low freshwater flows, Georgia’s lack of long-term water planning, and the drought on the Apalachicola River, the Apalachicola Bay, and North Florida’s communities. Representatives from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the State of Florida were on hand to listen to Florida stakeholder concerns and answer questions.
“This forum gave our stakeholders – those who live and are making a living on the river and bay – the opportunity to stand together and bend the Corps’ ear, so that the Corps knows the importance of the Apalachicola River and Bay to North Florida and what’s really at stake here for our people,” said Congressman Boyd. “The Apalachicola River and Bay and the local and regional economies are all suffering under the current way of doing business. While balancing the needs of all users along the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River System is no easy feat, we must work together to develop a more equitable water plan that does not threaten the livelihood and the very way of life for the people of North Florida.”
Congressman Heath Shuler (D-NC), the Chairman of the Small Business Subcommittee on Rural and Urban Entrepreneurship, was Congressman Boyd’s special guest at the forum. Congressman Shuler will take what he learned at the forum back to Washington, D.C., and determine what Congress, specifically the Small Business Committee, can do to assist small businesses in North Florida adversely impacted by the low freshwater flows and the historic drought.
At the forum, Congressman Boyd also advocated for the legislation that he recently introduced with Senators Bill Nelson (D-FL) and Mel Martinez (R-FL), which calls for a comprehensive, basin-wide study of the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) River System by the independent National Research Council (NRC). Congressman Boyd hopes to garner more support for this study from officials and stakeholders in Georgia and Alabama, so that Florida, Georgia, and Alabama can use the information and the findings to develop a solution – a solution based on scientific facts from a respected, impartial source, such as the NRC.
“While the three states have not been able to come to any sort of agreement about how to share water along the ACF system, I think there’s something we can all agree on: the need for independent, scientific, and unbiased information about the needs and demands of all the users along the ACF,” Boyd stated. “This bill is a real opportunity for Florida, Georgia, and Alabama to come together on the ACF issue, an issue that has divided our states for more than 20 years.”
“The next step for us,” Boyd continued, “is to have more of a dialogue with our neighbors in Georgia and Alabama. One thing I know for sure – it’s much harder, if not impossible, to come to any sort of agreement on a water sharing plan if we’re not all in the same room working together towards this goal. We must work with Georgia and Alabama on the local, state, and federal levels to find some common ground and ultimately develop a fair long-term water solution that we can all live with.”
Franklin County Commissioner Russell Crofton speaks to Congressman Boyd and the audience at the Congressional Forum on July 21 in Chattahoochee, FL.
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