FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, November 1, 2007

Isakson, Chambliss Praise Governors of Georgia, Alabama, Florida for Working Together to Resolve Water Issues
Commend Decision to Reduce Minimum Flow to 4,200 cfs, Store Additional Inflows

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., and Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., today praised the governors of Georgia, Alabama and Florida for coming together in Washington today to negotiate a long-term agreement on how to share water from two river basins that originate in Georgia and flow through Alabama to Florida.

"These are complex issues and to expect that there will be one simple answer at one meeting is beyond possibility, but we proved today we are all trying to find constructive ways to work this out,” Isakson said. “I’m also extremely pleased to hear there will be changes regarding the Corps’ operations in Georgia that will allow us to put aside additional water during this unprecedented drought. It is a step in the right direction to deal with a problem that immediately confronts us.”

“Negotiating difficult issues is never easy -- particularly when there are numerous interests and stakeholders involved,” said Chambliss. “Georgia received some good news today following many, many months of dialogue, and that dialogue must continue.  We’re in an unprecedented drought -- and one thing is certain -- we can’t negotiate the weather or how much rainfall we get, but the Corps of Engineers can take the necessary steps to help us in the short-term and prepare for the future. The changes proposed by the Corps today are welcome news.”

Earlier today, Isakson and Chambliss met with Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue and Alabama Governor Bob Riley as well as Alabama’s two senators to discuss the water situation affecting the three states. Perdue and Riley later met today with Florida Governor Charlie Crist, Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne, Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality Jim Connaughton and Commander of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Lt. Gen. Robert L. Van Antwerp.

During a press event following the second meeting, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced it had drafted an interim operating plan that would reduce the minimum flow from Woodruff Dam at Lake Seminole to 4,200 cubic feet per second. The plan would also allow Georgia to store any additional inflows above 5,000 cubic feet per second. The plan will now proceed to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for additional input.    

Alabama sued the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1990 to block the corps from giving metro Atlanta any more water out of Lake Lanier. Since then, Alabama, Florida and Georgia have made a number of attempts to settle how to share water from the two river basins that all three need.

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