Conservation, Fishing Organizations Call for Balanced Solutions in Water Battle Over Apalachicola River Basin
February 19, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Sharyn Stein 202-572-3396 or sstein@environmentaldefense.org
Kevin Begos 850-653-3351 or kbegos@alum.mit.edu
(Washington, D.C. – February 19, 2008) As officials from Alabama, Florida and Georgia missed yet another deadline last week to resolve tri-state water use conflicts in the Apalachicola Basin, a leading national environmental group, Environmental Defense, and the Franklin County Oyster & Seafood Task Force today called for a balanced approach to allocating the river’s flows.
The Apalachicola/Flint/Chattahoochee basin runs from Lake Lanier near Atlanta to the Apalachicola Bay in Florida. The Bay and the lower Apalachicola River provide vital habitat for migratory birds, commercial and recreational fish such as flounder and redfish, blue crabs and oysters. Cities and farms throughout the basin depend on the system for some of their freshwater supply, but no legal framework exists for distributing the water among the states.
“This issue is not about ‘mussels vs. people,’ as some have portrayed it,” said Mary Kelly, an attorney who co-directs the Land, Water and Wildlife Program at Environmental Defense. “It is about three states needing to find a way to ensure that all the vital needs served by the river are fairly balanced — from cities to farms to seafood producers to the environment.”
“The right solution will depend on water conservation, allocating and trading water rights, and good science regarding how much freshwater the Apalachicola River and Bay need to sustain their productivity,” added Kelly. “It’s not easy, but it’s the only way to reach a lasting solution.”
Clashes over water allocation have been simmering for decades, but they increased sharply during a drought last year that caused the city of Atlanta to worry about running out of water. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers designed a plan to ease Atlanta’s worries by increasing Georgia’s share of water from Lake Lanier and decreasing downstream releases from the reservoir. Florida sued to stop the plan, and won the suit in a court of appeals earlier this month. Negotiations among the three states to reach agreement are on-going and had faced a February 15th deadline imposed by the federal government.
“Apalachicola Bay is one of the most productive coastal bays in the northern hemisphere. Our local fishing industry generates $134 million for the economy, and water sports-based tourism generates almost $200 million more,” said Kevin Begos of Florida’s Franklin County Oyster & Seafood Task Force. “The Corps’ plan would have severely restricted freshwater flows into the Bay, putting more than three thousand jobs at risk. We could lose entire industries – like our famous oyster beds and our Tupelo honey groves, which need fresh water to survive. Anyone who thinks that keeping water for Atlanta helps people over mussels is dead wrong – it’s just helping some people over others.”
“Apalachicola Bay is a spawning ground for shrimp, fish, crabs and many other species,” said Tommy Ward, Chairman of the Franklin County Oyster & Seafood Task Force. “Hurting the bay hurts the entire Gulf of Mexico food chain.”
A unique heritage is at risk, too. Apalachicola Bay is one of the last areas in the country where hundreds of baymen (and women) harvest oysters by hand, using long tongs.
“We desperately need the water coming down across the floodplains to bring the nutrients to the bay,” said John Richards, president of the Seafood Workers Association. “Without it we are just a lost, dying breed.”
Environmental Defense noted that the problems to be solved in this basin are becoming increasingly evident throughout the country.
“Water conflicts are on the rise in the United States, and climate change will make them even more common, both here and around the world,” said Kelly. “”Cities and farms in the upper part of the basin have been very slow to adopt water conservation measures. It has taken this drought to make people see that we can’t continue to waste water.”
“We need realistic and balanced plans to manage our water, and that means finding ways to keep entire river and bay systems healthy,” Kelly added. “Trying to fix one small area of an ecosystem will never work, any more than you can cure a disease by treating one symptom. There is still a chance to get it right in the Apalachicola, and that could be a model for other areas.”
The groups recommended that the federal government and states move away from closed door negotiations and start a transparent process with all interested parties to:
Use independent experts to determine the water flows that the river and the Apalachicola Bay need to maintain their vital productivity;
Set legal limits on water use within the tri-state basin (i.e. “cap” the water use to ensure that river flow requirements can be met);
Assess the water conservation potential among all users in the basin—agricultural, municipal and industrial—and determine the most cost-effective investments and who will pay for them; and
Embody these agreements in a durable tri-state compact with strong enforcement mechanisms.
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Environmental Defense, a leading national nonprofit organization, represents more than 500,000 members. Since 1967, Environmental Defense has linked science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships to create breakthrough solutions to the most serious environmental problems. www.environmentaldefense.org
The Franklin County Oyster & Seafood Task Force represents the local Seafood Industry and all those who work in it and seeks to protect the environment of Apalachicola River and Bay and promote its unique seafood heritage.