Olens wants help from lawyers who are water experts

ATLANTA - Georgia's State Attorney General is getting ready for a threatened lawsuit over the state's water use.

According to the Atlanta Business Chronicle, Sam Olens issued an invitation Tuesday to attorneys to submit a statement of interest and qualifications to his office by September 10.

Olens is looking specifically for lawyers who have handled water-related cases and issues in front of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Gov. Rick Scott of Florida last month announced he is ready to renew the legal fight with Georgia over water in the Chattachoochee River Basin, saying that Georgia is not released enough water downstream to feed the oyster beds in the Apalachicola Bay. Lake Lanier in north Georgia is part of the system.

"Although Georgia does not seek this litigation, Georgia will aggressively defend itself," said Olens in the written invitation to lawyers.

Governor Nathan Deal has dismissed Scott's threat of a lawsuit, saying it is a waste of taxpayer time and money.

Last year, the nation's high court refused to take up the case against Georgia and let stand an appeals court decision that allowed the metro Atlanta area to use Lake Lanier as a drinking water source. Florida had argued that water supply was not an authorized purpose for the lake when is was built in the 1950s.