Georgia lawmakers blast measure blocking updates to water manuals

WASHINGTON - Georgia lawmakers are blasting Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama for slipping language into a massive end-of-year spending bill, blocking the federal government from updating the manuals that guide water-sharing in the region.

Georgia lawmakers have for years argued that the Army Corps of Engineers plans are outdated and do not reflect their state's rapid growth. Alabama officials, meanwhile, have fought any updates until the parties can agree on an underlying sharing formula.

The Corps announced in October that it would rewrite manuals for the Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa river basin, which runs southwest through Georgia and Alabama. The process could take up to three years, officials said.

But Shelby's provision would bar the agency from spending money on the effort.

"The governors of Georgia, Alabama, and Florida are finally at the negotiating table finding a way forward on this very difficult issue," Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., said Wednesday, referring to recent water-sharing negotiations. "It is mind boggling to see this language in the omnibus bill intended to block that progress."

http://accesswdun.com/article/2007/12/205033