Reps. Nathan Deal, R-Gainesville, and John Lewis, D-Atlanta, have invited Alabama's seven House members and Florida's 25 House members to a meeting with the Georgia delegation Wednesday at the U.S. Capitol to discuss the water dispute.
A federal judge in July ruled that metro Atlanta is not authorized to take water from Lake Lanier. Under Judge Paul Magnuson's ruling, Georgia, Florida and Alabama have three years to work out a water-sharing arrangement or Atlanta's allocation of water from the lake reverts to 1970s levels.
TEXT OF THE LETTER SENT TO THE ALABAMA AND FLORIDA CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATIONS:
October 23, 2009
Dear Colleagues,
We, on behalf of the Georgia Delegation, invite all members and their staff of the Alabama, Florida, and Georgia Delegations to a bipartisan discussion regarding the ongoing Tri-State Water Dispute.
Due to recent legal rulings, and the length of this ongoing conflict, we believe it is imperative that we meet to discuss what role Congress should play in this conflict between our states.
We believe the recent court ruling should be a call to action between the three states We feel as though an opportunity for the three delegations to openly express their opinions and positions on this issue would be beneficial to not only the Members of Congress and the people we represent, but to our governors and senators by showing our willingness to engage in dialogue with each other. A meeting between the three delegations could help to flesh out some of the outstanding issues.
We would appreciate your attendance at this event. We hope to see everyone next Wednesday October 28, 2009 in HVC-201 at 9 oâ
http://accesswdun.com/article/2009/10/224289