The federal appeals court in Atlanta on Tuesday handed Georgia an enormous victory in the tri-state water litigation, overturning rulings by a federal judge that could have had catastrophic consequences for the metro area.

The court threw out a 2009 ruling by Senior U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson, who had found it was illegal for the Corps of Engineers to draw water from Lake Lanier to meet the needs of 3 million metro residents. In its decision, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that a purpose of the man-made reservoir was to supply water to the Atlanta region.

Magnuson had also set a doomsday clock ticking for Georgia, Alabama and Florida to arrive at a water-sharing agreement. If the states could not reach a settlement by July 2012, Magnuson said, metro Atlanta would only be allowed to take the same amount of water it received in the mid-1970s — when the population was less than one-third its current size.

That deadline is no longer in effect.

Instead, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals set a new deadline. It gave the Corps one year to make a final determination over water allocation from Lake Lanier. And the court reminded the Corps that the water litigation has already been going on for more than two decades.

“Progress towards a determination of the Buford Dam’s future operations is of the utmost importance to the millions of power customers and water users that are affected by the operations of the project,” the court said. “The stakes are extremely high, and all parties are entitled to a prompt resolution. Accordingly, the process for arriving at a conclusion of the bounds of the Corps’ authority should be as swift as possible without sacrificing thoroughness and thoughtfulness.”

“At first glance it appears that the state of Georgia has won a great victory,” said a statement issued by the office of Gov. Nathan Deal. “The 11th Circuit panel has ruled unanimously that Lake Lanier was built for the purpose of water supply for the metro Atlanta area. This means that the lake will continue to be available to meet Georgia’s needs.”

The 95-page ruling, issued by a three-judge panel that heard arguments over the dispute in March, was unanimous.

In their ruling, the judges made important findings. Among them: they determined Magnuson erred in concluding that water supply was not an authorized purpose of the Buford Dam project.

“It’s a very good day for the state of Georgia,” lawyer Patricia Barmeyer, who represents the Atlanta Regional Commission, said.

The ruling is “a complete victory for Georgia,” said Todd Silliman, one of the lawyers representing Georgia.

“My initial reaction is that it helps put us on a more level playing field in negotiations,” said state Rep. Buzz Brockway, R-Lawrenceville. “We definitely had the most to lose.”

Staff writer Aaron Gould Sheinin contributed to this article.

• Several U.S. Corps of Engineers public participation meetings are coming up regarding policy changes ot the community docks on Lake Lanier. April 25th meeting from 6-8PM at Forsyth Central School, May 24th meeting from 6-8PM at West Hall High School, June 14th meeting 6-8PM at Dawsonville Middle School. More information on COE website: http://lanier.sam.usace.army.mil/NewsEvents.htm
• LLA annual fundraiser golf tournament Monday, May 16th starting at 10:00AM at Legacy on Lanier golf course. See LLA newsletter or website for more details or to register.
• LLA annual membership meeting Thursday, May 19th at the Forsyth Conference Center. 5:00PM start for workshop sessions, 6:00PM start for meeting. Three differerent workshop sessions are being offered at no charge to our members. Workshops include: Landscaping With Native Plants for Lake Front Properties by Master Gardener Pam Keene; Lake Lanier Fishing Techniques with professional fishing guide Ken Sturdivant; and Boating Safety with U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Public Education Officer Mike Atkinson.

LLA volunteers will be handing out stickers and brochures. We also will have a $50 prize raffle for merchandise for the LLA e-store. Anyone can enter the raffle, but only a LLA member can win.

There will be new boats of all sizes on land and in the water. High quality arts and crafts, live music, great food, children’s activities, and much more. Festival admission is FREE with admission to the The Islands ($8.00 per vehicle). Come to the event by water and park at the courtesy dock.

You may have seen the recent articles in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Gainesville Times regarding the Association’s campaign to raise the level of Lake Lanier by 2 feet. Raising Lanier not only can provide a deeper and more resilient source of water for North Georgia, it can be part of an overall solution in the Water Wars. This is a renewed push for a solution we have been working on since 2007. Given the impact lake levels have on property values and recreation, we will continue to focus our attention on practical solutions to the Water Wars that protect the lake for everyone. For more details, watch for our next newsletter.

Social Event

Mark your calendar for a “Mix and Mingle” for LLA members! We will be meeting at The Coo Coo’s Nest on Pilgrim Mill Road on Saturday, February 26^th at 7:00PM. If you would like to come out and meet some other LLA members, please join us! Feel free to bring a friend-the more the merrier!

The report clearly documents the significant importance of Lake Lanier to the economy of the counties surrounding the lake as well as the entire Metro Atlanta Region. Equally important, it documents the economic impact of significant drawdowns to Lake Lanier as occurred during the drought of 2006 – 2008. In contrast to other economic impact studies, this report focuses on factors that have an annual impact and is based on solid data resulting from a yearlong research project. The Lake Lanier Association fully supports the findings of this report. It documents the importance of the lake to the region.

“The numbers from the study show the economic values lost in 2008, when the lake was at historic lows,” said Alex Laidlaw, president of the 1071 Coalition. “Attendees to the meeting will find that the impact was even greater than we anticipated as we present the full findings of the report.”

The study was commissioned in 2009 to provide a quantitative measure of the economic impacts of low lake levels on the economies of the counties bordering the lake, the metro Atlanta region and the state of Georgia.

The study, funded by the 1071 Coalition, was conducted by Bleakley Advisory Group, PBS&J and Dr. Bruce Seaman. Initial findings of the report were presented last year and included the following initial data:

There are more than 10,000 employers within the immediate Lake Lanier area, and most of them are private-sector businesses. There are nearly 1,000 government and non-profit entities. Nearly 140,000 people work within the immediate Lake Lanier area. More than 200,000 people live in the immediate Lake Lanier area, an 87 percent increase from 2000 and a 102 percent increase from 1990.

Additionally, 215 area businesses employing nearly 1,900 persons are directly engaged in marine-related, lodging and amusement and recreation services. These businesses have estimated combined annual sales of $145.7 million. More than 2,400 additional businesses are engaged in home construction and related activities, employing 9,400 workers and generating annual sales of $1.1 billion. Most of these businesses are dependent to some degree on Lake Lanier, according to Dun & Bradstreet.

The 1071 Coalition is a non-profit organization comprised of citizens, civic groups, business and other entities dedicated to maintaining water levels in Lake Lanier that sustain water supply, recreation, and economic prosperity through the advocacy of appropriate, science-based water releases necessary for the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River basin.

For more information about the 1071 Coalition, visit www.1071coalition.org.

“Whiskey is for drinking, water is for fighting over” – prophetic words credited to Mark Twain. Yet even he could scarcely have imagined they would one day apply to the Southeastern United States, a region better known for plentiful rainfall and abundantly flowing rivers. But for almost twenty years three states – Georgia, Florida and Alabama – have been locked in a fierce struggle over water.

This longstanding conflict, recently ratcheted up to new level of intensity by a severe drought and a judge’s dramatic ruling, is the subject of a new documentary, Chattahoochee: From Water War to Water Vision, produced by Rhett Turner (Red Sky Productions) and Jonathan Wickham (Zo?TV). By interweaving individual stories, Chattahoochee: From Water War to Water Vision, will educate viewers on the complex issues and choices that increasingly face all of us when it comes to one of our most precious natural resources, water. Chattahoochee: From Water War to Water Vision, premieres on GPB Wednesday, October 6 at 8 PM and encores Friday, October 8 at 10 PM and Sunday, October 10 at 4 PM.

http://estoresbyzome.com/LakeLanierAssociation.php

While individual and small groups of volunteers don’t need to RSVP, if you are bringing a large group out to volunteer, it is helpful for us to know what location you will going to so we can be sure and have enough t-shirts and supplies at that location. If you are coordinating a large group, please send an email to lakeinfo@lakelanier.org.

Shore Sweep starts at 8:00AM and goes until 1:00PM. The Shore Sweep locations are: Hall County – Aqualand Marina, Clarks Bridge Park, Gainesville Marina, Holiday Marina, Lake Lanier Islands, Lazy Days Marina, Hideaway Bay Marina and Sunrise Cove Marina: Dawson County – War Hill Park; Forsyth County – Bald Ridge Marina, Habersham Marina and Port Royale Marina; Gwinnett – Lanier Harbor Marina. Trash may be taken to these locations with the exception of Lake Lanier Islands where volunteers may enter at no charge through the main gate to collect trash.

Two Shore Sweep advance locations are already open at Lanier Harbor Marina in Gwinnett County (dumpster on ramp) and Deer Island in Dawson County (just south of lake coordinate 21C-look for the Shore Sweep sign).

There is a a Volunteer Appreciation Party immediately following at Van Pugh Park North from 1:00PM-3:00PM with free food, sodas, music, and fun.