Earlier this year at the Georgia Water Coalition’s Clean 13 Celebration, the work of Mark Masters was recognized for many contributions to water planning and conservation in Georgia, including his long-term efforts coordinating and supporting the work of the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) Stakeholders while they developed a water sharing agreement between diverse interests from Georgia, Florida and Alabama.
Since then, the ideas espoused by ACF Stakeholders and highlighted by GWC in the 2017 Clean 13 Report have gained the attention of the Supreme Court.
In June 2018, the high court sent the Florida v. Georgia case back to a special master for further deliberations.
In doing so the justices affirmed several ACF Stakeholders recommendations. The court has an expectation that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will not simply sit on the sidelines, and that the health of the river ecosystem can be considered along with concerns over uses like drinking water or irrigation for agriculture.
During the court proceedings overseen by Special Master Ralph Lancaster in fall of 2016, he repeatedly referenced the ACF Stakeholders Sustainable Water Management Plan (SWMP) and questioned numerous witnesses about the plan.
In August 2018, the Supreme Court appointed federal appellate court judge Paul J. Kelly, Jr. as the new special master in the case. While it remains to be seen whether Judge Kelly will lean on the SWMP as did special master Lancaster, it appears the ACF Stakeholders recommendations are reaching as far as Washington D.C. In recognition of the hard work and diligence of this stakeholders group, the GWC is honoring them as a recipient of our 2018 Clean 13 award.
Since 2011, Georgia’s taxpayers have paid NEARLY $50 million in legal fees for water wars litigation. The ACF Stakeholders SWMP, produced at a cost of $1.7 million, provides a road map for solving the dispute without additional, costly litigation. The 2018 GWC Clean 13 Report was released on September 19th. To download a copy and read about all of the 2018 Clean 13 Awardees click here.