WASHINGTON, DC, November 2, 2007 (ENS) - The governors of Alabama, Florida and Georgia meeting with federal officials in Washington Thursday to address water scarcity issues heard a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recommendation to cut the minimum water flow in the Apalachicola River by 16 percent. The retained water would slake the thirst of Georgia residents suffering the worst drought on record.

Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne hosted the meeting with Alabama Governor Bob Riley, Florida Governor Charlie Crist and Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue.

Army Corps Commander Lt. Gen. Robert Van Antwerp told the officials that he will forward the proposal to the U.S. Fish And Wildlife Service, which has agreed to review it within 14 days.

Florida's Apalachicola River is formed by the confluence of Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers at the Florida-Georgia border and flows into the Gulf of Mexico.

Under the Corps proposal, when rains return to the southeast, the flow into the Apalachicola River would go back to 5,000 cubic feet per second from the reduced level of 4,200 cfs, Van Antwerp said.

Alabama, Florida and Georgia have fought court battles over water from the Apalachicola, Chattahoochee and Flint rivers since 1990. In the most recent current legal action, Georgia has asked a federal judge to order reductions in flow to the Apalachicola River by 60 percent or more if the drought continues. A hearing is scheduled for November 19.

Two weeks ago, on the banks of a withering Lake Lanier, Governor Perdue placed 85 counties in Georgia under a state of emergency due to the drought.

The governor has asked President George W. Bush to declare a major disaster area in Georgia, and asked that he temporarily exempt the state from complying with water reservoir releases required under the Endangered Species Act that are draining water from Georgia to the benefit of non-human species downstream in Florida.

"Drought is a natural disaster, and we are experiencing the single worst drought in Georgia's history. On top of that, we are mired in a man-made disaster of federal bureaucracy," said Perdue. "We need to cut through the tangle of unnecessary bureaucracy to manage our resources prudently - so that in the long-term, all species may have access to life-sustaining water."

After the meeting Thursday in Washington, Florida Governor Charlie Crist said, "We all must share responsibility during the current drought."

"The people of Atlanta, the economy of the Florida Panhandle and the energy needs in Alabama and the Southeast must all be protected," Crist said in a statement.

But a conservation group says the real problem is that Atlanta's "uncontrolled growth" has outrun its water supply.

"Atlanta's failure to conserve water and control growth has caused this crisis," says Dan Tonsmeire, riverkeeper for the Apalachicola Riverkeeper, "The Corps has culpability, but Georgia is the culprit for allocating water without regard for the future or downstream users."

The group says oysters are dying now because of high salinity in Apalachicola Bay and more will die if flows are reduced.

Florida Governor Crist wrote last week to President Bush warning that low water flows already are placing the seafood industry in Apalachicola Bay in jeopardy.

The Apalachicola River and Bay support a billion dollar seafood industry. The bay provides 13 percent of the nation's oysters and its waters and marshes are a nursery for shrimp, blue crabs, and important recreational and commercial fish species such as striped bass, flounder, grouper, redfish, snapper and speckled trout.

All three governors said Thursday that they are committed to a long-term solution that focuses on water conservation.

Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2007. All rights reserved.