Florida plans to sue Army Corps of Engineers

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Florida said it intends to sue the Army Corps of Engineers for violating the Endangered Species Act - a move which could further complicate already strained regional relations over shared water resources.

Florida Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Michael Sole said in a letter that the Corps plans to reduce water flow in the Apalachicola River, which would jeopardize threatened and endangered wildlife in the area.

The seven-page letter, dated Thursday, noted concerns by biologists and environmentalists about the impact that low water levels could have on the Gulf sturgeon fish, and three mussels: the fat threeridge mussel, the purple bankclimber and the Chipola slabshell.

The expanded suit throws another wrench in the complicated tug-of-war over water between Georgia, Florida and Alabama that has been waged since the early 1990s in court and in state legislatures. Caught in the middle is the Corps, the federal agency charged with managing the resources.

Georgia, which seeks to keep more of the water stored in its reservoirs, points to the epic drought gripping the state as evidence that federal authorities should change the way the reservoirs are managed. Alabama and Florida, meanwhile, say increased flow is needed not only to support the threatened species but also downstream power plants and fisheries.

Florida’s notice of a lawsuit comes weeks after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service concluded that a federal plan to keep more water in Georgia won’t irreversibly doom wildlife.

Florida’s announcement prompted an immediate backlash from Georgia politicians and business leaders. Georgia Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle called the news of the possible lawsuit “extraordinarily disappointing.”

“I find it unconscionable that the state of Florida would choose to elevate the water needs of the bankclimber and fat threeridge mussel over the needs of millions of human beings in Georgia,” he said.

Pat Stevens of the Atlanta Regional Commission accused Florida of political posturing, and suggested that her state’s southern neighbor should spend more time boosting its own water supply and efficiency.

“There’s lots of things they claim are due to water use in Georgia, but they really ought to be looking to solve the problem in Florida itself instead of pointing at other folks,” she said Friday.

Kelly Layman, an official with the environmental agency that filed the lawsuit, said Florida has regulated water consumption and “required water use permits for 30 years; Georgia has not.”

“It’s that literal ‘free flow’ of water that causes us enormous concern and has been a long-standing crux of this battle,” she said.

A press secretary for Florida Gov. Charlie Crist said the governor agreed with the lawsuit.

Pat Robbins, a spokesman for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said the agency doesn’t comment on active litigation.