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ARC Celebrates Landmark ACF Agreement following U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Adoption of Water Control Plan Updates

Staff Report From Georgia CEO

Monday, January 13th, 2025

The Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) celebrates news that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has adopted the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint settlement agreement reached in December 2023. The landmark agreement and recent Corps adoption resolves the decades-long dispute with Alabama over the Corps’ management of the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) Basin.

This week, the Corps announced its completion of a thorough public process and environmental assessment and adoption of the settlement terms, based on its conclusion that the settlement will not cause any significant impacts on the environment.

“This is a great day for the State of Georgia and everyone with a stake in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ decision to adopt the settlement terms puts an end to decades of litigation in the ACF Basin,” said Andre Dickens, Chairman of the Atlanta Regional Commission and Mayor of the City of Atlanta. “Everybody wins with this agreement, which we hope will set the stage for even greater cooperation in the future. Governor Kemp, Governor Ivey and the parties involved should be commended for their leadership in making this happen.”

The product of a lengthy court-supervised mediation, the agreement ensures metro Atlanta’s water supply needs from Lake Lanier and the Chattahoochee River will be met, while also modifying the Corps’ reservoir operations to provide minimum flows requested by Alabama.

“This shows what stakeholders can accomplish when we listen, talk, and meet in the middle. After more than 30 years, the ‘water wars’ with Alabama in the ACF River Basin are over,” said Danny Johnson, Managing Director of Natural Resources at the Atlanta Regional Commission. “We look forward to using this same approach as we seek common ground with Alabama in other shared river basins.”

With the Corps’ adoption of the Water Control Plan updates, the pending litigation will be stayed for one additional year before being dismissed.

Questions and Answers about the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint Agreement

On December 6, 2023, the States of Georgia and Alabama, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC), and the Georgia Water Supply Providers announced an agreement establishing a path to resolve the decades-long dispute with Alabama over the Corps’ management of the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) Basin.

The terms of that agreement could not be adopted by the Corps without environmental review. Therefore, the parties agreed to pause pending litigation to provide time for the Corps to study environmental impacts and hear from the public. The Corps completed that process and adopted the settlement terms on December 30, 2024, based on its conclusion that the settlement will not cause any significant impacts on the environment.

See Corps Public Notice published Jan. 8, 2025

Who are the parties involved in the agreement?

The agreement involves the following parties:

  • States: The States of Georgia and Alabama

  • ARC and the Georgia Water Supply Providers: The Atlanta Regional Commission and the Georgia Water Supply Providers, which include the City of Atlanta, the Atlanta Fulton County Water Resources Commission, the Cobb County-Marietta Water Authority, DeKalb County, Forsyth County, Fulton County, the City of Gainesville, and Gwinnett County

  • Corps: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and the federal officials that oversee the agency

What is the litigation with Alabama over the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint Basin about?

While the water litigation has extended over many years, the current dispute centers on an update to the “Master Water Control Manual” the Corps adopted for the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) Basin in 2017. The Master Manual sets rules for the management of five federal reservoirs that control water in the ACF Basin. The five reservoirs are Lake Lanier, West Point Lake, Walter F. George Lake/Lake Eufaula, George Andrews Lock & Dam, and Lake Seminole. It also determines how water will be shared among different purposes, including in times of drought.

Among other things, the 2017 Master Manual provided for Lake Lanier to be operated to meet projected supply needs for the Georgia Water Supply Providers through 2050. Environmental studies supporting the 2017 Master Manual specifically found that meeting these needs would have “negligible” impact on environmental issues in the Apalachicola River or Bay.

Alabama challenged the 2017 Master Manual in court, claiming among other things that the Corps’ decision to meet Metro Atlanta’s water supply needs was unlawful. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia ruled in favor of the Corps, Georgia, and ARC and the Georgia Water Supply Providers. Alabama appealed the court’s judgment to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

What is the agreement about and why is it important?

The product of a lengthy court-supervised mediation, the agreement ensures Metro Atlanta’s water supply needs from Lake Lanier and the Chattahoochee River will be met, while also modifying the Corps’ reservoir operations to provide minimum flows requested by Alabama.

The agreement included three basic components:

  • It identified “Flow Objectives” that, if included in the 2017 Master Manual, would meet Alabama’s needs without compromising the security of Metro Atlanta’s water supply or undermining any other interest of the State of Georgia.

  • It provided for pending litigation to be paused while the Corps studied those objectives.

  • It provided for the Corps to make a final decision regarding the four Flow Objectives after completing its environmental review and public processes.

What are the Flow Objectives included in the agreement?

The Flow Objectives are the following:

  • Columbus, GA: Maintain 1,350 cubic feet per second (cfs) minimum average daily flow (rolling 7-day average)

  • Columbia, AL: Maintain 2,000 cubic feet per second on weekdays

  • In “Drought Zone” operations, these minimum flows at Columbus, GA and Columbia, AL would be met at least two days per week. “Drought Zone” is a specific zone defined in the Corps 2017 Master Manual when reservoir storage is low.

  • Lake Seminole: Maintain 76 ft water level as provided in the Corps’ 2017 Master Manual

What happens to Alabama’s case now that the Corps has completed its Operational Analysis and Water Control Plan Updates?

The Flow Objectives having been adopted, the settlement agreement provides for the pending litigation to be stayed for one additional year before being dismissed for good. The reason this litigation will be stayed, rather than being immediately dismissed, is to preserve the status quo in the unlikely event the settlement agreement cannot be implemented as anticipated.

Is there still other active litigation?

Yes. In addition to the challenges by Alabama, three environmental groups — the National Wildlife Federation, the Florida Wildlife Federation, and the Apalachicola River and Bay Keeper — also challenged the Corps’ 2017 Master Water Control Manual for the ACF Basin. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia ruled in favor of the Corps, the State of Georgia, and ARC and the Georgia Water Supply Providers. This case is also now on appeal at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

There is also pending litigation involving the Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa (ACT) River Basin, which is pending in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Specifically, in 2015, the State of Alabama, Alabama Power Co., and other Alabama parties sued the Corps in federal court in Washington, D.C. to challenge the Corps’ 2015 decision to revise its ACT Master Water Control Manual. Subsequently, Alabama also challenged the Corps’ 2021 decision to meet Metro Atlanta’s water supply needs from Allatoona Lake.

On November 9, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in favor of the Corps, Georgia, and ARC and the Cobb County-Marietta Water Authority on all claims challenging the 2015 Master Manual. The parties will now move forward with the second phase of the case.

Florida has also sued both Georgia and the Corps many times over the years, but there is no longer any active litigation. Most recently, in 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously denied Florida’s request for an equitable apportionment of the waters of the ACF River Basin.

Where is more information on the water litigation available?