A key judicial recommendation seen as a victory for Georgia in its water war with Florida could have implications for a longstanding border dispute between Tennessee and Georgia – one centered on Georgia’s desire to pump water to Atlanta from Nickajack Lake.
Peach State officials are praising the Feb. 14 recommendation by Ralph Lancaster, U.S. Supreme Court-appointed special master, which appears to deny an effort by Florida to limit Georgia’s use of the Chattahoochee and Flint rivers in South Georgia.
Those same officials stayed silent last week over whether the judicial victory has emboldened them to make a run at the piece of Nickajack Lake in Marion County long claimed by Georgia lawmakers. But an Atlanta newspaper columnist asserted that with no compromise from Tennessee, Georgia should bring the matter before the Supreme Court.
Tennessee officials have said for years they aren’t interested in sharing the Tennessee River with their thirsty counterparts to the south.
“The governor’s position on this remains unchanged,” a spokeswoman for Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam wrote in an email.