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Congress Tunes Into Drought
Subcommittee Hears Testimony from Local Delegation
A local delegation traveled to Congress Tuesday morning to fetch a pail of water.
What will come tumbling down in terms of bringing more flow to the Apalachicola Bay is still up in the air.
Kevin Begos, executive director of the Franklin County Oyster & Seafood Task, testified on behalf of the Apalachicola River Riparian County Stakeholders Coalition, whose other members in attendance were County Commissioner Smokey Parrish, Dave McLain, senior policy director of the Apalachicola Riverkeepers; and Chad Taylor, one of the representatives from Jackson County on the coalition.
In a two-hour hearing, the House of Representatives' Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment turned its attention to "Comprehensive Watershed Management and Planning - Drought Related Issues in the Southeastern US" and heard representatives from Apalachicola, as well as metro Atlanta and the farming regions in the southern portions of Georgia, tell their sides of the story.
The hearing, called in part on the urging of Cong. Allen Boyd (D-North Florida), opened on a down note, as Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas) said she was disappointed none of the governors in the tri-state Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) water basin talks showed up.
"To our surprise they did not come," she said, urging them to resume the talks that broke down last month. "I'm very disappointed that the governors would not appear themselves or send any member to represent themselves."
Boyd was joined by Congressmen John Lewis and Hank Johnson, both Democrats from in and around northern Georgia, in the first panel to appear before the subcommittee.
"Georgia is in crisis," said Lewis. "If you don't have water, you don't have much of anything. Reserves in Lake Lanier continue to be depleted."
Lewis said the Army Corps of Engineers was operating under "outdated water control management," a charge echoed by several of the others who testified.
"The time is now. We can not afford to wait any longer," said Lewis. ""Water is too precious a resource not to have a long-term plan. We need to stop trying to find winners and losers. Water transcends borders."
Boyd followed next, apologizing for his hoarse voice and joking that "maybe some good water will help fix it."
He stressed that "long term planning is the only solution" and while not lodging extensive criticism, made a point of noting that Georgia has not put into place regulatory steps that have kept paced with "unbridled development." He contrasted this with Florida's long history of water management districts, complete with taxing authority.
Boyd urged Congress to keep close oversight over the Army Corps of Engineers in it develops an updated water control plan for the ACF basin and encouraged the three states to include in "a transparent and collaborative process" the use of independent and local experts to determine the water flows that the Apalachicola River and Bay needed to maintain their productivity; to set limits on water use within the tri-state basin; to assess the water conservation potential among all users in the basin-agricultural, municipal, and industrial-and determine the most cost-effective investments; and to embody these agreements in a durable compact with strong enforcement mechanisms.
In his testimony, Johnson said "the people back home want a plan for managing this crisis. It is unacceptable that negotiations have broken down while people in this region grow increasingly worried."
He also said that Georgians have met and exceeded Governor Sonny Perdue's call for a 10 percent reduction. "That shows their commitment to conservation," Johnson said.
The next panel of speaks consisted of Begos, Robert Hunter, commissioner of the department of watershed management for the city of Atlanta; and Tim Burch, a board member of the Georgia Peanut Commission.
"This is not a case of people vs. mussels," said Begos, in outlining the difficulties the drought has caused on the seafood industry. "It is about finding a way for all the vital needs along the river to be fairly balanced - from cities to farms to seafood producers to the environment."
In addition to the oyster industry, Begos outlined other problems with seafood workers. "For generations shrimp fishing has been a cornerstone of our economy, yet in 2007 the white shrimp harvest crashed by almost 90 percent compared to the 2000 to 2004 period, and the brown shrimp harvest declined by 55 percent, according to preliminary figures," he said.
"The proud owners of the small shrimp boats who have worked inshore waters for generations suffered mostly in silence, embarrassed that they could no longer provide for their families. Boats fell into disrepair and even sank at the dock, and shrimp houses fell silent, too, depriving many workers of paychecks," Begos said. "The blue crab catch from the Bay in 2007 declined by about 55 percent from the previous year, and the flounder catch declined by about 40 percent.
"I list these different species because these declines suggest how severe the impact of the drought was on the entire ecosystem. Even with different life cycles and feeding habits, all suffered," he said.
Hunter defended the actions taken metro Atlanta five million people in coping with water levels in Lake Lanier that are 13 feet lower than this time last year.
"The need for action is immediate," he said, stressing that Atlantans have adopted an aggressive strategy for water management, including a virtual ban on outdoor water use, the replacement of 55 miles of old pipes, and $1 billion in improvements to the water system improvements.
Hunter said the Army Corps of Engineers' management plan " is not sustainable. It does not allow reservoirs to refill.
"All users need to be part of the solution and take appropriate conservation measures," he said, noting that the Corps needs to stop the over-release of water, which he said was "wasting twice the total amount of water metro Atlanta uses in a day."
He also called for a comprehensive water control plan based on "facts and sound science."
Burch said the drought has caused $800 million in direct losses to farmers last year, mostly in hay, cotton, peanuts and corn, and a total indirect loss of $1.3 billion.Jess D. Weaver, regional executive with the Southeast Area United States Geological Survey; Brig. Gen. Joseph Schroedel, commander, South Atlantic Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; Sam D. Hamilton, regional director, Southeast Region U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and J. John Feldt, hydrologist in charge, National Weather Service U.S. Department of Commerce.
The committee's third panel consisted of analysis of the situation from
Cong. Lynn Westmoreland, a Republican from Georgia, was among the most active questioners, and added a local connection when he commented that he had visited Jimmy Mosconis' Bay City Lodge on several occasions.
"I have fished in Apalachicola Bay on many occasions and eaten so many oysters down there," he said.
