Fresh Loaf

The lawyer hired by Gov. Sonny Perdue to file appeals, injunctions, motions and whatever else barristers do for Georgia in its ongoing “water war” with Florida and Alabama will be paid $855 an hour.

The AJC reports:

Seth Waxman, a former U.S. solicitor general in the Clinton administration, was tapped this week to replace Paul Clement, a King & Spalding attorney who withdrew because of a possible conflict of interest. Waxman’s hourly rate is a 10 percent discount off his normal rate of $950 an hour, a spokesman for the governor’s office said Friday.

Thanks for the discount, Mr. Waxman!

OK, $855 an hour. That’s $14.25 a minute. If I charged $855 an hour, I could earn my monthly rent in just 49 minutes. I’d only have to put in seven hours of work at the office to buy this rip-roarin’ jet ski. (Maybe an amphibious car?) If I wanted to purchase the entire Bob Ross DVD collection, I’d only have to toil for 48 minutes.

We are all in the wrong line of work.

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Gov. Sonny Perdue has tapped Allen Barnes, a partner at King & Spalding, to head the state Environmental Protection Division. Director Carol Couch resigned last week to take a job at the University of Georgia.

From the Atlanta Business Chronicle:

Before joining Atlanta-based King & Spalding, Barnes served as chief of staff for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Region Four, which has jurisdiction over eight Southeastern states, including Georgia. Prior to that, he taught natural resource policy and law as an associate professor at Mississippi State University. [...]

Barnes’ professional career also includes stints as a prosecutor in the Florida State Attorney’s office and as a special assistant U.S attorney handling criminal, tort and environmental litigation.

But Georgia Public Broadcasting’s John Sepulvado says some environmentalists aren’t happy with Perdue’s choice.

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The federal judge that recently ruled against Georgia in the decades-long tri-state “water war” basically told the state on Monday that he wasn’t pleased with the state’s legal maneuvering.

From the AJC:

In a three-page order, Senior U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson frowned upon the Georgia parties’ appeals to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta.

He said an appeal “will only delay and further complicate the resolution of the important claims at issue.” [...]

“The court stayed the matter for three years, to allow the parties and the political system to attempt to reach a solution to this inherently political problem,” Maguson wrote Monday. Magnuson said he “fully anticipates” the parties will resolve their differences before the deadline.

But Magnuson also noted that “keeping with the gamesmanship evidenced throughout this litigation,” the Georgia parties never abandon their legal claims.

Since Magnuson’s July ruling, Gov. Sonny Perdue has said the state will continue the legal fight, consider building more reservoirs, and — after some huffing and puffing — look at conservation measures. The state’s finding out those first two solutions are more tricky now that Georgia’s behind the eight ball in this little dispute.

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1. In the auction for Creative Loafing, the winning bidder is … (… these guys. Hey, they seem pretty OK!)

2. The mayoral ‘machine’ goes haywire, Reed fires back (Memo urges Atlanta’s black leaders to rally behind a single black mayoral candidate — to keep a white candidate out of office.)

3. Wendy Whitaker, symbol of flawed sex offender law, rearrested (When she was 17, Whitaker gave one of the most regrettable blow jobs ever.)

4. Sen. Jeff Chapman’s views on water conservation, water wars (Chapman’s one of the Gold Dome’s greatest enigmas — one of the few Republicans who doesn’t march in lockstep with his fellow pachyderms.)

5. Oxendine: Build an interstate through East Atlanta? Let’s talk! (Um, no.)

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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Gov. Sonny Perdue sat down with Georgia’s Congressional delegation today to discuss how the state will iron out a water-sharing deal with Alabama and Florida now that a federal judge has ruled metro Atlanta’s use of Lake Lanier for drinking water is illegal.

While governors of the three states check their day planners, the Peach State’s congressmen will weigh whether they want to make the issue a national one or keep the focus on Lake Lanier.

At an Aug. 14 panel discussion with business leaders and other elected officials, Isakson said his office has discovered more than 45 federal reservoirs might be in the same predicament as Lake Lanier — essentially, they were never intended to be used for drinking water, but somewhere along the way local governments started dipping in straws.

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Because the only thing worse than potentially losing metro Atlanta’s main source of drinking water is, well,  potentially losing another.

The next skirmish in metro Atlanta’s so far losing battle for drinking water will begin in a federal courtroom here Monday.

Last month a Minnesota judge ruled that Atlanta has no right to drink from Lake Lanier, a potentially crushing blow for future growth and development in North Georgia.

But what happens in Birmingham could prove doubly dire for Atlanta. U.S. District Court Judge Karon Bowdre is weighing whether North Georgia illegally taps Lake Allatoona, too. Her ruling is expected next year.

Lake Allatoona provides drinking water to roughly 800,000 customers in Cobb and surrounding counties.

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Second only to CL, the Marietta Daily Journal has some of the best letters to the editor. For less than a dollar a day you get some of the most whimsical glimpses into Cobb County life.

Yesterday, MDJ columnist Don McKee reprinted his readers’ thoughts about this whole ‘water wars’ mess. The best comes from my boy “B.E. (Pitt) Pittman.”

I think Atlanta and its metro counties and cities should build regional reservoirs similar to the new Hickory Log Creek Reservoir in Canton. It really ticks me off that a non-elected federal judge in a far off Northern state can dictate our use of Lake Lanier. Gainesville has built a regional lake on Flat Creek in north Hall County. We should build one on Sope Creek, Ward Creek and Sweetwater Creek. Also, we should build some smaller lakes so folks can use the water to water their lawns, wash cars and water golf courses. I have always thought it ridiculous to use treated water to wash cars, water lawns and golf courses. I wish we could get Bob Barr, Newt Gingrich and Zell Miller back in Congress.

After the jump, we examine Mr. Pittman’s opinions, because that is why Jimmy Carter invented the Internet.

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'I'll bring the giant slab of meat, guys!'

In a shameless attempt to mimic Kenyan President Barack Obama, an illegal alien who is doing keg stands at this very moment with a Harvard professor and Boston police officer, Gov. Sonny Perdue has invited the governors of Alabama and Florida to chew the fat and talk about sharing Lake Lanier’s water.

“Water issues have dominated the headlines in recent days, and I have read statements from both of you that indicate your willingness to resume water negotiations,” Governor Perdue wrote in a letter to both governors. “Judge Magnuson’s insistence on a Congressional solution was specifically related to authority for Lanier and did not address the allocation of water in the basins between the three states. I have always believed that a negotiated settlement that protects the rights and resources of all three states is the most lasting solution.”

Perdue even gave them a list of 40 days that he’s free. (Gotta be something Biblical about that.) Can’t make it to Atlanta? No biggie! Perdue said he’s willing to travel to them.

The governor might want to be accommodating to their schedules. According to the Associated Press, Alabama Gov. Bob Riley is none too pleased with Perdue’s decision to appoint Georgia Power CEO Mike Garrett to an “impact team” that’ll coordinate the Peach State’s strategy in this wacky mess.

Perdue’s full letter to the governors is pasted after the jump.

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Flanked by Mayor Shirley Franklin, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, state lawmakers and business bigwigs, Gov. Sonny Perdue this morning told reporters the state would appeal a recent ruling that said metro Atlanta’s use of Lake Lanier for its primary water supply was illegal.

Perdue met behind closed doors with 130 officials at the Governor’s Mansion this morning to discuss Georgia’s next step in the ongoing water wars dispute with Florida and Alabama. (Jim Galloway has a list of those who attended.)

U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson has given Georgia three years to seek Congressional approval for the use of Lake Lanier. If not, withdrawals would return to 1975 levels, when the metro region population was a third the size it is today. Perdue, who earlier this week said he’d “fight to the death” for Georgia’s water, said he hopes to bring other states on board because the federal management of reservoirs is a “national” issue.

For nearly 20 years, the three states have argued over water withdrawals from the lake, which was originally built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the 1950s for flood control, hydroelectric production and downstream barge navigation.

When asked by CL if he’d considered asking his floor leaders to introduce legislation that would encourage conservation or set mandates, Perdue bristled. He said the state had made strides over the last 18 months  simply by asking local governments and residents to reduce their use of water.

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Good to know our elected officials are thinking big when it comes to dealing with a recent ruling that says metro Atlanta’s use of Lake Lanier as a source of drinking water is illegal.

SOCIAL CIRCLE – State Sen. John Douglas is poised to take the water wars between Georgia, Florida and Alabama to a new front – the football field.

…

Douglas said this ruling comes just as the contract between the University of Georgia and the University of Florida to play the annual football game in Jacksonville, Fla. – which has been called the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party – is set for renewal.

“But if the state of Florida wants to play hardball, then as far as I’m concerned, the vendors in Jacksonville can frankly pay the price,” the Social Circle Republican said.

Douglas said he traditionally “doesn’t have a dog in the fight,” but with the recent ruling in the tri-state water wars, he’s ready to work with UGA’s Athletic Association to bring the Georgia-Florida game to Georgia at least every other year.

…

“Now is the time for us to use economic leverage,” he said when contacted by the Citizen on Wednesday. “This is one of the few economic tools we have at our disposal, and I don’t think we should ask the people of Georgia to spend their money in Florida and then have them use that money against us in a courtroom.”

Never mind that the annual Georgia-Florida game is a boon for South Georgia, particularly in the areas of St. Simons, Sea Island and Savannah. Hotels, condo and restaurants along the Golden Isles are packed to capacity during the event. We’re sure business leaders there won’t mind at all.

(Courtesy Senate Press Office)

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Gov. Sonny Perdue has released a statement on Judge Paul Magnuson’s ruling that metro Atlanta’s use of Lake Lanier as its water supply is illegal:

“Obviously, I am deeply disappointed by Judge Magnuson’s decision today. His conclusions rely on decades-old assumptions about the construction of federal reservoirs and the role those reservoirs play in providing water supply for growing states such as Georgia. Our country has changed substantially since the 1940s, when many of these reservoirs were constructed, and I will use this opportunity not only to appeal the judge’s decision but, most importantly, to urge Congress to address the realities of modern reservoir usage. The judge’s ruling allows a three-year window for either Congressional action or an agreement by the states and we will work diligently with Georgia’s delegation and members of Congress to re-establish the proper use of federal reservoirs throughout the country.”

Perdue’s always talking about how the country has changed. Regardless, the AJC’s Jim Galloway, who knows where the bodies are buried, writes that Georgia’s Congressional delegation has scheduled a rare meeting on Monday to get lawmakers on the same page. His post is worth a read if you’re wondering about the political dynamics at play on this issue.

(CL file photo Joeff Davis)

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Mayor Shirley Franklin just released this statement on U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson’s ruling that metro Atlanta can’t tap Lake Lanier for its drinking water:

“Water is a critical resource. The City of Atlanta is spending billions of dollars rebuilding its water infrastructure under federal consent decrees. As mayor, I recognize the seriousness of the ruling and also the value of proper resource stewardship. Clean water is needed for public health, fire protection and economic development for every person and community in Georgia. The Governor and the State have the lead in this case and we and the other Metro Area water providers are following their lead. This is not only a local or regional issue, but a national issue. We welcome the opportunity to resolve it fairly and amicably.”

C’mon! Give us a little pep! Throw some jabs! CL hereby orders all elected officials to attend the Bob Riley School of Public Speaking and Press Release Posturing. We’ve got free papers to sell, after all.

(Cl file photo Joeff Davis)

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Score one for Alabama in the never-ending “water wars” debacle.

U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson today ruled that metro Atlanta’s water withdrawals from Lake Lanier — long a bone of contention between Alabama, Florida and Georgia — are illegal and ordered withdrawals frozen at their current levels.

Magnuson gave the Peach State three years to receive Congress’ approval should it want to keep dipping its straws in the giant jetski-filled pond. (PDF of the judge’s ruling)

Alabama Gov. Bob Riley, whose state has argued for years that Lake Lanier was never authorized to be metro Atlanta’s water fountain, was gracious when he heard the news. According to a statement from the governor printed in the Birmingham Business Journal:

“The significance of today’s ruling for Alabama’s economic and environmental future is tremendous…Atlanta has based its growth on the idea that it could take whatever water it wanted whenever it wanted it, and that the downstream states would simply have to make do with less. Following the court’s ruling today, this massive illegal water grab will be coming to an end.”

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U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., visited the Atlanta Press Club today and spoke about rail, water woes and the nation’s standstill economy. (He said it might take five years for the nation to recover.) Isakson also said the closing of the Hapeville Ford Plant might have hurt the region’s chances for the Atlanta-Lovejoy rail line.

Maria Saporta and the AJC’s Kristi Swartz wrote great summaries of his speech. Grayson Daughters also produced a video of Isakson’s talk.

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The Southeast’s politicians, business leaders and environmentalists will be watching Jacksonville, Fla., today.

From the AJC:

In a Jacksonville courtroom Monday, a federal judge will consider the question: Is metro Atlanta entitled to rely on Lake Lanier as its primary source of drinking water?

Senior U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson, appointed to oversee a number of related water lawsuits, will preside over the much-anticipated hearing. Last year, the St. Paul, Minn., judge said the answer to the question over Lake Lanier’s water may make other disagreements in the high-stakes case “obsolete.”

The tri-state battle has been raging for nearly 20 years.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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Jetski enthusiasts, bass fishermen and bass were shocked — shocked! — Monday after the U.S. Supreme Court said it wouldn’t consider the decades-old legal war between Georgia, Florida and Alabama about how those three states share water from Lake Lanier.

The court’s decision raises fundamental questions about Georgia’s rights to Lake Lanier, a huge federal reservoir outside Atlanta that serves as the city’s main water source. It could also play a key role in deciding related water-rights disputes in lower courts.

Monday’s decision involves a 2003 water-sharing agreement with the Army Corps of Engineers that would have allowed Georgia to take far more water from Lanier for its drinking supply over the coming decades. The deal would have allowed Georgia’s withdrawals to jump from about 13 percent of the lake’s capacity to about 22 percent.

Florida and Alabama contested the pact, arguing that larger withdrawals would cripple downstream flows into their states. They said the lake was initially built for hydropower and providing water to Georgia was not an authorized use.

And now Lake Lanier is the primary source of drinking water for metro Atlanta! Yikes. Gov. Sonny Perdue! Sir, what’s your take on this?

“While we are disappointed with the Supreme Court’s decision today to not correct a flawed ruling by the D.C. Circuit, it is important to remember that this decision simply maintains the status quo in terms of the operation of Lake Lanier by the Army Corps of Engineers.

We felt strongly that Supreme Court review of this case could have resolved a major piece of our ongoing water negotiations, and we will now move forward continuing to work with our neighbors and other stakeholders to reach consensus on a plan that fairly shares our limited resources and adequately protects the headwaters of the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin.”

Thanks, governor! Other officials will most likely weigh in throughout the day. We’ll include their thoughts as they become available.

UPDATE: After the jump, view Florida Gov. Charlie “Tan-tastic” Crist’s statement on the matter.

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SPY VS. PIE: The AP reports that Julia Child left a career as a WWII-era spy to become a chef; Child is one of several well-known Americans whose previously secret spy career was revealed this morning, as the personnel files of the pre-CIA Office of Strategic Services were declassified.

SHOOTING: The chairman of the Arkansas Democratic Party is dead after a recently fired Target employee mysteriously drove more than 30 miles to Little Rock and shot him.

LANIER: Georgia officials asked SCOTUS this morning to overturn a February appeals-court ruling requiring congressional approval for the state to take more water from Lake Lanier to quench Atlanta’s growing thirst.

STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE: The NYT reports on the resurgent popularity of streetcars in at least 40 U.S. downtowns such as Cincinnati, New Orleans, Houston and Charlotte. Not mentioned: Atlanta’s distant visions for the Beltline and Peachtree Street streetcar.

SACS: The accrediting agency is in Clayton County today, part of its review to determine whether the school system will be the first since 1969 to have its accreditation revoked.

SCRATCH PAPER: Cox Newspapers is selling all but three of its newspapers.

RESCUE 911: The recent death of a Johns Creek woman highlights problems in the Fulton County emergency services, as the 911 operator who sent emergency crews 30 miles in the wrong direction had a long history of such routing mistakes. She also repeatedly was disciplined for sleeping on the job, chronic tardiness and fighting with co-workers, and records show her behavior wasn’t uncommon in the department.

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MICHAEL PHELPS: The U.S. swimmer becomes the winningest Olympian ever with his 11th career gold medal.

RUSSIAN INTO WAR: Georgia’s government continues to accuse Russia of attacking the city of Gori despite the cease-fire, and even of moving toward the capital of Tbilisi, although confirmation is difficult.

DRINKING PROBLEM: A judge will decide whether metro Atlantans ever had the right to use Lake Lanier for drinking water.

JOSH SMITH: Interviewed on the Sporting Blog by Bethlehem Shoals following his re-signing with the Hawks.

SILVER BULLET: Transportation officials are discussing the possibility of building a 310-mph, mag-lev bullet train connecting Nashville, Chattanooga and Atlanta.

LAVONIA: Police are accusing a man of keeping his wife and four children captive for three years in a single-wide trailer.

CLAYTON: School board member Rod Johnson becomes the latest to resign. He stepped down after school system attorneys declined to represent him because he had skipped meetings where they were discussing defense strategies for upcoming administrative hearings.

ACCREDIT CHECK: North Carolina Central University’s now-defunct Atlanta satellite campus has been retroactively stripped of its accreditation by SACS, essentially nullifying the degrees earned there by 25 students.

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