The United States Supreme Court announced today that it will hear oral argument in the Florida v. Georgia lawsuit on January 8, 2018. In that case, Florida sought to mandate a statewide water usage cap for Georgia but was held to have failed to establish by clear and convincing evidence that such a remedy would be effective where the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, a major manager of impoundments along the Chattahoochee River, was not a party to the lawsuit. The lawsuit represents the most recent battle in the long-running “water wars” among the Southeastern states over the Apalachicola-Flint-Chattahoochee River Basin.
The calendar will feature a twin-bill with the Court also hearing arguments in Texas v. New Mexico and Colorado, in which Texas is arguing that New Mexico is not upholding the Rio Grande Compact by diverting water before it reaches Texas.
Both cases arrive at the Court after rulings by a Special Master and require the Justices to determine whether to uphold or modify those decisions.