Description: Original jurisdiction proceeding in which Florida seeks a decree apportioning the waters of the Apalachicola, Chattahoochee, and Flint River Basins to address harms Florida allegedly suffered due to Georgia's consumptive uses of water.
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Florida v. Georgia
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 04/01/2021 Opinion Download Florida's exceptions to the Special Master's Report overruled and case dismissed. Supreme Court Said Florida Failed to Prove Georgia’s Overconsumption of Water Caused Injuries. The U.S. Supreme Court dismissed Florida’s original jurisdiction case seeking an equitable apportionment of the waters of the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin. The Court unanimously found that Florida had not met its heavy burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that Georgia’s overconsumption of the Basin waters caused the collapse of Florida’s oyster fisheries and harm to Florida’s river ecosystem. The Court pointed to documents and witnesses presented by Florida that supported Georgia’s contention that Florida’s mismanagement of the fishery caused its collapse; the Court also cited evidence that “the unprecedented series of multiyear droughts, as well as changes in seasonal rainfall patterns, may have played a significant role” in the conditions that led to the fishery’s collapse. 02/22/2021 Not Available Oral arguments heard. On February 22, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in an original jurisdiction case filed by Florida against Georgia in which Florida seeks a decree apportioning the waters of the Apalachicola, Chattahoochee, and Flint River Basins to address harms Florida allegedly suffered—including damage to oyster fisheries—due to decreased flows in the Apalachicola River that Florida contends is caused by Georgia’s use of water. Georgia argues that Florida did not prove that Georgia’s water use caused the harm to the fisheries and that changing climatic conditions and Florida’s mismanagement of the fisheries played “a far greater role.” 07/27/2020 Sur-Reply Download Sur-reply filed by Florida in support of exceptions to the special master's report. 07/06/2020 Amicus Brief Download Brief filed by United States as amicus curiae in support of overruling Florida's exceptions 2(d) and 3(iv) to the special master's report. 07/02/2020 Amicus Brief Download Amicus brief filed in support of Georgia by the Atlanta Regional Commission et al. 06/26/2020 Reply Download Reply filed by Georgia to Florida's exceptions to the special master's report. 04/20/2020 Amicus Brief Download Brief filed by Franklin County Seafood Workers Association as amicus curiae. 04/13/2020 Not Available Download Exceptions to the report of the special master and brief in support of the exceptions filed by Florida. 12/11/2019 Not Available Download Report filed by special master. 10/21/2016 Amicus Brief Download Amicus curiae brief filed by National Audubon Society et al.