Lara Fowler is a senior lecturer at Penn State Law and the assistant director for outreach and engagement at the Penn State Institutes of Energy and the Environment.
A scant 38 days after oral argument, Florida finds itself at the end of the road in its quest to limit the amount of water that Georgia uses in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin.
Two competing stories took center stage during Monday’s oral argument in Florida v. Georgia, the second time this case has appeared before the Supreme Court.
On Monday, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear Florida v. Georgia, round two. At issue is whether the court will require Georgia to cap its water use in the Apalachicola River system and allow more water to flow downstream into Florida.
On November 7, 2019, the parties in Florida v. Georgia again presented their arguments over equitable allocation of water between the states after the U.S. Supreme Court remanded the case in June 2018 and appointed a new special master, Judge Paul Kelly Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, in August 2018.
More than a year ago, Justice Stephen Breyer released the final ruling of October Term 2017 when he announced the decision in Florida v. Georgia, “breezily” summarizing “the ruling in this water dispute that he acknowledges is not a blockbuster.” Although the Supreme Court may have found this to be a technical case, it is of paramount importance to Florida and Georgia.
On the last possible decision day, the Supreme Court issued a 5-4 decision in Florida v. Georgia written by Justice Stephen Breyer and joined by Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Kennedy, Ginsburg and Sotomayor. Justice Thomas filed a dissenting opinion, joined by Justices Alito, Kagan and Gorsuch.
On Monday, the Supreme Court heard two back-to-back original jurisdiction water cases.
Lara Fowler is a senior lecturer at Penn State Law and the assistant director of the Penn State Institutes of Energy and the Environment. On Monday, January 8, the justices will hear the latest chapter in a long-running fight over water in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River basin.