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.

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.

Florida v. Georgia

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Supreme Court Said Florida Failed to Prove Georgia’s Overconsumption of Water Caused Injuries

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Supreme Court Said Florida Failed to Prove Georgia’s Overconsumption of Water Caused Injuries

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