Press Releases

Rep. Loudermilk (R-GA) issued the following statement today after voting to protect Georgia’s Water Supply as part of H.R. 2029, the Omnibus appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2016. Specifically, the Congressional Delegation, along with the Governor, fought for the removal of offensive language from the end-of-the-year appropriations bill attacking the state of Georgia in the longstanding legal dispute with the state of Alabama over water usage. The offending language that was inserted into the appropriations bill would have forced the unnecessary involvement of the Department of Justice in states’ water disputes.

“The provision that was slipped into the end of year funding bill would have been disastrous to Georgia and especially devastating to the 11th Congressional District. Access to our water resources is critical to sustaining our quality of life and our economic growth. In a case like this, where the questionable provision was inserted in a must-pass piece of legislation, a simple no vote would have been insufficient. We had to act; and, thanks to the immediate action of a unified Georgia delegation and Governor Deal, we were able to protect our state’s water resources.

“The new leadership in the House has committed to change the culture in Washington DC, and their quick and helpful response to this last minute attempt to circumvent access to Georgia’s water is evidence that backroom deals are no longer accepted as the way we do business."

The water rights issue has been a litigated dispute between Georgia and Alabama since 1990, when Alabama first sued to prevent Georgia from reallocating water within the basin. That lawsuit was dismissed as baseless in 2012 after 22 years of litigation. Currently, Georgia has a case pending before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia that would require the Army Corps of Engineers to reallocate water based on Georgia’s water supply needs.