On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil well spilled 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. The spill lasted from April 2010 through September 19, 2010 and spread up to 68,000 square miles. At the time of the spill, officials in Florida were concerned that the spill would destroy the oysters in Apalachicola Bay. As a result, officials in Florida loosened the restrictions on harvesting of oysters from the Apalachicola Bay. This led to extensive oyster harvesting in the years 2011 and 2012. In the lawsuit, a marine ecologist testified that the average densities in the most heavily harvested oyster beds dropped 78% in the 2011 and 2012 time frame. At the same time, that same ecologist noted that the mean densities in other oyster beds that were not as heavily harvested had increased 3 – 13% during the same time frame.
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The disagreements over water between Florida, Georgia and Alabama aren t over even though earlier this year the U.S. Supreme Court sided with Georgia. The states have been arguing for decades with Florida and Alabama accusing Georgia of using too much water.
A plan was put forth six years ago by people who say there is a way to find agreement between the states.
To many, Lake Lanier, just north of Atlanta, is a fun destination. But the reservoir is also metro Atlanta s main source of drinking water. It s near the headwaters of the Chattahoochee River, one of the rivers the states have fought over.
Credit Molly Samuel / WABE
Florida, Georgia and Alabama have been arguing for decades over water. Florida and Alabama accuse Georgia of using too much of it.
Even now that a major case in the 30-year fight ended earlier this year, with the U.S. Supreme Court siding with Georgia, the disagreements are far from resolved.
At stake are delicate habitats in Florida and a once-thriving oyster fishery, jobs and power generation in Alabama, and water supply for south Georgia farmers as well as for most of metro Atlanta.
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While state and federal officials have not been able to come to an agreement over how to manage their shared river system, six years ago, a group representing industry, farmers, residents and environmentalists in all three states released a plan they say showed a way forward, with a set of recommendations they say can help ease the problems, without resorting to the courts.