The Supreme Court punts on the Florida-Georgia water fight

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday directed an expert judge to revisit key aspects of Florida's water rights case against Georgia, a disappointing legal outcome for the Peach State after it racked up several recent victories in court related to its long-running water dispute with its neighbors.

The justices in their 5-4 opinion told Ralph Lancaster Jr., the so-called "special master" who recommended last year that the court dismiss Florida's case, to conduct further legal proceedings in the battle over water from the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint river basin, which originates in North Georgia and follows along the Alabama border to the Florida Panhandle.

Writing for the majority, Justice Stephen Breyer concluded Mr. Lancaster initially "applied too strict a standard" when he determined the court could not find an adequate solution that would lead to more water flowing downstream from Georgia.

"The complaining State should not have to prove with specificity the details of an eventually workable decree by 'clear and convincing' evidence," said Justice Breyer, who was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justices Anthony Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonya Sotomayor. "Rather, the complaining State should have to show that, applying the principles of 'flexibility' and 'approximation' ... it is likely to prove possible to fashion such a decree."

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-nation/2018/06/27/The-Supreme-Court-punts-on-the-Florida-Georgia-water-fight/stories/201806270260

Cross-posted in the Florida Group.