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Graham Blends $3M Apalachicola Study Into Spending Bill

Democratic Congresswoman Gwen Graham is claiming a minor victory in the latest skirmish of Florida’s 30-year water war with Georgia and Alabama.

Graham passed an amendment to the House Energy and Water Appropriations Bill, paving the way for a $3 million study of the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint river system.

On the House Floor, Graham stressed the study was recommended by a diverse group of stakeholders with competing interests.

“In short, there is a whole lot that we still don’t know about how water moves throughout the ACF basin, and I believe it’s simply common sense.”  

Governor Rick Scott is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to order Georgia to release more water downstream to the Apalachicola Bay, where low flows and droughts have decimated an iconic oyster fishery.

Graham is also sponsoring legislation that would force the Army Corps of Engineers to consider the Apalachicola Bay’s needs in its water management decisions.

A Miami native, former WFSU reporter Jim Ash is an award-winning journalist with more than 20 years of experience, most of it in print. He has been a member of the Florida Capital Press Corps since 1992.