Supreme Court Weighs Blame in Georgia, Florida Water War (1)

The U.S. Supreme Court appears hesitant to side with Florida in a bitter water dispute that pits state’s oystermen against Georgia farmers.

The justices heard oral argument on Monday on Florida’s latest plea for a cap on Georgia’s use of a shared river basin. The case is an original jurisdiction proceeding, a rare type of dispute that goes straight to the Supreme Court rather than working through lower benches first.

“Denying relief in these circumstances not only would be a death sentence for Apalachicola but would extinguish Florida’s equal right to the reasonable use of the waters at issue,” Latham ...