Corps revises Lanier's environmental impact statement

MOBILE, Ala. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is revising the scope of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for its updated water control manuals for the the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) River Basin.

Corps officials said the revisions will account for a judge's July 17 federal court ruling which determined Atlanta could not draw its drinking water from Lake Lanier and gave the state three years to work out a deal.

"With the exception of two relatively small relocation contracts for the
Cities of Gainesville and Buford, the Court determined that neither water
supply withdrawals from Lake Lanier nor releases for water supply from the
Chattahoochee River downstream, were authorized project purposes," Mobile
District Chief of Public Affairs E. Patrick Robbins said. "In light of the significant new circumstances and information associated with the Judge’s ruling, the Corps will reopen the scoping process to gather stakeholder input regarding these new circumstances to be considered in its preparation of the Master Water Control Manual and EIS,” Robbins said.

Comments on the scope of the EIS should be submitted in writing to
Tetra Tech, Inc., 107 Saint Francis Street, Ste 1403, Mobile, AL 32206-9986.

Comments may also be submitted by using the electronic comment form at:
http://www.sam.usace.army.mil/pa/acf-wcm/mail_list.htm#form.