A group known as the ACF Stakeholders, with an administrative office based in Albany, Georgia, distributed a press release urging Florida’s Governor Rick Scott to withdraw his most recent lawsuit in what is commonly called, “The Water Wars.”
The ACF Stakeholders’ mission, according to the group’s website, is:
ACFS’s mission is to achieve equitable water-sharing solutions among stakeholders that balance economic, ecological and social values, while ensuring sustainability for current and future generations. After developing a strong organizational infrastructure and completing a forward-thinking strategic planning process, ACFS is now ready to move forward with the critical next steps, centered around developing a Sustainable Water Management Plan for the Basin. Through scientific modeling and a shared vision process, ACFS will work to achieve a sustainable solution that works for everyone in the ACF Basin.
The ACF Stakeholder’s Press Release
“The Governing Board of ACF Stakeholders, Inc. (ACFS), an organization of local governments, power producers, farmers and oystermen, manufacturers and conservationists throughout the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-
Rather than another courtroom battle, ACFS believes its recommendations for a sustainable water management plan can form the foundation of a tri-state consensus. This work is expected to be completed before June 2014.
“More than two decades of legal fighting has not led to any reasonable solution of this situation,” ACFS Governing Board Chairman Billy Turner said. “We firmly believe that any solution to this dispute will happen in a conference room, not a court room, and will rely on scientific data rather than legal debates.”
Since 2010, ACFS has been working on a sustainable water management plan based on science, good data and consensus. Over the last four years, the group has raised over $1.3 million to accumulate and model the data necessary to develop a consensus-driven plan.
The Governing Board crafted and passed this resolution during its regular quarterly meeting at Unicoi State Park in Georgia. Past meetings have been held in Alabama and Florida.   The Governing Board is comprised of 56 individuals representing all aspects of the river basin’s economic, agricultural, aquacultural, recreational and environmental concerns. Membership on the board is divided equally among the four ACF sub-basins and includes membership from Alabama, Florida and Georgia.
ACF Stakeholders, Inc. is a group of water users in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-
