Media Inquiries
Contact the Office of Communications:
Erin Moffet
Strategic Communications Director
(850) 766-7358
Erin.Moffet@FDACS.gov
Caroline Stonecipher
Deputy Communications Director
(850) 661-7153
Caroline.Stonecipher@FDACS.gov
Sabina Covo
Hispanic Media Director
Sabina.Covo@FDACS.gov
Tallahassee, Fla. – Following today’s ruling by a federal judge on Georgia’s consumption of water shared with Florida, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nicole “Nikki” Fried offered the following statement:
“Today’s ruling is a major disappointment for fair, responsible water usage on which both states depend. Georgia’s unchecked disruption of our shared waters in the Apalachicola River has devastated Florida’s oyster industry. I’m encouraging our state agencies to continue fighting to hold Georgia accountable for its water use, and to explore all legal options.”
The states of Florida and Georgia have been engaged in litigation since the 1990s over the flow of water, in which Florida has been harmed by “reduced flows downstream from Apalachicola River into Apalachicola Bay and the nearby Gulf of Mexico” and “the drastic decline of its once lucrative oyster industry.” The U.S. Supreme Court had previously ruled in Florida’s favor in 2018, sending the case back to a federal special master.
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