On Thursday, October 16, the Barack Obama Campaign for Change announced the Presidential candidate’s plan to protect the Apalachicola/Chattahoochee/Flint (ACF) River System.At the St. Andrews Marina in Panama City, Florida, residents, commercial fishermen, elected officials and other local stakeholders were on hand to hear the Campaign for Change announce Obama’s plan.
The plan first acknowledged, that the reduction of freshwater flow of the Apalachicola River before it empties into Apalachicola Bay – threatens the livelihood of the local commercial fishing industry, which is responsible for $134 million in economic output and an additional $71 million in value-added impacts.
Obama has pledged that if elected President he will make protecting Florida’s water resources a priority.
His plan calls for ending the 20-year old Water War between Florida, Georgia, and Alabama and the subsequent lawsuits by utilizing sound science to help stakeholders reach an equitable solution. The difference this time is that as President, Obama would direct the National Research Council (NRC) to conduct a study to assess the water availability, supply options, and demand-management alternatives that factor into ACF River System usage, as well as the impact of freshwater flow on the ecology of the Apalachicola River and Bay.
In early January, after no signs of resolution and no leadership coming from our elected County and State Officials, the City of Apalachicola felt alone and restricted, so we took the only action we felt necessary for the continued existence of the Apalachicola River and Bay. The City petitioned the courts to declare unlawful the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers actions in reducing freshwater flow as a response to the drought in Atlanta.
As Mayor, I find it encouraging and inviting that Barack Obama has brought to the National forefront, this vital economic issue that is important to more than 800 Franklin County families who make their living from the waters of the Apalachicola River and Bay.
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