According to its press release, the Corps will be conducting a lottery style drawing to give all applicants an equal opportunity and to determine the order of precedence for reviewing the remaining permit requests.

Beginning on July 10, residents on the lake who are interested in having their property reviewed for a new dock permit, may visit www.lakelaniersupl.com to download the information needed to submit a request letter.  Request letters may be sent by mail for 90 days from 15 July 2009 until 13 October 2009 to

Lake Lanier Permits
P O Box 9
Gonzalez, FL 32560

An outside firm will be entering all requests in a database and will post requests weekly on www.lakelaniersupl.com so applicants can ensure that their request has been received.  A final list of confirmed requests will be published on the same site about one week after the open period and prior to a random drawing which will determine the order the requests will be reviewed.  The drawing will be webcast and available by video feed to a site in our area.  Links will also be available on www.lakelaniersupl.com and www.lanier.usace.army.mil.

Detailed information on this procedure is available on the Corps’ Web site or by calling the Corps’ Shoreline Management office at Lake Lanier at 770-945-9531.

We will soon list the participating marinas and parks for Shore Sweep.  Volunteers can go to those parks between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. on September 19 to pick up trash bags from the site volunteers.

Volunteers do not need to register their participation in Shore Sweep with the Lake Lanier Association.  We appreciate everyone’s help in keeping our lake clean and invite you to pick up bags and maps from one of the sites and go wherever you wish to pick up trash.  Please return the filled trash bags to one of the designated dumpsters at the listed marinas/parks.

In return for filled bags of trash volunteers will receive a 21st Annual Shore Sweep T-shirt and may attend the volunteer appreciation party from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at Van Pugh Park North in Flowery Branch. The party will include free hot dogs and hamburgers, beverages, entertainment and raffle prizes. Please note our party venue has changed this year:

Van Pugh Park North

The US Army Corps of Engineers has announced its procedures to issuing the approximate 174 remaining boat dock permits available for Lake Lanier.

According to its press release, the Corps will be conducting a lottery style drawing to give all applicants an equal opportunity and to determine the order of precedence for reviewing the remaining permit requests.

Beginning on July 10, residents on the lake who are interested in having their property reviewed for a new dock permit, may visit www.lakelaniersupl.com to download the information needed to submit a request letter.  Request letters may be sent by mail for 90 days from 15 July 2009 until 13 October 2009 to

Lake Lanier Permits
P O Box 9
Gonzalez, FL 32560

An outside firm will be entering all requests in a database and will post requests weekly on www.lakelaniersupl.com so applicants can ensure that their request has been received.  A final list of confirmed requests will be published on the same site about one week after the open period and prior to a random drawing which will determine the order the requests will be reviewed.  The drawing will be webcast and available by video feed to a site in our area.  Links will also be available on www.lakelaniersupl.com and www.lanier.usace.army.mil.

Detailed information on this procedure is available on the Corps' Web site or by calling the Corps' Shoreline Management office at Lake Lanier at 770-945-9531.

Vicki Barnhorst
The Lake Lanier Association

The hearing in Jacksonville yesterday focused on Georgia's entitlement to current and future water supply from Lake Lanier.  As expected, Alabama, Florida, Alabama Power Company, and the Southeastern Federal Power Customers argued that Buford Dam was never intended to supply water to the Atlanta area, and that all the water in Lake Lanier properly is allocated to downstream navigation and to hydropower production.

Georgia, the Atlanta Regional Commission, and the other water supply providers argued that water supply has always been an intended purpose, and that Congress authorized the dam's construction in 1946 in part on the understanding that it would ensure a steady and reliable source of water for the Atlanta area as it grew.  Judge Magnuson noted that Atlanta had not contributed any funds for the dam's construction during the 1950's, and asked how he was to deal with that.  He also criticized the Corps of Engineers for having not resolved the water supply issue in the 50 years since the dam was built.

The opposing parties have also argued throughout the litigation that recreation is not an authorized purpose of Lake Lanier, and that the Corps is therefore not allowed to keep water in the Lake to support recreation.  The Lake Lanier Association was, of course, represented at the hearing.   Our attorney, Clyde Morris, argued to Judge Magnuson that recreation is indeed an authorized purpose of Lake Lanier, and that the Corps has full authority to keep water in the Lake for recreation purposes.  The Association has represented the rights and investments of its members throughout this litigation, protecting not only those who have invested in real estate on the Lake, but all those individuals and businesses that rely on Lake Lanier for jobs, livelihoods, and government revenues to support schools, hospitals, and the infrastructure of our communities.

While this Phase 1 of the litigation focuses on water supply, Phase 2 will focus on the Corps' operations that drained Lake Lanier so drastically over the course of the latest drought.  Judge Magnuson will not begin to look at the Phase 2 issues until after he has ruled on Phase 1.  He said at the conclusion of the hearing that, for the first time in his lengthy career as a federal judge, his decision in this case may exceed 100 pages.  He did, however, commit to ruling as soon as possible, and we are hopeful that he will issue his decision on Phase 1 this summer.

We have received the following press release from the Mobile office of the Corps:

"Moratorium remains on acceptance of new Shoreline Use Permits for Lake Lanier

Mobile, Ala.-  The US. Army Corps of Engineers Mobile District, announced the moratorium on acceptance of new Shoreline Use Permit/License requests for boat docks due to low lake levels at Lake Sidney Lanier, will be extended.

 "The moratorium was put into place in August 2007 due to low lake levels as provided for in the low water action plan," said E. Patrick Robbins, Chief, Public Affairs, Mobile District.  "While the lake level has risen significantly recently and it appears might  temporarily reach the 1064 level which would normally trigger the acceptance of applications, we have decided to extend the moratorium."

"The moratorium will remain in place until the lake level remains at 1064 or is rising above 1064 for 30 consecutive days and the five week forecast shows the level or rise is sustainable," said Robbins.

 The low water action plan has established 1064 as the cutoff elevation due to the need to properly ascertain where a proposed boat dock would actually sit on the lake in relation to existing docks and the shoreline.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will make an announcement well in advance when the moratorium will be lifted and they will begin accepting new applications."

The Lake Lanier Association is pleased to announce Shore Super Sweep 2009, an ongoing volunteer program to clean up the shoreline of Lake Lanier.  Because of the low water levels, large amounts of trash are still exposed on the shore around the lake.

The Lake Lanier Association has arranged for designated dumpsters at three sites around Lake Lanier for disposal of trash that volunteers collect.  
 
Two dumpsters are available for trash drop off via lake access only; Chestnut Ridge Park boat ramp, and a location on the south side of Young Deer.  The Chestnut Ridge Park boat ramp can be accessed between FB2 and FB4, and the ramp is in the last cove on the west side of the park, close to its entrance.  The Forsyth County dumpster is between YD4 and YD5 on the south side of the creek.  Volunteers disposing of collected trash by vehicle may go to Gainesville Marina, where a dumpster is in place at the south boat ramp.
 
The Lake Lanier Association thanks W.L. Hailey and Company for the use of their dumpster on Young Creek, the Corps of Engineers, Lake Lanier Islands and Gainesville Marina.
 
This ongoing program is made possible by a generous grant the Lake Lanier Association received last year from the BoatUS Foundation.  The association thanks J & J Disposal for their continued support.  Any groups wishing to plan an organized clean up may arrange it through the association office.
 
Please mark your calendars for the 21st Annual Shore Sweep on September 19, 2009.  For more information, please call the association at 770-503-7757 visit their Web site at www.lakelanier.org.

We hope you will join us this year for our 7th Annual Golf Tournament.  The tournament will take place on June 1 at PineIsle Golf Club, Lake Lanier Islands, and we are dedicating the event to the memory of Lake Lanier Association board member, Jaime Baray, who started our annual golf outings in 2003.

The event will be a great deal of fun for everyone involved, and the Lake Lanier Association will benefit from the proceeds. You can register to play on your own, or you can put together a team of your friends, colleagues, and/or golfing buddies. You'll be able to enjoy a wonderful afternoon on the greens, while helping provide support your association.

To register, simply print out the registration form and mail to the association address along with your registration fee. If you're interested in a sponsorship opportunity or making a door prize donation, please indicate your interest on the form. If you have any questions, please contact us.

We hope you will join us on June 1!

The Lake Lanier Association will hold its annual membership meeting on May 5 at the Lakeview Center in Dawsonville.  The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. with refreshments, and the program will start at 6:30 pm.

Our guest speaker will be Pete Taylor, who is chief of staff at the Mobile Corps office, and he will address the updates on the Water Control Manuals for the ACF River Basin.

The Water Control Manual addresses schedules for each Corps project and specifications for storage and releases from each reservoir in the basin, and also includes guidelines for making water management decisions. This manual was last updated over 30 years ago.

Mr. Taylor will report on the first stage of the process which took place last year with scoping meetings for stakeholder input throughout the basin.  He will also inform us of further community meetings and public input opportunities for the manuals.

The Lake Lanier Association board will update you on its activities and programs including the Tri-States litigation.

The meeting is open to all association members, and to non-members interested in Lake Lanier's water quantity and quality.

We look forward to seeing you on May 5.

Vicki Barnhorst
Executive Director

A Motion for Summary Judgment and supporting Memorandum of Law submitted by the Lake Lanier Association , the State of Georgia, the Atlanta Regional Commission, and a number of water supply providers are included in the documentation now being reviewed by the federal judge during Phase 1 of the Tri-States 'Water Wars' litigation over the allocation of water in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) basin. Judge Paul A. Magnuson, a U.S. District Court Judge from Minnesota, is presiding over the seven cases in this litigation in the US District Court in Jacksonville. Judge Magnuson has organized these court proceedings into two phases.

The focus of the first phase is primarily on the Corps' operation of LakeLanier for municipal and industrial water supply.  As such, Phase 1 will address the original statutory authorization for the creation of LakeLanier.  Florida, Alabama, and the Southeastern Federal Power Customers maintain that LakeLanier was created for flood control, navigation and power generation only and that LakeLanier should not be operated for purposes of supporting municipal water supply and recreation. The Lake Lanier Association, along with the other Georgia parties, contends that water supply and recreation are of equal importance as flood control, navigation and power generation.  Motions for summary judgment in Phase 1 were submitted by all parties on January 23, 2009; respondents' opposing motions are due by March 2 and replies to these by March 25.  Judge Magnuson has scheduled a hearing on all parties' motions for May 8, in which the Lake Lanier Association's attorney, Clyde Morris, will participate.

The second phase of the litigation will focus primarily on the US Army Corps of Engineers' management of the ACF basin under the Interim Operations Plan it instituted in April, 2006.  Phase 2 will thus include consideration of competing water flow requirements of the ACF for water supply, recreation, and endangered species in the ApalachicolaRiver. The judge has not yet set deadlines for this phase.

As you know, the Lake Lanier Association is the only intervener in this litigation that is not either a government entity or a utility operator, and is the only party dedicated to representing the interests of LakeLanier individual and business stakeholders.  We appreciate your support of our efforts to safeguard the interests of all LakeLanier stakeholders in this important litigation.

The Motion for Summary Judgment can be read in its entirety (84 pages) on our Web site at http://llanews.wordpress.com/2009/02/06/tri-states-litigation-motion-for-summary-judgment-january-2009/