Federal Court Holds Corps Responsible for Hurricane Flood Damage

The U.S. Court of federal claims held yesterday that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is liable for the way it handled water during Hurricane Harvey in 2017. The case focused on two dams built in the suburbs of Houston in the 1940s that caused adjacent properties to flood during the hurricane. Noting that the dams had been designed for much larger storms than those used to calculate the area that was purchased to accommodate flood waters at the time the dams were constructed, the court found that the Corps knew that extreme storms could overflow government-owned lands surrounding the reservoir and flood adjacent properties. Consequently, the Corps was aware of the potential damage its decision to build the dams without purchasing sufficient land in the vicinity could do and liable for a taking of private property without just compensation under the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Warnings in public forums and documents of the potential for flooding were not sufficient to relieve the Corps of liability.

Special Master Recommends Georgia Prevail in Water War with Florida

A special master appointed by the U.S. Supreme Court has recommended that the court rule in Georgia's favor in a water rights dispute with Florida. It's just the latest in the long-running dispute between Georgia, Florida and Alabama over water in two water basins that cross state lines. Florida claims that Georgia’s excessive water withdrawals have harmed the state’s oyster industry by increasing salinity in the Apalachicola estuary. The special master rejected Florida’s arguments, finding that Georgia’s water use is reasonable and that the requested relief might not outweigh the potential harms. The case will ultimately be decided by the Supreme Court.