Florida Ditches Three-State Water Deal

"In a letter to federal officials, Florida's environmental protection chief said the state opposes an arrangement announced in Washington last week under which the Army Corps of Engineers would cut river flows into Florida and Alabama in order to capture more water for Georgia."

"The river reductions would cause a "catastrophic collapse of the oyster industry in Apalachicola Bay' and 'displace the entire economy of the Bay region,' wrote Michael Sole, secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection."

A Florida state spokesman "declined to say whether Florida would sue to stop the plan, saying the state would not decide its next move until after the federal Fish and Wildlife Service issues its opinion next week on whether the proposal would violate the Endangered Species Act by jeopardizing several protected species of mussels and sturgeon in Florida."