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SECTION 1. CONGRESSIONAL CONSENT.
The Congress consents to the Apalachicola-Chat-
tahoochee-Flint River Basin Compact entered into by the
States of Alabama, Florida, and Georgia. The Compact
is substantially as follows:
‘‘Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River
Basin Compact
‘‘The States of Alabama, Florida and Georgia and
the United States of America hereby agree to the following
compact which shall become effective upon enactment of
concurrent legislation by each respective state legislature
and the Congress of the United States.
‘‘SHORT TITLE
‘‘This Act shall be known and may be cited as the
‘Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin Compact’
and shall be referred to hereafter in this document as the
‘ACF Compact’ or ‘Compact’.
‘‘ARTICLE I
‘‘COMPACT PURPOSES
‘‘This Compact among the States of Alabama, Flor-
ida and Georgia and the United States of America has
been entered into for the purposes of promoting interstate
comity, removing causes of present and future controver-
sies, equitably apportioning the surface waters of the
ACF, engaging in water planning, and developing and
sharing common data bases.
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‘‘ARTICLE II
‘‘SCOPE OF THE COMPACT
‘‘This Compact shall extend to all of the waters aris-
ing within the drainage basin of the ACF in the states
of Alabama, Florida and Georgia.
‘‘ARTICLE III
‘‘PARTIES
‘‘The parties to this Compact are the states of Ala-
bama, Florida and Georgia and the United States of
America.
‘‘ARTICLE IV
‘‘DEFINITIONS
‘‘For the purposes of this Compact, the following
words, phrases and terms shall have the following mean-
ings:
‘‘(a) ‘ACF Basin’ or ‘ACF’ means the area of natural
drainage into the Apalachicola River and its tributaries,
the Chattahoochee River and its tributaries, and the Flint
River and its tributaries. Any reference to the rivers with-
in this Compact will be designated using the letters ‘ACF’
and when so referenced will mean each of these three riv-
ers and each of the tributaries to each such river.
‘‘(b) ‘Allocation formula’ means the methodology, in
whatever form, by which the ACF Basin Commission de-
termines an equitable apportionment of surface waters
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within the ACF Basin among the three states. Such for-
mula may be represented by a table, chart, mathematical
calculation or any other expression of the Commission’s
apportionment of waters pursuant to this compact.
‘‘(c) ‘Commission’ or ‘ACF Basin Commission’ means
the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin Com-
mission created and established pursuant to this Compact.
‘‘(d) ‘Ground waters’ means waters within a satu-
rated zone or stratum beneath the surface of land, wheth-
er or not flowing through known and definite channels.
‘‘(e) ‘Person’ means any individual, firm, association,
organization, partnership, business, trust, corporation,
public corporation, company, the United States of Amer-
ica, any state, and all political subdivisions, regions, dis-
tricts, municipalities, and public agencies thereof.
‘‘(f) ‘Surface waters’ means waters upon the surface
of the earth, whether contained in bounds created natu-
rally or artificially or diffused. Water from natural springs
shall be considered ‘surface waters’ when it exits from the
spring onto the surface of the earth.
‘‘(g) ‘United States’ means the executive branch of
the government of the United States of America, and any
department, agency, bureau or division thereof.
‘‘(h) ‘Water Resource Facility’ means any facility or
project constructed for the impoundment, diversion, reten-
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tion, control or regulation of waters within the ACF Basin
for any purpose.
‘‘(i) ‘Water resources,’ or ‘waters’ means all surface
waters and ground waters contained or otherwise originat-
ing within the ACF Basin.
‘‘ARTICLE V
‘‘CONDITIONS PRECEDENT TO LEGAL
VIABILITY OF THE COMPACT
‘‘This Compact shall not be binding on any party
until it has been enacted into law by the legislatures of
the states of Alabama, Florida and Georgia and by the
Congress of the United States of America.
‘‘ARTICLE VI
‘‘ACF BASIN COMMISSION CREATED
‘‘(a) There is hereby created an interstate adminis-
trative agency to be known as the ‘ACF Basin Commis-
sion.’ The Commission shall be comprised of one member
representing the state of Alabama, one member represent-
ing the state of Florida, one member representing the
state of Georgia, and one non-voting member representing
the United States of America. The state members shall
be known as ‘State Commissioners’ and the federal mem-
ber shall be known as ‘Federal Commissioner.’ The ACF
Basin Commission is a body politic and corporate, with
succession for the duration of this Compact.
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‘‘(b) The Governor of each of the states shall serve
as the State Commissioner for his or her state. Each State
Commissioner shall appoint one or more alternate mem-
bers and one of such alternates as designated by the State
Commissioner shall serve in the State Commissioner’s
place and carry out the functions of the State Commis-
sioner, including voting on Commission matters, in the
event the State Commissioner is unable to attend a meet-
ing of the Commission. The alternate members from each
state shall be knowledgeable in the field of water resources
management. Unless otherwise provided by law of the
state for which an alternate State Commissioner is ap-
pointed, each alternate State Commissioner shall serve at
the pleasure of the State Commissioner. In the event of
a vacancy in the office of an alternate, it shall be filled
in the same manner as an original appointment.
‘‘(c) The President of the United States of America
shall appoint the Federal Commissioner who shall serve
as the representative of all federal agencies with an inter-
est in the ACF. The President shall also appoint an alter-
nate Federal Commissioner to attend and participate in
the meetings of the Commission in the event the Federal
Commissioner is unable to attend meetings. When at
meetings, the alternate Federal Commissioner shall pos-
sess all of the powers of the Federal Commissioner. The
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Federal Commissioner and alternate appointed by the
President shall serve until they resign or their replace-
ments are appointed.
‘‘(d) Each state shall have one vote on the ACF Basin
Commission and the Commission shall make all decisions
and exercise all powers by unanimous vote of the three
State Commissioners. The Federal Commissioner shall not
have a vote, but shall attend and participate in all meet-
ings of the ACF Basin Commission to the same extent
as the State Commissioners.
‘‘(e) The ACF Basin Commission shall meet at least
once a year at a date set at its initial meeting. Such initial
meeting shall take place within ninety days of the ratifica-
tion of the Compact by the Congress of the United States
and shall be called by the chairman of the Commission.
Special meetings of the Commission may be called at the
discretion of the chairman of the Commission and shall
be called by the chairman of the Commission upon written
request of any member of the Commission. All members
shall be notified of the time and place designated for any
regular or special meeting at least five days prior to such
meeting in one of the following ways: by written notice
mailed to the last mailing address given to the Commission
by each member, by facsimile, telegram or by telephone.
The Chairmanship of the Commission shall rotate annu-
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ally among the voting members of the Commission on an
alphabetical basis, with the first chairman to be the State
Commissioner representing the State of Alabama.
‘‘(f) All meetings of the Commission shall be open
to the public.
‘‘(g) The ACF Basin Commission, so long as the ex-
ercise of power is consistent with this Compact, shall have
the following general powers:
‘‘(1) to adopt bylaws and procedures governing
its conduct;
‘‘(2) to sue and be sued in any court of com-
petent jurisdiction;
‘‘(3) to retain and discharge professional, tech-
nical, clerical and other staff and such consultants
as are necessary to accomplish the purposes of this
Compact;
‘‘(4) to receive funds from any lawful source
and expend funds for any lawful purpose;
‘‘(5) to enter into agreements or contracts,
where appropriate, in order to accomplish the pur-
poses of this Compact;
‘‘(6) to create committees and delegate respon-
sibilities;
‘‘(7) to plan, coordinate, monitor, and make
recommendations for the water resources of the