H. J. Res. 91
One Hundred Fifth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE FIRST SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
the seventh day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-seven
Joint Resolution
Granting the consent of Congress to the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River
Basin Compact.
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. CONGRESSIONAL CONSENT.
The Congress consents to the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-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, Florida 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 controversies, equitably apportioning the sur-
face waters of the ACF, engaging in water planning, and developing
and sharing common data bases.
‘‘ARTICLE II
‘‘SCOPE OF THE COMPACT
‘‘This Compact shall extend to all of the waters arising within
the drainage basin of the ACF in the states of Alabama, Florida
and Georgia.
H. J. Res. 91—2
‘‘ARTICLE III
‘‘PARTIES
‘‘The parties to this Compact are the states of Alabama, 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 meanings:
‘‘(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 within this Compact will be designated
using the letters ‘ACF’ and when so referenced will mean each
of these three rivers and each of the tributaries to each such
river.
‘‘(b) ‘Allocation formula’ means the methodology, in whatever
form, by which the ACF Basin Commission determines an equitable
apportionment of surface waters within the ACF Basin among
the three states. Such formula 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 Apa-
lachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin Commission created and
established pursuant to this Compact.
‘‘(d) ‘Ground waters’ means waters within a saturated zone
or stratum beneath the surface of land, whether or not flowing
through known and definite channels.
‘‘(e) ‘Person’ means any individual, firm, association, organiza-
tion, partnership, business, trust, corporation, public corporation,
company, the United States of America, any state, and all political
subdivisions, regions, districts, municipalities, and public agencies
thereof.
‘‘(f ) ‘Surface waters’ means waters upon the surface of the
earth, whether contained in bounds created naturally 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 govern-
ment 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, retention, 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 originating 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,
H. J. Res. 91—3
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 administrative agency
to be known as the ‘ACF Basin Commission.’ The Commission
shall be comprised of one member representing the state of Ala-
bama, one member representing the state of Florida, one member
representing the state of Georgia, and one non-voting member rep-
resenting the United States of America. The state members shall
be known as ‘State Commissioners’ and the federal member shall
be known as ‘Federal Commissioner.’ The ACF Basin Commission
is a body politic and corporate, with succession for the duration
of this Compact.
‘‘(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 members 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 Commissioner, including voting on Commission matters,
in the event the State Commissioner is unable to attend a meeting
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 appointed, each alternate State Commis-
sioner 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 interest in the ACF. The President
shall also appoint an alternate 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 possess all
of the powers of the Federal Commissioner. The Federal Commis-
sioner and alternate appointed by the President shall serve until
they resign or their replacements are appointed.
‘‘(d) Each state shall have one vote on the ACF Basin Commis-
sion 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 meetings 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 ratification 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
H. J. Res. 91—4
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 annually 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 exercise 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 competent jurisdic-
tion;
‘‘(3) to retain and discharge professional, technical, clerical
and other staff and such consultants as are necessary to accom-
plish 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 appro-
priate, in order to accomplish the purposes of this Compact;
‘‘(6) to create committees and delegate responsibilities;
‘‘(7) to plan, coordinate, monitor, and make recommenda-
tions for the water resources of the ACF Basin for the purposes
of, but not limited to, minimizing adverse impacts of floods
and droughts and improving water quality, water supply, and
conservation as may be deemed necessary by the Commission;
‘‘(8) to participate with other governmental and non-govern-
mental entities in carrying out the purposes of this Compact;
‘‘(9) to conduct studies, to generate information regarding
the water resources of the ACF Basin, and to share this
information among the Commission members and with others;
‘‘(10) to cooperate with appropriate state, federal, and local
agencies or any other person in the development, ownership,
sponsorship, and operation of water resource facilities in the
ACF Basin; provided, however, that the Commission shall not
own or operate a federally-owned water resource facility unless
authorized by the United States Congress;
‘‘(11) to acquire, receive, hold and convey such personal
and real property as may be necessary for the performance
of its duties under the Compact; provided, however, that noth-
ing in this Compact shall be construed as granting the ACF
Basin Commission authority to issue bonds or to exercise any
right of eminent domain or power of condemnation;
‘‘(12) to establish and modify an allocation formula for
apportioning the surface waters of the ACF Basin among the
states of Alabama, Florida and Georgia; and
‘‘(13) to perform all functions required of it by this Compact
and to do all things necessary, proper or convenient in the
performance of its duties hereunder, either independently or
in cooperation with any state or the United States.
‘‘ARTICLE VII
‘‘EQUITABLE APPORTIONMENT
‘‘(a) It is the intent of the parties to this Compact to develop
an allocation formula for equitably apportioning the surface waters
H. J. Res. 91—5
of the ACF Basin among the states while protecting the water
quality, ecology and biodiversity of the ACF, as provided in the
Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. Sections 1251 et seq., the Endangered
Species Act, 16 U.S.C. Sections 1532 et seq., the National Environ-
mental Policy Act, 42 U.S.C. Sections 4321 et seq., the Rivers
and Harbors Act of 1899, 33 U.S.C. Sections 401 et seq., and
other applicable federal laws. For this purpose, all members of
the ACF Basin Commission, including the Federal Commissioner,
shall have full rights to notice of and participation in all meetings
of the ACF Basin Commission and technical committees in which
the basis and terms and conditions of the allocation formula are
to be discussed or negotiated. When an allocation formula is unani-
mously approved by the State Commissioners, there shall be an
agreement among the states regarding an allocation formula. The
allocation formula thus agreed upon shall become effective and
binding upon the parties to this Compact upon receipt by the
Commission of a letter of concurrence with said formula from the
Federal Commissioner. If, however, the Federal Commissioner fails
to submit a letter of concurrence to the Commission within two
hundred ten (210) days after the allocation formula is agreed upon
by the State Commissioners, the Federal Commissioner shall within
forty-five (45) days thereafter submit to the ACF Basin Commission
a letter of nonconcurrence with the allocation formula setting forth
therein specifically and in detail the reasons for nonconcurrence;
provided, however, the reasons for nonconcurrence as contained
in the letter of nonconcurrence shall be based solely upon federal
law. The allocation formula shall also become effective and binding
upon the parties to this Compact if the Federal Commissioner
fails to submit to the ACF Basin Commission a letter of nonconcur-
rence in accordance with this Article. Once adopted pursuant to
this Article, the allocation formula may only be modified by unani-
mous decision of the State Commissioners and the concurrence
by the Federal Commissioner in accordance with the procedures
set forth in this Article.
‘‘(b) The parties to this Compact recognize that the United
States operates certain projects within the ACF Basin that may
influence the water resources within the ACF Basin. The parties
to this Compact further acknowledge and recognize that various
agencies of the United States have responsibilities for administering
certain federal laws and exercising certain federal powers that
may influence the water resources within the ACF Basin. It is
the intent of the parties to this Compact, including the United
States, to achieve compliance with the allocation formula adopted
in accordance with this Article. Accordingly, once an allocation
formula is adopted, each and every officer, agency, and instrumen-
tality of the United States shall have an obligation and duty,
to the maximum extent practicable, to exercise their powers, author-
ity, and discretion in a manner consistent with the allocation for-
mula so long as the exercise of such powers, authority, and discre-
tion is not in conflict with federal law.
‘‘(c) Between the effective date of this Compact and the approval
of the allocation formula under this Article, the signatories to
this Compact agree that any person who is withdrawing, diverting,
or consuming water resources of the ACF Basin as of the effective
date of this Compact, may continue to withdraw, divert or consume
such water resources in accordance with the laws of the state
where such person resides or does business and in accordance
H. J. Res. 91—6
with applicable federal laws. The parties to this Compact further
agree that any such person may increase the amount of water
resources withdrawn, diverted or consumed to satisfy reasonable
increases in the demand of such person for water between the
effective date of this Compact and the date on which an allocation
formula is approved by the ACF Basin Commission as permitted
by applicable law. Each of the state parties to this Compact further
agree to provide written notice to each of the other parties to
this Compact in the event any person increases the withdrawal,
diversion or consumption of such water resources by more than
10 million gallons per day on an average annual daily basis, or
in the event any person, who was not withdrawing, diverting or
consuming any water resources from the ACF Basin as of the
effective date of this Compact, seeks to withdraw, divert or consume
more than one million gallons per day on an average annual daily
basis from such resources. This Article shall not be construed as
granting any permanent, vested or perpetual rights to the amounts
of water used between January 3, 1992 and the date on which
the Commission adopts an allocation formula.
‘‘(d) As the owner, operator, licensor, permitting authority or
regulator of a water resource facility under its jurisdiction, each
state shall be responsible for using its best efforts to achieve compli-
ance with the allocation formula adopted pursuant to this Article.
Each such state agrees to take such actions as may be necessary
to achieve compliance with the allocation formula.
‘‘(e) This Compact shall not commit any state to agree to
any data generated by any study or commit any state to any
allocation formula not acceptable to such state.
‘‘ARTICLE VIII
‘‘CONDITIONS RESULTING IN TERMINATION OF THE
COMPACT
‘‘(a) This Compact shall be terminated and thereby be void
and of no further force and effect if any of the following events
occur:
‘‘(1) The legislatures of the states of Alabama, Florida
and Georgia each agree by general laws enacted by each state
within any three consecutive years that this Compact should
be terminated.
‘‘(2) The United States Congress enacts a law expressly
repealing this Compact.
‘‘(3) The States of Alabama, Florida and Georgia fail to
agree on an equitable apportionment of the surface waters
of the ACF as provided in Article VII(a) of this Compact by
December 31, 1998, unless the voting members of the ACF
Basin Commission unanimously agree to extend this deadline.
‘‘(4) The Federal Commissioner submits to the Commission
a letter of nonconcurrence in the initial allocation formula
in accordance with Article VII(a) of the Compact, unless the
voting members of the ACF Basin Commission unanimously
agree to allow a single 45 day period in which the non-voting
Federal Commissioner and the voting State Commissioners may
renegotiate an allocation formula and the Federal Commis-
sioner withdraws the letter of nonconcurrence upon completion
of this renegotiation.