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http://www.newsmax.com/us/drought_state_line/2008/02/21/74498.html
Ga. Lawmakers Push for Border Change
Thursday, February 21, 2008
ATLANTA -- Thirsting for more water in the midst of a drought, Georgia
lawmakers have taken a step toward moving the state line so they can tap the
mighty Tennessee River.
The Republican-controlled state House and Senate approved a resolution
Wednesday asserting that a flawed 1818 survey mistakenly placed Georgia's
northern line just short of the river. The measure also calls for the
governor to establish a commission to sort out the dispute.
But so far, the state's neighbors aren't listening.
"It's the silliest thing I've ever seen any group of Republicans do. I'm
embarrassed that they would embarrass the party like that," said Tennessee
Rep. Gerald McCormick, a Republican from Chattanooga, a Tennessee town just
north of the state line. "They're idiots."
The dispute traces back to a 19th century survey that misplaced the 35th
parallel. If Tennessee's southern border stretched along the parallel, as
Congress designated in 1796, Georgia would have a share of the Tennessee _ a
river with about 15 times greater flow than the one Atlanta depends on for
water.
Surveyors now know that the Georgia-Tennessee border was placed about 1.1
miles south of where it should be. But they say borders can't be updated
with every technological advance; that would leave uncertainty about borders
everywhere.
Many of the measure's supporters concede it will likely take a legal
challenge to the U.S. Supreme Court to get their way. So far, Republican
Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue has been silent on whether he is willing to do so,
and has only urged residents to investigate the boundary question for
themselves.
"I don't know that state boundaries have been changed based on mistakes of
surveying," Perdue said at a press briefing Monday. "But I want to invite
you to do something. Go to Google Earth, and look at where the line is drawn
on Google Earth. It's right at the 35th parallel, which does cut into the
Tennessee River."
The resolution is not the first attempt to redraw the boundary.
The resolution traces efforts as far back as 1887, when North Carolina _
another state affected by the line _ authorized its governor to appoint
commissioners and a surveyor to meet with neighboring delegations over the
boundary. No record of such a meeting exists, it said.
Ga. Lawmakers Push for Border Change
Thursday, February 21, 2008
ATLANTA -- Thirsting for more water in the midst of a drought, Georgia
lawmakers have taken a step toward moving the state line so they can tap the
mighty Tennessee River.
The Republican-controlled state House and Senate approved a resolution
Wednesday asserting that a flawed 1818 survey mistakenly placed Georgia's
northern line just short of the river. The measure also calls for the
governor to establish a commission to sort out the dispute.
But so far, the state's neighbors aren't listening.
"It's the silliest thing I've ever seen any group of Republicans do. I'm
embarrassed that they would embarrass the party like that," said Tennessee
Rep. Gerald McCormick, a Republican from Chattanooga, a Tennessee town just
north of the state line. "They're idiots."
The dispute traces back to a 19th century survey that misplaced the 35th
parallel. If Tennessee's southern border stretched along the parallel, as
Congress designated in 1796, Georgia would have a share of the Tennessee _ a
river with about 15 times greater flow than the one Atlanta depends on for
water.
Surveyors now know that the Georgia-Tennessee border was placed about 1.1
miles south of where it should be. But they say borders can't be updated
with every technological advance; that would leave uncertainty about borders
everywhere.
Many of the measure's supporters concede it will likely take a legal
challenge to the U.S. Supreme Court to get their way. So far, Republican
Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue has been silent on whether he is willing to do so,
and has only urged residents to investigate the boundary question for
themselves.
"I don't know that state boundaries have been changed based on mistakes of
surveying," Perdue said at a press briefing Monday. "But I want to invite
you to do something. Go to Google Earth, and look at where the line is drawn
on Google Earth. It's right at the 35th parallel, which does cut into the
Tennessee River."
The resolution is not the first attempt to redraw the boundary.
The resolution traces efforts as far back as 1887, when North Carolina _
another state affected by the line _ authorized its governor to appoint
commissioners and a surveyor to meet with neighboring delegations over the
boundary. No record of such a meeting exists, it said.
