It seems like “working on a plan” and “signed, sealed, delivered” are two completely different things.

After hearing from the fishing industry, Panhandle leaders and environmental groups back in his home state of Florida, Gov. Charlie Crist,  abruptly pulled out of a tentative deal to reduce water released from Lake Lanier.

Georgians will call this “reneging” while Florida will assert that no deal was ever written in stone.  This quote from the Orlando Sentential seems to be the sticking point,

“Although discussed during the governors’ meeting, the reduction level wasn’t formally proposed by the corps until later that night.”

An article in the AJC earlier this week, reported on the doubt most water experts had on the much-celebrated (at least in Georgia) deal.

“But people like Jerry Sherk who have witnessed the dispute for years have their doubts. Sherk, who specializes in water law and who over the years has advised both Georgia and the city of LaGrange in the dispute, is blunt about the likelihood of a deal in 3½ months.

“Not a chance,” he said. “If there’s political goodwill, we will reach a nice, superficial, unenforceable gentleman’s agreement that will be window dressing at best.”

Too many parties — from various federal agencies to hydropower customers — would need to be at the table in too short a time, Sherk warned. What’s more, he said, “The absence of trust here is more all-pervasive than I’ve ever seen it in a water conflict, and I’ve seen a lot of water conflicts.”

We should have known better that the White House deal was too vague and too rushed to mark the end of this dispute.

Keep Conserving!