Senators in Georgia have voted overwhelmingly to move their state’s border a bit north and take back land from Tennessee they say they rightly own anyway.
Georgia’s claim: In 1818, a surveyor drew inaccurate boundaries between the two states. That “mismarked boundary line,” senators say, has blocked Georgia’s access to the Tennessee River, Newser reports.
Georgia is vowing to take Tennessee to court if it doesn’t give up its claim to the small slice of property, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports.
The Senate voted 48-2 in favor of the border change, but Gov. Nathan Deal still has to approve — and so does Tennessee and the U.S. Congress, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Mr. Deal has indicated he would sign the measure, and Tennessee isn’t expected to fight the move, either.
“It is not something that would negatively impact the water supply of Tennessee,” he said in a Newser report.
The wild card is Alabama. The Atlantic Journal-Constitution reports the state has suffered from droughts in recent years just as much as Georgia, and the state’s congressional representatives probably won’t cede any water rights without a fight.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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