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Lawmakers Say Part Of Tenn. Belongs To Ga.

Georgia Lawmakers Say Flawed Survey Cost Them Some Land

POSTED: 7:12 pm CST February 11, 2008
UPDATED: 1:38 pm CST February 12, 2008

Tennessee’s border is being threatened by Georgia, as lawmakers there said a flawed survey marked the states’ borders incorrectly.

Related: Video | Discussion: Part of Tennessee to Georgia?

Lawmakers in Georgia said a survey that was done in the early 1800s marked its border wrong.

Georgia lawmakers said the border is supposed to be the 35th parallel, but an 1818 survey put it just about a mile south of there, and they said they want a new survey.

“I think 190 years of uncertainty needs to come to an end. I'm not seeking to move the border, I simply want to have the border accurately surveyed and correctly marked,” said Georgia state Rep. David Shafer.

It's no secret that Georgia has had some water woes, and if the border is moved, it will annex a portion of the Tennessee River.

“The Tennessee River clearly flows south of the 35th parallel and through Georgia,” Shafer said.

But Tennessee state Rep. Andy Berk said not so fast.

“My first thought was maybe we can settle this over a game of college football, but that would be unfair to the citizens of Georgia,” he said.

While the plan has inspired a lot of jokes, Tennessee lawmakers said it also highlights a serious problem.

“We need to be working on responsible land development and water usage instead of irresponsible land grabs,” Berk said.

Lawmakers in Tennessee said they have no intention of allowing parts of Tennessee to become a part of Georgia.

They said a boundary battle isn't the way to solve the water crisis and that the two sides need to work together.

“This is just a publicity stunt by some of our colleagues down in Georgia, and instead of publicity stunts, we should be trying to face these water choices we have in the state,” Berk said.

Chattanooga, Lookout Mountain and other areas would all be in the area under the proposal. Berk said constituents in the area are not happy about the proposal.

Georgia is serious about the proposal, and all 56 senators have signed on as sponsors for the legislation. But any such change would have to be approved by both states’ Legislatures and Congress, and Tennessee lawmakers said it simply is not going to happen.

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