S.C. Files High Court Suit in Water Dispute
In the midst of a drought, South Carolina has filed an original lawsuit in the U.S. Supreme Court over a water dispute with North Carolina.
The dispute is over North Carolina’s plans to pump millions of gallons of water each day from the Catawba River for two Charlotte suburbs, according to Associated Press.
South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster says he will ask Congress to intervene if the Supreme Court declines the case.
In the midst of a drought, South Carolina has filed an original lawsuit in the U.S. Supreme Court over a water dispute with North Carolina.
The dispute is over North Carolina’s plans to pump millions of gallons of additional water each day from the Catawba River for two Charlotte suburbs, according to Associated Press.
South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster is also seeking a preliminary injunction in the case. It asks Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. to bar North Carolina from taking additional water until the dispute is resolved, SCOTUSblog reports.
McMaster claims a 1991 North Carolina law that permits the water diversion is unconstitutional. If the Supreme Court declines the case, he plans to ask Congress to intervene.
“There’s nothing more precious than water except maybe oxygen,” McMaster said at a news conference. “So far, the oxygen supply seems to be all right, but we’re running out of water.”
