From: The News Service of Florida
Florida got hit Tuesday with the latest bill in its “water war” legal battle with Georgia. The U.S. Supreme Court ordered that the two states split a $213,547 tab for the work of court-appointed Special Master Ralph Lancaster from Sept. 1 through Dec. 31. Florida filed a lawsuit in 2013 alleging that Georgia is using too much water from the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint river system, damaging Apalachicola Bay in Franklin County. Lancaster last week recommended to the Supreme Court that Florida be denied relief, dealing a major 
blow to the state’s case. House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’ Lakes, has criticized the amounts of fees Florida has paid to outside law firms to pursue the case. Through November, Florida had paid out more than $35 million to four law firms involved in the case during the past two fiscal years, according to data collected by the House. Since 2001, Florida has paid out $72 million in legal fees for the current case and previous litigation, the House data shows.