Jones Fortuna Honored in Chambers USA for Environmental Law
Jones Fortuna is proud to announce that the firm has been recognized in the 2025 edition of Chambers USA for its leading Environmental Law practice.
Additionally, partners Lewis Jones and John Fortuna have again been individually ranked in the 2025 edition in the category of Environmental Law. This prestigious ranking reflects their exceptional skill in navigating their clients' complex environmental challenges. Collectively, this is their 26th consecutive year recognized by Chambers USA as leading environmental lawyers.
Chambers USA is a respected legal guide known for its rigorous selection process. Their dedicated research team conducts in-depth interviews with peers and clients to assess legal knowledge, experience, strategic thinking, and ethical standards. Inclusion in Chambers signifies a lawyer’s place among the top attorneys in the country.
Jones Fortuna Recognized by Best Law Firms®
Jones Fortuna is proud to announce that the firm has been recognized in the 2025 edition of Best Law Firms® as a Tier 1 firm for its expertise in Environmental Law and Water Law. The firm was also recognized as a Best Law Firm for Environmental Litigation. According to Best Law Firms, it is a…
Read Full ArticleWater expansion plan seen as economic, workforce boon
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will allocate additional storage in Stockton Lake to meet Southwest Missouri's water long-term needs. The reservoir storage reallocation, approved in the Water Resources Development Act of 2024, is a boon economic growth in Southwest Missouri. The new water supply storage is expected to meet region’s water needs through 2060.
Go to Article at Springfield Business JournalJudges doubt protection of Georgia wetland under federal law
Federal appellate judges seemed doubtful Thursday that a wetland on St. Simons Island is protected by the Clean Water Act under a test recently created by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Go to Article at Atlanta Journal Constitution11th Circ. Considers Sackett’s Impact in Clean Water Suit
John L. Fortuna, who represents Sea Island, told the panel Sackett says in "very straightforward terms" that for a wetland to be covered under the Clean Water Act and regulated by the federal government, it "must have a continuous surface connection with a covered water such that it is indistinguishable and not clearly demarcated from the covered water."
Go to Article at Law360Jones Fortuna Argues Major Clean Water Act Appeal
Jones Fortuna partner John Fortuna proudly represented the Sea Island Company in a major Clean Water Act case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. The case marks the first time an appellate court will consider the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Sackett v. EPA, which limited the Act’s application to wetlands…
Read Full ArticleFederal judge sides with Georgia in ‘water wars’ with Alabama
The state of Georgia has won another legal case in its long-running "water wars" with Florida and Alabama. A federal judge Monday sided with Georgia, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC), and the Cobb County-Marietta Water Authority in a dispute over allocation of water from Lake Allatoona.
The decision upheld the Corps' decision in 2021 to grant Metro Atlanta's water supply requests from the lake and allocate more of the reservoir to meet the long-term needs of Cartersville and Bartow County. The state of Alabama had challenged the federal agency's decision, arguing it would allocate too much water from the Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa (ACT) River Basin to Georgia.
Ga., Army Corps Beat Ala. Challenge to Water Use Plan
A D.C. federal judge ruled that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers did not need congressional approval to increase Georgia's water allocations from a metro Atlanta lake, handing a win to the Army Corps and the Peach State in a decadelong fight with the state of Alabama.
Go to Article at Law360Alabama Fails to Block Army Corps Water Reallocation to Georgia
The US Army Corps of Engineers had the authority to reallocate water from Georgia’s Allatoona Lake dam and reservoir project, a federal district court ruled, tossing the state of Alabama’s challenge to the decision.
Alabama failed to prove that the agency needed congressional approval before finalizing a management plan, the US District Court for the District of Columbia ruled Monday. The state, whose Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa River Basin is supplied by Allatoona Lake, filed a secondary complaint against the final decision in 2021 before the court upheld a previous amendment to the dam’s management plan in 2023.
Federal judge hands Georgia a win in Lake Allatoona ‘water wars’ case
A federal judge sided Monday with Georgia in a fight with Alabama over use of their shared water supplies to serve Atlanta’s growing suburbs, handing the Peach State another win in one of the long-running “water wars” disputes.
The ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Loren L. AliKhan of the D.C. Circuit resolves the last remaining water fight between the two states and further solidifies the supplies of hundreds of thousands of customers in Cobb County and nearby Cartersville.