The Lone Libertarian

Georgia lawmakers are trying to make a huge land grab (approx 50 square miles) in Tennessee to obtain access to the Tennessee River’s water. Georgia state senator David Shafer is behind the action that would move the Georgia state border 1.1 miles north into Tennessee. I know the northern part of the state is experiencing drought conditions, but attempting to redraw the state’s border seems desperate and naive.

This action comes in light of the original survey of the border. Tennessee’s southern border was to be drawn along the 35th parallel. Using the technology of the time in 1818, the border was drawn 1.1 miles off (not too shabby). Thus, the Tennessee River and parts of Chattanooga that would be technically in Georgia, reside in Tennessee.

Now some would argue that if it’s in the law books that Tennessee’s border is supposed to coincide with the 35th parallel, that Georgia should by default have recourse and should be able to obtain the land (as well as Mississippi taking parts of Shelby County and Memphis, the largest city in Tennessee). However, there is a common law concept called adverse possession.

Adverse possession, in layman’s terms, more or less entitles a “squatter” to land rights after a specified period of time has passed and the original titleholder does not contest the possession.

Georgia has had a brush with adverse possession in the past with South Carolina. South Carolina dredged an island in the Savannah River to it’s bank, even though all islands in the river were considered Georgian property, as defined in The Treaty of Beaufort (1787) . Georgia did nothing about this action, and then when they finally got around to challenging South Carolina, the US Supreme Court granted the land to South Carolina in a decision in 1990.

Georgia HR 1206 / SR 228 will probably go down in history as the biggest waste of taxpayer money and resources for solving their drought problems. Maybe they should try trade next time, instead of posturing.