It involves a long-running dispute over waters within the ACF River Basin, running from the north Georgia mountains through metro Atlanta to the Florida panhandle, which is managed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers.

On June 27, 2018, the Supreme Court ruled 5–4 that the special master had not properly considered Florida's argument and remanded the case to be reheard and reviewed.

With approval from Congress, the United States Army Corps of Engineers completed Buford Dam on the Chattahoochee in Georgia in the 1950s that created the reservoir Lake Lanier.

This was intended to help manage the water flow along the Chattahoochee so that it could be used for both hydroelectric power and for water-bourne transport through a series of locks, as well as for flood control.

These suits were ultimately combined into a signal case designed to examine two questions: whether the Corps had the authority to grant water usage rights, and whether the plan ignored elements of the Endangered Species Act of 1973.

The MOU also included allowance for the Corps to provide reasonable quantities water to the metro Atlanta area to meet their needs while the study was in progress.

As with the 1992 MOU, the ACF Compact allowed the Corps to continue to provide water to the metro Atlanta area as it saw needed while the negotiations progressed.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled in 2011 that the Corps did have the right to allocate waters from Lake Lanier to Atlanta, as Congress had authorized this use in the legislation used to approve of the project.

In 2013, Florida filed a motion for leave with the Supreme Court, issuing a complaint for equitable apportionment and injunctive relief against the state of Georgia.

Based on this new information, Florida filed their exceptions to Lancaster's report, specifically taking objection that they had to show clear evidence that capping Atlanta's water support would provide the redress they requested.