Georgia House trying again to move state line

Opposed: Polk leader says residents don’t want Georgia taxes

  • The rectangle in this map indicates the area to where Georgia would expand according to their allegation of the improper survey of the state line with Tennessee and North Carolina. The area includes all of Copperhill, part of Pleasant Hill, part of Grassy Creek, the Big Frog Wilderness and part of Wolf Creek.
    The rectangle in this map indicates the area to where Georgia would expand according to their allegation of the improper survey of the state line with Tennessee and North Carolina. The area includes all of Copperhill, part of Pleasant Hill, part of Grassy Creek, the Big Frog Wilderness and part of Wolf Creek.

    A resolution introduced in the Georgia House of Representatives seeks to renew the often repeated debate over the state’s northern border.

    Rep. Martin Momtahan (R-Dist. 17)  took the lead as the first signer in introducing House Resolution 132 (HR 132), which includes Rep. Johnny Chastain (R-Blue Ridge) as one of four co-signers.

    The resolution instructs for Georgia’s governor to call on the governors of Tennessee and North Carolina
    “for the purpose of having joint surveys and settlements of the disputed boundary questions.”

    At question is an 1818 survey that sets the 35th parallel as the state line between Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina.

    Legally, Tennessee recognizes its southern boundary as the line set by the survey, while Georgia argues it has never accepted the line, according to a TBA Law Blog article authored by attorneys with Miller & Martin PLLC in Chattanooga in 2008, and published by the Tennessee Bar Association.

    That article says, “Everyone knows that the ultimate issue is water.” If Georgia successfully moves its state line north by one mile, which has been the commonly disputed distance, it would gain access to Nickajack Lake.

    In a televised interview with Channel 3 News out of Chattanooga, Momtahan  said the Georgians living in the area Tennessee claims are entitled to what Georgia offers.

    “We got a major league baseball team. I want these Georgians that live in that area to have access to that...We’re the state that hosts the Masters. We’re the number one state to do business,” he said in supporting HR 132. He also said Georgians living in the area claimed by Tennessee are being deprived of a high quality education.

    Polk County Third District Commissioner Samantha Trantham took offense to Momtahan’s statement.

    She provided rankings published by U.S. News and World Report placing Tennessee 18th