The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, a key player in Florida's decades-old legal fight with Georgia over water flow in the Apalachicola River, has weighed into the pending case before the U.S. Supreme Court.

The federal agency's comments, which were filed in a brief Monday, are important because a special master has recommended that Florida's claim for relief be denied because the Corps, which controls water flow through the region in a series of dams and reservoirs, was not directly involved in the lawsuit.

“Because the Corps is not a party, no decree entered by this court can mandate any change in the Corps' operations in the basin,” Ralph Lancaster wrote in his special master's report in February. “Without the ability to bind the Corps, I am not persuaded that the court can assure Florida the relief it seeks.”