Alabama Democratic Re-presenative Bud Cramer told two Corps leaders, ``The Corps has been one of the most frustrating agencies to work with, and a lot of us talk about this.''

The corps has frequently played referee in the years-long ``water wars'' among Alabama, Georgia and Florida, and each state has accused the agency of favoring the others in deciding water allocations from the region's two major river basins.

The corps' recent proposal to hold back more water for the Atlanta area's shrinking water supply, a plan ratified by the states' governors at a meeting in Washington last week, has only exacerbated those concerns.

Representative Lynn Westmoreland, a Georgia Republican who convened the meeting along with Republican Representative John Mica of Florida, said Atlanta's water crisis has received most of the corps' attention at the expense of smaller areas downstream, including in his district southwest of Atlanta.

He said many lakes south of Atlanta are in worse condition than Lake Lanier, Atlanta's main drinking supply. But every time he tries to get straight answers from the corps, Westmoreland said, the agency ``lawyers up'' and offers vague assurances at best.

Earl Stockdale, the agency's chief counsel, and corps Brigadier General Joe Schroedel, said the agency must balance a dizzying array of competing demands.

WSB's Jamie Dupree reports that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is on track to finish a review of a new U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plan to change water releases from Lake Lanier.