Army Corps of Engineers pauses talks on renaming lake

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has put a stop on the process that could lead to a new name for Buford Dam and Lake Lanier, one of Georgia’s most popular tourism and recreation sites.

“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is pausing any actions related to project renaming pending further guidance from the Department of the Army,” the corps said in a statement to The Atlanta JournalConstitution on Friday.

The pause comes on the heels of an AJC article about the concern and confusion that arose this week when the corps began notifying stakeholders that Lake Lanier and Buford Dam might be renamed because they both carry the monikers of Georgia men who fought in the Confederate Army.

Local leaders and elected officials had questioned whether the names should change at all and cautioned that doing so would affect surrounding businesses, schools and roads that also took the name of the massive reservoir.

U.S. Rep. Austin Scott, R-Tifton, was a member of an eight-person Renaming Commission that recommended new names for military bases across the nation, including two in Georgia, that carry the names of Confederate leaders. But he said the commission never intended for Department of Defense assets such as Lake Lanier to be part of that discussion.

He applauded the corps’ decision Friday to halt renaming efforts.

“In the last 24 hours, I’ve had multiple conversations with members of the Naming Commission and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers about this issue, and I think USACE made the right decision to pause any actions,” Scott said.

U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde, whose district includes Lake Lanier, also said he was happy to hear that what he described as a “misguided proposal to rename Lake Lanier and Buford Dam” had been halted shortly after a phone call with corps leaders.

“The USACE’s decision to pause its efforts is a tremendous victory for Northeast Georgians, as these renamings would have attempted to rewrite history, impose massive burdensome costs on our community, and create unnecessary mass confusion,” he said in a statement. “I will continue to closely monitor the situation to ensure that USACE does not under any circumstances engage in any effort to rename Lake Lanier or Buford Dam in the future.”