Law Commons^™

Protecting Our Natural Environment, Denise D. Fort

Faculty Scholarship

We don’t have a framework for protecting the ecological aspects of rivers and streams and that’s what I want to talk about today. We have failed to protect these natural values in our rivers, and my concern as we look toward the future is what sorts of steps Congress should take to stem further damage and to help us restore our rivers and streams.

My first point is that New Mexico should manage water demand rather than investing in large-scale water projects. My second recommendation and that is restoration. Restoration of the state’s rivers is something we had begun to …

Avoidable “Fraccident”: An Argument Against Strict Liability For Hydraulic Fracturing, Joseph A. Schremmer

Faculty Scholarship

Whether fracking is an abnormally dangerous activity for purposes of strict liability appears to be an issue of first impression. That larger issue primarily turns on a smaller one: whether fracking accidents—or “fraccidents”—are avoidable or unavoidable. To that end, this Comment argues that when practiced with reasonable care and in the vicinity of other petroleum production, fraccidents are avoidable, and thus, fracking is not abnormally dangerous. Instead of strict liability, courts should combine a negligence standard with res ipsa loquitur to determine liability of fracking companies that contaminate water sources. First, this Comment will present background on the process and …

American Bar Association Section Of Environment, Energy, And Resources Symposium: Selected Addresses [Comments], Eileen Gauna

Faculty Scholarship

Opening remarks for Environmental Justice conference that reviews the growth and efforts made for environmental justice.

The Practice Of Disaster Law, Clifford J. Villa

Faculty Scholarship

9/11…Katrina…the BP Oil Spill…Few of us probably want to say that our primary practice area is “Disaster Law,” but the reality is that it is an increasingly potent area of focus for many law firms. Clifford Villa tells us that 2011 was an unprecedented year for disasters in the United States, and unfortunately, like death and taxes—it likely will continue to grow.

Federal Water Law And The 'Double Whammy': How The Bureau Of Reclamation Can Help The West Adapt To Drought And Climate Change, Reed D. Benson

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Alive But Irrelevant: The Prior Appropriation Doctrine In Today’S Western Water Law, Reed D. Benson

Faculty Scholarship

The Prior Appropriation Doctrine has long been the foundation of laws governing water allocation and use in the American West, but it has been under pressure from forces both external and internal to the western states. Twenty years ago, Prior Appropriation was pronounced dead in a provocative essay by Charles Wilkinson. Other scholars argued that it was still alive, but it now appears to have lost its force as the controlling doctrine of western water law. This Article analyzes three recent cases upholding state laws that undermine a fundamental Prior Appropriation principle, then considers the water policy implications of the …

Public Funding Programs For Environmental Water Acquisitions: Origins, Purposes, And Revenue Sources, Reed D. Benson

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Environmental Law, Civil Rights And Sustainability: Three Frameworks For Environmental Justice, Eileen Gauna

Faculty Scholarship

This article focuses on the domestic context, where the issues have more concretely crystallized around viewing environmental justice issues from a civil rights framework, and also from a competing environmental law framework. The article will begin with a discussion of the limitations of each of these frameworks, and will then explore the current "disconnect" between these two models, ending with an exploration of how the principles of sustainability fit into the picture. As to the latter point, sustainability is a double-edged sword. It might be used to maintain the inequity of the status quo; and, particularly in light of climate …