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Environmental Law

Florida A&M University College of Law

2021

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Full-Text Articles in Law

Does The Doctrine Of Equitable Apportionment Apply To Conflicts Between States Over Groundwater Resources When Such Resources Are Derived From An Aquifer That Lies Beneath More Than One State?, Robert Abrams Jan 2021

Does The Doctrine Of Equitable Apportionment Apply To Conflicts Between States Over Groundwater Resources When Such Resources Are Derived From An Aquifer That Lies Beneath More Than One State?, Robert Abrams

Journal Publications

The Middle Claiborne Aquifer is a large sand formation that contains groundwater within its sand’s porous spaces. The Aquifer spans beneath Mississippi, Tennessee, and at least six other neighboring states. Since 1886, the City of Memphis has withdrawn water from the aquifer to supply drinking water. Memphis also has withdrawn water for irrigation and industrial purposes. Due to increased water pumping, water levels in the aquifer have dropped, lowering the piezometric head (water pressure) in different locations, including between the two states’ borders. In 2005, Mississippi filed suit against the City of Memphis and the Memphis Light, Gas and Water …


The Acf Water Wars Final Episode: Is Florida Entitled To Greater Flow In The Apalachicola River?, Robert Abrams Jan 2021

The Acf Water Wars Final Episode: Is Florida Entitled To Greater Flow In The Apalachicola River?, Robert Abrams

Journal Publications

This case marks the second trip to the Supreme Court for Florida’s equitable apportionment case seeking to obtain greater flows into Apalachicola Bay, the estuary of the ApalachicolaChattahoochee-Flint (ACF) River Basin. In a 2018 decision, the Supreme Court reviewed a report of then-Special Master Ralph Lancaster recommending that the Court deny relief to Florida because of the Court’s inability to provide relief without having the Army Corps of Engineers as a party to the litigation. At that time, a 5–4 majority ruled that the Special Master had applied too demanding a standard of proof to the issues surrounding redressability and …