Natural Resources Law Commons^™

When Is Groundwater Recharge A Beneficial Use Of Surface Water In California?, Kathleen Miller, Nell Green Nylen, Holly Doremus, Dave Owen, Andrew Fisher

Holly Doremus

This issue brief considers whether groundwater recharge currently qualifies, or should qualify, as a beneficial use of surface water under a California water right. Currently, the lack of an explicit policy regarding recharge for non-extractive purposes — that is, for purposes such as combatting subsidence, raising regional groundwater levels, or supporting baseflow or ground-water dependent wetlands — creates uncertainty and confusion. To bring much needed clarity, the State Water Resources Control Board (the Board) should provide guidance explaining that recharge for non-extractive purposes can be a beneficial use of water. That guidance should explain the conditions under which recharge for …

When Is Groundwater Recharge A Beneficial Use Of Surface Water In California?, Kathleen Miller, Nell Green Nylen, Holly Doremus, Dave Owen, Andrew Fisher

Nell Green Nylen

This issue brief considers whether groundwater recharge currently qualifies, or should qualify, as a beneficial use of surface water under a California water right. Currently, the lack of an explicit policy regarding recharge for non-extractive purposes — that is, for purposes such as combatting subsidence, raising regional groundwater levels, or supporting baseflow or ground-water dependent wetlands — creates uncertainty and confusion. To bring much needed clarity, the State Water Resources Control Board (the Board) should provide guidance explaining that recharge for non-extractive purposes can be a beneficial use of water. That guidance should explain the conditions under which recharge for …

Developing An International Carbon Tax Regime, Steven Specht

Steven Specht

As atmospheric CO2 remains in the range of 400 ppm, it is necessary to find new international coordination to deal with climate change. The best way forward is an international regime of harmonized domestic carbon taxes. By agreeing to a minimum amount of taxation on domestic, point-source producers, money can be set aside for adaptation costs and alternative means of energy production. Finally, such a plan will overcome the problem of non-participation of countries in agreements like the Kyoto Protocol. As this is a treaty dealing with economics and trade, countries can place taxes on imports of non-participatory countries under …

Buried Treasure Or Buried Hope? The Status Of Mexico-U.S. Transboundary Aquifers Under International Law, Gabriel E. Eckstein

Gabriel Eckstein

Transboundary aquifers found along the 2,000 mile-long border between Mexico and the United States are not governed by any treaty. Yet, these aquifers are the primary source of water for many of the twelve million people who live in this parched region. The region’s groundwater, however, is being over-exploited and contaminated, which is threatening the very life that it currently sustains. As populations continue to expand and current rates of haphazard development persist, the absence of an agreement for the management and allocation of this critical resource could lead to bi-national economic, social and environmental tragedies. This study reviews groundwater …

Water Scarcity, Conflict, And Security In A Climate Change World: Challenges And Opportunities For International Law And Policy, Gabriel Eckstein

Gabriel Eckstein

Although climate change is expected to have major consequences that affect the global environment in its broadest sense, one of the earliest and most direct impacts will be on Earth’s fresh water systems. While some regions will experience increased precipitation, others will suffer serious scarcity. Among others, consequences are likely to include severe flooding, extreme droughts, and meandering border-rivers. This, in turn, will affect human migration patterns, population growths, agricultural activities, economic development, and the environment. This article explores the impact that climate change will have on regional and global freshwater resources and the resulting legal and policy implications that …

Protecting A Hidden Treasure: The U.N. International Law Commission And The International Law Of Transboundary Ground Water Resources, Gabriel E. Eckstein

Gabriel Eckstein

Ground water is the most extracted natural resource in the world. It provides more than half of humanity's freshwater for everyday uses such as drinking, cooking, and hygiene, as well as twenty percent of irrigated agriculture. Given the world's considerable reliance on this precious resource, it is reasonable to assume that international attention to, and especially legal consideration of, ground water would be substantial. Nothing is further from the truth. Despite the growing dependence, legal and regulatory attention to ground water resources have long been secondary to surface water, especially among legislatures and policymakers and above all in the international …

Precious, Worthless, Or Immeasurable: The Value And Ethic Of Water, Gabriel Eckstein

Gabriel Eckstein

This Article introduces and briefly explores some of the topics related to the value and ethics of water that were considered at the symposium, Precious, Worthless, or Immeasurable: The Value and Ethic of Water, which took place November 2-4, 2006, at the Texas Tech University School of Law. The purpose of the Symposium was to consider how this precious liquid is valued, assessed, and perceived with regard to law and regulations, economics and commerce, people and communities, culture and religion, and others aspects of society that are impacted by water. While far from a comprehensive analysis of the subject matter, …

Common Grounds, Common Waters: Towards A Water Ethic - Roundtable Discussion, Gabriel Eckstein, Irene Klaver

Gabriel Eckstein

The purpose of this roundtable discussion is to continue the dialogue but in a more informal setting, and to allow people to develop some of the ideas and concepts that they started earlier but could not finish because of the time limits.

It is also to get the audience and the panelists to ask questions of each other and to participate in more of a dialogue. To start this discussion I want to raise, at least to the panelists, this issue of wants versus needs, and I am actually going to add one more-versus rights-because I thought that was very …

Commentary On The U.N. International Law Commission's Draft Articles On The Law Of Transboundary Aquifers, Gabriel E. Eckstein

Gabriel Eckstein

Ground water is the most extracted natural resource in the world. It provides more than half of humanity's freshwater for everyday uses such as drinking, cooking, and hygiene, as well as twenty percent of irrigated agriculture. Despite our increasing reliance, ground water resources have long been the neglected stepchild of international water law; regulation and management of and information about ground water resources are sorely lacking, especially in the international context. Presently, there is no international agreement squarely addressing ground water resources that traverse an international boundary. Moreover, there is only one treaty in the entire world pertaining to the …

Examples Of The Political Character Of International Water Law, Gabriel E. Eckstein

Gabriel Eckstein

It is widely known that over a billion people lack access to potable water, and well over twice that number are without adequate sanitation'-the latter situation often being related to the former. It has been calculated that every eight seconds a child dies of water-related causes-a stunning statistic and an absolutely unacceptable state of affairs.

While much has been made of the prospect of global water shortages, what is perhaps not so well known is that most of the world's fresh water is shared by two or more states. There are more than 260 international drainage basins, which account for …

A Taxing Endeavor: Local Government Protection Of Our Nation's Coasts In The "Wake" Of Climate Change, Simone Savino

Simone Savino

A storm is brewing, and not just in our nation’s coastal waters. The effects of climate change are becoming alarmingly apparent: sea levels are rising, storm surges are intensifying and ocean temperatures are warming at increasing speeds. Higher storm surges have led to increased flooding in coastal zones and nearby low-lying regions. The need for greater disaster preparedness in areas vulnerable to storm surges is evident, not just in the United States, but worldwide. As a direct result, coastal towns and cities have been left with the daunting task, and cost, of implementing littoral adaptation measures such as beach renourishment …

Anti-Waste, Michael Pappas

Michael Pappas

It may be a bad idea to waste resources, but is it illegal? Legally speaking, what does “waste” even mean? Though the concept may appear completely subjective, this Article builds a framework for understanding how the law identifies and addresses waste. Drawing upon property and natural resource doctrines, the Article finds that the law selects from a menu of five specific, and sometimes competing, societal values to define waste. The values are: 1) economic efficiency, 2) human flourishing, 3) concern for future generations, 4) stability and consistency, and 5) ecological concerns. The law recognizes waste in terms of one or …

Antimonopoly And The Radical Lochean Origins Of Western Water Law, Michael Blumm

Michael Blumm

This review of David Schorr's book, The Colorado Doctrine: Water Rights, Corporations, and Distributive Justice on the American Frontier, maintains that the book is a therapeutic corrective to the standard history of the origins of western water law as celebration of economic efficiency and wealth maximization. Schorr's account convincingly contends that the roots of prior appropriation water law--the "Colorado Doctrine"--lie in distributional justice concerns, not in the supposed efficiency advantages of private property over common property. The goals of the founders of the Colorado doctrine, according to Schorr, were to advance Radical Lochean principles such as widespread distibution of water …

Climate Change And Water Transfers, Christine A. Klein

Christine A. Klein

Climate change adaption is all about water. Although some governments have begun to plan for severe water disruptions, many have not. The consequences of inaction, however, may be dire. As a report of the U.N. Environment Programme warns, “countries that adopt a ‘wait and see’ approach potentially risk the lives of their people, their ecosystems and their economies.” In the United States, according to one study, nearly 60% of the states are unprepared to deal with the impending crisis. Responding to this void, we offer what we believe is the first comprehensive, state-by-state survey of water allocation law and its …

Escaping The Sporhase Maze: Protecting State Waters Within The Commerce Clause, Mark S. Davis, Michael Pappas

Michael Pappas

Eastern states, though they have enjoyed a history of relatively abundant water, increasingly face the need to conserve water, particularly to protect water-dependent ecosystems. At the same time, growing water demands, climate change, and an emerging water-oriented economy have intensified pressure for interstate water transfers. Thus, even traditionally wet states are seeking to protect or secure their water supplies. However, restrictions on water sales and exports risk running afoul of the Dormant Commerce Clause. This Article offers guidance for states, partciularly eastern states concerned with maintaining and improving water-dependent ecosystems, in seeking to restrict water exports while staying within the …

Development Of International Water Law And The Un Watercourse Convention, Gabriel Eckstein

Gabriel Eckstein

No abstract provided.