Water Law Commons^™

Water We Cannot See: Codifying A Progressive Public Trust To Protect Groundwater Resources From Depletion, Susan E. Ness

Vanderbilt Law Review

Groundwater provides a vital water supply and plays an integral role in hydrological systems by supporting biodiversity and the overall health and functioning of surface waters. Yet, the current legal landscape in the United States premises groundwater management on outdated scientific understandings of hydrology and fails to adequately protect critical groundwater resources. Moreover, states differ significantly in their groundwater management practices despite the interstate nature of many aquifers. As climate change exacerbates stress to groundwater resources, many of the United States’ largest aquifers rapidly approach depletion.

The public trust doctrine may provide a mechanism to regulate groundwater resources in the …

Federal Supervision Of State Water Quality Standards Under The Clean Water Act, Jeffrey M. Gaba

Vanderbilt Law Review

Renewed interest in an expanded role for water quality standards in the regulatory scheme has developed recently. This inter-est is due in part to the perception that the use of water quality standards is a particularly "cost-effective" approach to pollution control. At least in theory, water quality standards are set no higher than necessary to achieve the desired environmental goal.Further, as more and more industrial facilities achieve compliance with technology based requirements, attention has begun to focus on additional techniques including water quality standards, for imposing more stringent limitations." Finally, since states set water quality standards a regulatory scheme centered …

Determining The Parameters Of The Navigation Servitude Doctrine, Theresa D. Taylor

Vanderbilt Law Review

By abandoning traditional tests of navigability and defining new criteria for applicability of the navigation servitude, the Supreme Court has overlooked historical and precedential bases of the navigation servitude. The most important policy justifications for the doctrine are the need for federal dominance over waters with potential utility for recreation, defense, and commerce, and a desire to safeguard the public's right of access to commonly owned waterways. By considering factors such as the source of improvements upon a waterway and the possible inequity of the traditional noncompensation and notice theories, the Supreme Court has indicated a willingness to subrogate such …

The Tennessee Water Quality Control Act Of 1971, Frank E. Maloney

Vanderbilt Law Review

The text of the Act and commentary that follows is the product of a larger study undertaken by Professor Maloney at the request of the 87th General Assembly of the State of Tennessee. This study was the subject of a seminar on environmental protection at the Vanderbilt University School of Law. Four of the participating students--Elbert E. Edwards, III, Thomas H. Graham, Robert D. McCutcheon, and Paul L. Sloan--drafted the proposed statute and commentary under Professor Maloney's supervision with the research assistance of the other members of the class. For many sections of the statute, the drafters drew heavily from …

The Tennessee Water Quality Control Act Of 1971: A Significant New Environmental Statute, Julian C. Juergensmeyer

Vanderbilt Law Review

Tennessee's new Water Quality Control Act' is one of the most significant pieces of environmental legislation to be produced in recent years. It is destined not only to revamp water pollution control in Tennessee but also to serve as a model for legislation in other states. The Act and commentary written by its drafter, Professor Frank E. Maloney, are printed following this article. Consequently, no attempt will be made to summarize the entire Act or to provide a detailed guide for its use. The purpose of this introductory article is to examine the salient, often innovative, features of the Act …

Legislation, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

LEGISLATION

Disposition of Unclaimed Dividends and Shares--Distributions from Interstate Business Associations

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Conflict of Laws Problem and Judicial Response

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Water Pollution--State Control Committee

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Comparison of Several Existing Pollution Control Acts