Water Law Commons^™

2016 California Water Law Symposium, Golden Gate University School Of Law

Environmental Law Symposia

This award-winning event is produced by law students from McGeorge School of Law, UC Berkeley School of Law, UC Hastings College of Law, Golden Gate University School of Law, University of San Francisco School of Law, and UC Davis School of Law. This year we will explore innovations needed to address periodic drought as the new normal in California water via six exciting panels. The panels will examine the importance of “thinking globally, acting locally” in the context of key emerging issues.

Conference proceedings attached.

PROGRAM

Registration & Continental Breakfast 8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.

Introduction 9:00 a.m. - 9:15 …

Unlimited Rights In A Water-Scarce World? Quantification Of Dormant Rights To Common Pool Groundwater, Jennifer L. Harder

McGeorge School of Law Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.

Using International Property Law As A Lever To Evolve Toward Integrative Ocean Governance, Rachael E. Salcido

McGeorge School of Law Scholarly Articles

TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................. 254 II. BACKGROUND ............................................................................................... 255 A. Brief Primer on Ocean Jurisdiction ...................................................... 256 B. Dispute Resolution and International Governance ............................... 257 C. The Power of Property .......................................................................... 259 D. Ocean Governance Support for an International Property Law Thesis ..................................................................................................... 260 III. STATE OF OCEAN HEALTH ........................................................................... 261 A. Overfishing ............................................................................................ 262 B. Climate Change ..................................................................................... 263 C. Pollution ................................................................................................ 264 1. Traditional Pollution ...................................................................... 264 2. Special Growing Plastic Pollution Problem ................................... 265 D. Industrialization .................................................................................... 265 1. Marine Renewable Energy .............................................................. 266 2. Aquaculture ..................................................................................... 268 3. Offshore Oil and Gas ...................................................................... 268 …

Ditching Our Innocence: The Clean Water Act In The Age Of The Anthropocene, Rachael Salcido, Karrigan Bork

McGeorge School of Law Scholarly Articles

Humanity has entered the Age of the Anthropocene, a geologic era marked by the emergence of human activity as the single most dominant influence on Earth’s environment. Every ecosystem shows

signs of anthropogenic influence, and the environments we experience everyday are often shaped almost entirely by human actions and decisions. The new discipline of reconciliation ecology recognizes this

reality and suggests that we must manage the new habitats we create in order to protect species diversity and ecosystem services. But the 2015 rule defining the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act explicitly excludes

many manmade environments, including many artificial lakes, …

The Dawning Of Disaster Law, Clifford J. Villa

Faculty Scholarship

What really matters, what unites disasters of all stripes, including earthquakes in Japan, tornadoes in Oklahoma, oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico, and the terrorist attacks on 9/11, is how you respond during the disaster, how you recover from it afterwards, and how you prepare - or better, prevent - the next disaster from happening. This is what disaster theorists, including Professor Dan Farber at Berkeley Law, term the "disaster cycle." In simplest terms: readiness, response, and recovery.

2016 Annual Report: Leading The Way, Bay Area Air Quality Management District

Environment, Energy, and Water

No abstract provided.

Passage And Flow Considered Anew: Wild Salmon Restoration Via Hyrdo Relicensing, Paul Stanton Kibel

Publications

The FERC hydro relicensing process in the United States has often provided an effective mechanism to modify the terms of dam operations to reduce the adverse impacts on fisheries, particularly impacts on wild Pacific Coast salmon. This experience with FERC relicensing suggests that a transparent and scientifically rigorous regulatory framework to periodically review and modify the way dams operate can play a critical role in the restoration of wild fish stocks.

An Enhanced Water Bank For Colorado, Anne J. Castle, Lawrence J. Macdonnell

Books, Reports, and Studies

23 pages.

Introduction and rationale -- Background on Colorado water law -- The initial Colorado water bank -- Water banks in other western states -- An enhanced water bank framework for Colorado -- Overcoming municipal preference for permanent acquisition -- Existing authority and new authority needed -- Conclusion and recommendation -- Attachment: Provisions for consideration in water bank operating guidelines.

Enhancing Watershed Planning In Implementation Of The Colorado Water Plan: An Overview Of Implementation Challenges And Opportunities, Douglas S. Kenney

Books, Reports, and Studies

25 pages.

Introduction -- Review of existing efforts -- Summary of interviews -- The salience of funding -- Recommendations -- Attachment A: Summary of reviewed watershed plans.

Colorado Acequia Handbook: Water Rights And Governance Guide For Colorado's Acequias, Jens Jensen, Peter D. Nichols, Ryan Golten, Sarah Krakoff, Sarah Parmar, Karl Kumli, Jesse Heibel, Blake Busse, Karoline Garren, Julia Guarino, Megan Gutwein, Cori Hach, Melissa S. Jensen, Shannon Liston, Gunnar Paulsen, Nate Miller, John R. Sherman, Dan Weiss, Michael Weissman, Emily Neiley, University Of Colorado Boulder. Getches-Wilkinson Center For Natural Resources, Energy, And The Environment, Gates Family Foundation, Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation, Sangre De Cristo National Heritage Area, Sangre De Cristo Acequia Association, Colorado Open Lands

Books, Reports, and Studies

51 pages (includes 1 color map)

Introduction -- Definitions -- Water rights -- Change of water right -- Transfers of water rights -- Water sharing agreements -- Losing your water rights ("use it or lose it") -- Preventing the transfer of water out of the acequia -- Conservation easements -- Governing the acequia -- Assessments -- Easements -- Enforcement -- Tort liability -- Water quality -- The Rio Grande Compact -- Main government water entities -- Where can an acequia get legal assistance? -- Appendix I. Water rights : frequently asked questions -- Appendix II. Acequia bylaws : frequently asked …

Water Law Reform In The Face Of Climate Change: Learning From Drought In Australia And The Western United States, Barbara Cosens

Articles

Western societies have developed three approaches to governance of common pool resources such as water: 1) The division of the resource into private property; (2) government regulation; and 3) local self-organization. This article asserts that all three are needed in varying combinations to rise to the challenge presented by the impact of climate change on water supply and demand. Drought presents a preview of potential future climate scenarios and Australia and the western United States are both responding to its harshness through innovation in water governance. These experiments present an opportunity to compare the approaches of Australia and the western …

A Next, Big Step For The West (Part Ii): Model Water-Climate Enabling Legislation With Commentary, Michelle Bryan, Zach Coccoli, Graham Coppes, Dylan Desrosier

Faculty Law Review Articles

This model legislation is the culmination of an earlier work, A Next, Big Step for the West: Using Model Legislation to Create a Water- Climate Element in Local Comprehensive Plans.' That articleargues that local governments, as the primary regulators of land use and population planning, are integral to our climate and drought response in the West. That article then calls for a new, freestanding "waterclimate element" in local government comprehensive plans that integrates the often disparate realms of land use, water use, and climate planning and better prepares communities for "managing water in wise, resilient, and collaborative ways."2 This approach …

Challenges And Opportunities Of The Expiring Columbia River Treaty, Barbara Cosens

Articles

No abstract provided.

The Legislative History Of The Mccarran Amendment: An Effort To Determine Whether Congress Intended For State Court Jurisdiction To Extend To Indian Reserved Water Rights, Dylan R. Hedden-Nicely

Articles

The year 1976 marked a sea change in federal policy regarding the treatment of American Indian tribes and their water rights. In that year, the Supreme Court of the United States was called upon to determine the scope of the McCarran Amendment, a rider on a federal appropriations bill that waived the sovereign immunity of the United States in state court general stream adjudications "where it appears that the United States is the owner or is in the process of acquiring water rights by appropriation under State law, by purchase, by exchange, or otherwise." The Supreme Court, in what has …

Using International Property Law As A Lever To Evolve Toward Integrative Ocean Governance, Rachael E. Salcido

University of the Pacific Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Look At Laws Authorizing Uses Of Conserved And Saved Water In California, Montana, Oregon, And Washington, Cassidy Woodard

Books, Reports, and Studies

28 pages : color illustrations.

Agriculture, Drainage Districts, And The Clean Water Act: Does What Happens In Des Moines Stay In Des Moines?, Harrison Pittman, Rusty Rumley

Kentucky Journal of Equine, Agriculture, & Natural Resources Law

No abstract provided.

To Have Our Water And Use It Too : Why Colorado Water Law Needs A Public Interest Standard, Larry Myers

University of Colorado Law Review

This Comment proposes constitutional and statutory amendments that would allow water courts to consider the public interest in water allocations. It offers a model public interest standard and argues that this public interest standard is an economic necessity given the shifting contributions of water-reliant industries and the nature of their water needs. Assuming the purpose of Colorado water law is to promote growth and the economic health of the state, then Colorado must adjust the guiding laws to reflect the current economic reality. Where facilitating economic growth formerly required consumptive diversions from streams to subsidize homesteads, ranches, and mines, now …

A Comparison Between Shale Gas In China And Unconventional Fuel Development In The United States: Water, Environmental Protection, And Sustainable Development, Paolo D. Farah, Riccardo Tremolada

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

China is believed to have the world's largest exploitable reserves of shale gas, although several legal, regulatory, environmental, and investment-related issues will likely restrain its exploitation. China's capacity to face these hurdles successfully and produce commercial shale gas will have a crucial impact on the regional gas market and on China’s energy mix, as Beijing strives to decrease reliance on imported oil and coal, and, at the same time, tries to meet growing energy demand and maintain a certain level of resource autonomy. The development of the unconventional natural gas extractive industry will also provide China with further negotiating power …

The Columbia River Treaty: An Opportunity For Modernization Of Basin Governance, Barbara Cosens

Articles

No abstract provided.

Adaptive Governance Of Water Resources Shared With Indigenous Peoples: The Role Of Law, Barbara Cosens

Articles

Adaptive governance is an emergent phenomenon resulting from the interaction of locally driven collaborative efforts with a hierarchy of governmental regulation and management and is thought to be capable of navigating social-ecological change as society responds to the effects of climate change. The assertion of Native American water rights on highly developed water systems in North America has triggered governance innovations that resemble certain aspects of adaptive governance, and have emerged to accommodate the need for Indigenous water development and restoration of cultural and ecological resources. Similar innovations are observed in the assertion of Indigenous voices in Australia. This presents …

Front Matter, Natural Resources Journal

Natural Resources Journal

No abstract provided.

Looking Upstream: An Analysis Of Low Water Levels In Lake Powell And The Impacts On Water Supply, Hydropower, Recreation, And The Environment: A Companion Report To The Bathtub Ring, Michael Johnson, Lindsey Ratcliff, Rebecca Shively, Leanne Weiss, Yale University. School Of Forestry And Environmental Studies, University Of Colorado Boulder. Getches-Wilkinson Center For Natural Resources, Energy, And The Environment, Western Water Policy Program

Books, Reports, and Studies

viii, 110 pages : color illustrations, color maps

The Role Of Creative Language In Addressing Political Asymmetries: The Israeli-Arab Water Agreements, Itay Fischhendler, Aaron T. Wolf, Gabriel E. Eckstein

Faculty Scholarship

International water agreements are often used as mechanisms for fostering and institutionalizing political cooperation. Yet, since water resources in many places are being driven to the edge of their natural limits, a number of international organizations have formulated legal principles and norms aimed at helping states resolve water disputes. While states have been urged to adopt these principles, it seems that they often embrace other less-traditional alternatives that may better address their own political needs. The aim of this study is to examine why states fail or decline to adopt several of the general principles of customary law formulated by …

Forgetting Nature: The Importance Of Including Environmental Flows In International Water Agreements, Amy Hardberger

Faculty Articles

From the moment States created political boundaries to define their territory, they have shared water. There are 263 transboundary lake and river basins worldwide and 300 known transboundary aquifer systems. Whenever sharing is present, the opportunity for conflict is too. Climate change and increasing population are only two factors that may lead to increasing conflict if attention is not given to these situations. Thankfully, sharing water also creates an opportunity for cooperation. Throughout the world, there are increasing examples of conflict and cooperation regarding shared water resources. International water agreements can promote regional peace and security and encourage economic growth. …

Microplastic Pollution In The Great Lakes: State, Federal, And Common Law Solutions, Nicholas Schroeck

Law Faculty Research Publications

No abstract provided.

Lines In The Sand: Interstate Groundwater Disputes In The Supreme Court, Noah D. Hall, Joseph Regalia

Law Faculty Research Publications

No abstract provided.

Interstate Groundwater Law Revisited: Mississippi V. Tennessee, Noah D. Hall, Joseph Regalia

Law Faculty Research Publications

No abstract provided.

The Human Right To Water: A False Promise?, Stephen C. Mccaffrey

University of the Pacific Law Review

No abstract provided.

Biagaweit: Securing Water From The Mighty River In The Snake River Basin Adjudication, Jeanette Wolfley

Faculty Scholarship

This symposium article describes the Shoshone and Bannock peoples journey to quantify their water rights in the SRBA. It begins with the Shoshone-Bannock Tribal cultural perspective on water and water rights. It then discusses the concept of tribal homelands and the water required and necessary for sustaining a tribally reserved home as guaranteed in the Fort Bridger Treaty of 1868, including a discussion of the Winters doctrine which affirms the treaty's promises. It concludes with a review of the Fort Hall Indian Water Rights Agreement. 'Biagaweit' is the Shoshone word for the Snake River. The mighty Snake River begins its …