Law Commons^™

Fisheries Reliant On Aquifers: When Groundwater Extraction Depletes Surface Water Flows, Paul Stanton Kibel, Julie Gantenbein

Publications

IN CALIFORNIA, surface waters have historically been regulated as if they were unconnected to groundwater. Yet in reality, surface waters and groundwater are often hydrologically connected. Many of the rivers that support fisheries such as salmon and trout are hydrologically dependent on tributary groundwater to maintain instream flow. This means that when there is intensive pumping of tributary groundwater, the result can be reductions in instream flow and damage to fisheries. For this reason, stakeholders concerned with adequate instream flows for fisheries in California's rivers, streams, and creeks need to be effectively engaged in the implementation of California's Sustainable Groundwater …

California Rushes In—Keeping Water Instream For Fisheries Without Federal Law, Paul Stanton Kibel

Publications

This Article examines the ways that federal law and federal agencies currently provide a legal basis to keep water instream for California fisheries, and the ways that California water law may be in a position to fill the regulatory gap that may be left if federal water law and federal agencies recede.

Following the introduction, Part I of the Article identifies the different ways that instream flow affects California fisheries. Part II then surveys federal laws and federal agencies that have traditionally supported efforts to keep water instream for California fisheries. In Part III, the Article presents examples of how …

Damage To Fisheries By Dams: The Interplay Between International Water Law And International Fisheries Law, Paul Stanton Kibel

Publications

Following the introduction, Part One documents the effects of on-stream dams on fisheries, aquatic habitat and fishing-dependent communities. In Part Two, the Article examines how principles from international fisheries law (which has traditionally focused more on ocean fisheries than freshwater fisheries) apply in the transboundary river context. Part Three then identifies the rights of upstream/downstream nations under international water law pertaining to the impoundment and release of water from on-stream dams on waterways where fisheries are present. Next, in Part Four, the Article considers how international environmental impact assessment obligations relate to the construction and operation of on-stream dams. Finally, …