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Full-Text Articles in Law
Case Law On American Indians: October 2022 - August 2023, Thomas P. Schlosser
Case Law On American Indians: October 2022 - August 2023, Thomas P. Schlosser
American Indian Law Journal
No abstract provided.
Borderless Commons Under Attack? Reconciling Recent Supreme Court Decisions With Watershed Scale Management, Mike Pease, Olen Paul Matthews
Borderless Commons Under Attack? Reconciling Recent Supreme Court Decisions With Watershed Scale Management, Mike Pease, Olen Paul Matthews
Seattle Journal of Environmental Law
Water managers have long called for management at watershed scales, instead of using hydrologically arbitrary boundaries like political borders. Considerable effort has been made in recent years to manage watersheds more holistically, but efforts to transfer water across state boundaries have been problematic, thwarted by legal and political obstacles. In Tarrant Regional Water District v. Herrmann the transferability of water across state boundaries has been reviewed by the Supreme Court. Tarrant, a water district in Texas, attempted to reallocate water from Oklahoma. The U.S. Supreme Court interpreted the case narrowly, focusing on the wording of the Compact, and determined Congress …
Addressing The Prior Appropriation Doctrine In The Shadow Of Climate Change And The Paris Climate Agreement, Kait Schilling
Addressing The Prior Appropriation Doctrine In The Shadow Of Climate Change And The Paris Climate Agreement, Kait Schilling
Seattle Journal of Environmental Law
Climate change is the new lens through which the world needs to view water. Such a viewpoint is prudent, as the western United States is in a state of water scarcity that requires a reevaluation of how fresh water resources are being used. Western states have entrenched themselves in a system of prior appropriation that ensures senior water users retain priority over, and protection from the impacts of, new water users. Unfortunately, allocating new water rights under prior appropriation has become difficult as streams are increasingly fully appropriated with no new water rights allocations available. Climate change is exacerbating this …
The Controversy Over Permit-Exempt Wells In Washington, Jean O. Melious
The Controversy Over Permit-Exempt Wells In Washington, Jean O. Melious
Seattle Journal of Environmental Law
In a groundbreaking 2016 decision commonly referred to as the Hirst decision, the Washington State Supreme Court recognized the interrelationship between land use and water use. The Court held that the state’s Growth Management Act required local governments to protect water resources through measures ensuring that new development would not deprive senior water users of their water rights. The decision focused on development relying on permit-exempt wells. Permit-exempt wells reflect a pioneer mentality that encourages dispersed development by allowing rural property owners and developers to appropriate water without obtaining a permit. Permit-exempt wells are subject to the state law of …
Agriculture, Water Pollution, And The Future Of Epa’S Regulatory Authority In A Post-American Farm Bureau Federation V. U.S. Epa America, Henry Brudney
Seattle Journal of Environmental Law
Until the recent decision of American Farm Bureau Federation v. U.S. EPA, the EPA’s total maximum daily load (TMDL) regulation under the Clean Water Act contained no substantive standard for water quality. However, in this decision, the Third Circuit added such substantive criteria to the TMDL, which should have a monumental effect on the improvement of water quality standards in the United States.