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Reimagining Western Water Law: Time-Limited Water Right Permits Based On A Comprehensive Beneficial Use Doctrine, Michael Toll
Reimagining Western Water Law: Time-Limited Water Right Permits Based On A Comprehensive Beneficial Use Doctrine, Michael Toll
University of Colorado Law Review
The dwindling supply of western water resources and the increasing water demands of a growing population necessitate a fundamental reexamination of the prior appropriation system. As a nineteenth century system of water allocation, prior appropriation, traditionally applied, is ill-equipped to effectively and efficiently cope with these twenty-first-century realities. The system must be reformed. The reimagining of western water law has two components. First, the determination of whether water is being put to a "beneficial use" should be based upon a holistic, comparative assessment of the relative value of the use of that water-an exercise in values and priorities that is …
Why Waste Water? A Bifurcated Proposal For Managing, Utilizing, And Profiting From Coalbed Methane Discharged Water, Samuel S. Bacon
Why Waste Water? A Bifurcated Proposal For Managing, Utilizing, And Profiting From Coalbed Methane Discharged Water, Samuel S. Bacon
University of Colorado Law Review
The Coalbed Methane ("CBM") industry is booming throughout the Rocky Mountain West, creating a relatively clean energy alternative, much needed jobs in the region, and a deluge of water pumped from the ground in connection with CBM capture. In order to free the valuable natural gas, companies must first pump out substantial quantities of subsurface water holding the pressurized gas in place. This water varies in quality, from perfectly useful, potable water to poor-quality water with the potential to destroy the surrounding environment. Correspondingly, disposal of the pumped water varies from simply releasing it into streams surrounding the CBM pads …
Toward A New Horizontal Federalism: Interstate Water Management In The Great Lakes Region, Noah D. Hall
Toward A New Horizontal Federalism: Interstate Water Management In The Great Lakes Region, Noah D. Hall
University of Colorado Law Review
This article presents a new model for environmental policy, called cooperative horizontal federalism. The cooperative horizontal federalism approach utilizes a constitutional mechanism for states to bind themselves to common substantive and procedural environmental protection standards, implemented individually with regional resources and enforcement. Here, the concept of the cooperative horizontal federalism model is illustrated through the recently proposed Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact. Under this proposed compact, the eight Great Lakes states would cooperatively manage the world's largest freshwater resource under common minimum standards, which are then incorporated into state law and implemented individually. This cooperative horizontal federalism …