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Full-Text Articles in Law
Fighting For Water Equity In The West: Whose Water Is It Anyway?, Joseph Regalia
Fighting For Water Equity In The West: Whose Water Is It Anyway?, Joseph Regalia
Scholarly Works
No abstract provided.
The Public Trust Doctrine And The Climate Crisis: Panacea Or Platitude?, Joseph Regalia
The Public Trust Doctrine And The Climate Crisis: Panacea Or Platitude?, Joseph Regalia
Scholarly Works
Over a year of shutting down the global economy during the COVID pandemic achieved about .01 degrees of improvement in global warming. Not even a drop in the bucket. We continue to face a monumental climate crisis. And of the many ways that crisis threatens our environment, winnowing water resources is one of the scariest. One solution that many scholars have turned to is the public trust doctrine. At first blush, this doctrine sounds like a panacea for water management problems: When our water resources are threatened enough that current and future citizen’s access to it is in peril, the …
A New Water Law Vista: Rooting The Public Trust Doctrine In The Courts, Joseph Regalia
A New Water Law Vista: Rooting The Public Trust Doctrine In The Courts, Joseph Regalia
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Courts largely view the public trust doctrine as limited by state legislative and executive policy. According to this widespread theory, states may be required to hold in trust a handful of historically-big waterbodies (referred to as “navigable” waters) for certain uses like commerce, but beyond that, states are free to dispose of water without considering the public’s interests.36 So there is no requirement that states consider, for example, the public’s interest in conserving Walker Lake, a lake much older that the state of Nevada itself. And not only can the public not meaningfully challenge a state’s legislative or executive decisions …
Waters Of The State, Joseph Regalia, Noah D. Hall
Waters Of The State, Joseph Regalia, Noah D. Hall
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This article explores the "waters of the state" in three parts. First, we look to what the states say for themselves about water in their constitutions and statutes. This is not intended as a comprehensive survey, but rather a thorough sampling of the diversity in how states assert themselves over territorial water. There is a tremendous range in the scope of state assertions, in terms of both hydrologic (what waters are included) and legal scope (what states can and should do with water). The diversity and distinctions turn out to be of limited importance, though, at least on the ground. …
Lines In The Sand: Interstate Groundwater Disputes In The Supreme Court, Noah D. Hall, Joseph Regalia
Lines In The Sand: Interstate Groundwater Disputes In The Supreme Court, Noah D. Hall, Joseph Regalia
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As states increasingly rely on groundwater to meet their freshwater demands, interstate conflicts have emerged across the country. This article discusses the two most prominent interstate groundwater disputes, one from the east and one from the west. The eastern case, Mississippi v. Tennessee, is the first interstate groundwater case before the Supreme Court and will set important precedent for future litigation. The western case, a dispute between Utah and Nevada, provides a promising alternative to litigation—an interstate compact that could serve as a model for cooperative management and protection of shared interstate aquifers.
Interstate Groundwater Law Revisited: Mississippi V. Tennessee, Noah D. Hall, Joseph Regalia
Interstate Groundwater Law Revisited: Mississippi V. Tennessee, Noah D. Hall, Joseph Regalia
Scholarly Works
In June 2015, the United States Supreme Court granted the State of Mississippi leave to file a bill of complaint against the State of Tennessee, the City of Memphis, and Memphis Light, Gas & Water Division for wrongfully converting groundwater from the interstate Sparta-Memphis Aquifer. The dispute arises from Memphis and its municipal utility pumping groundwater within Tennessee, which Mississippi alleges has lowered the water tables within its territory. The Supreme Court's grant of leave raises for the first time the question of what legal doctrine applies to transboundary interstate groundwater resources. Tennessee and lower courts would subject interstate groundwater …
Mapping The Human Right To Water On The Colorado River, Bret C. Birdsong
Mapping The Human Right To Water On The Colorado River, Bret C. Birdsong
Scholarly Works
Colorado River systems-both ecological and legal-are facing a coming crisis. The river snakes its way from the Rocky Mountain crest to the Gulf of California, draining 245,000 square miles encompassing parts of seven of the United States ("U.S.") and two Mexican states. The river and its tributaries provide drinking water for growing population of thirty million in an even larger area because some of its water is diverted to serve out-of-basin demands in both the U.S. and Mexico. Aside from bringing life-sustaining water to people for personal use, it provides irrigation water for some of the most valuable agricultural lands …