Law Commons^™

Legal Convergence Of East And West In Contemporary American Water Law, Robert Haskell Abrams

Journal Publications

Legal instrumentalism and legal convergence, two legal constructs, describe how American water law has developed over time. A study of early Eastern and Western water law shows that both systems are instrumentalist at their core and evolved to suit pressing developmental needs. Early on in the East, law was created to protect water use for millers, who used mills to generate power. In the West, riparian systems of the East were rejected in favor of a system that met the needs of settlers in more arid environments. Legal convergence is a concept suggesting that law governing various fields converges over …

Correcting Mismatched Authorities: Erecting A New "Water Federalism", Robert Abrams

Journal Publications

Conflicts over water allocation have, become a national topic, rather than a regional one confined to the West. Increased water use and projections for further increased demand are combining with the decline of stationarity to underscore the importance of having sound water management policies and a coherent plan for water allocation at the ready and capable of implementation. Historically, and in an earlier era of water federalism, the state police power was acknowledged as the proper locus for making water law and policy.

In the twentieth century, even while laws and rhetoric respected the division of authority favoring the states, …

Climate Change And Freshwater Resources, Robert H. Abrams, Noah D. Hall, Bret B. Stuntz

Journal Publications

Earth's climate is warming. This is the unequivocal conclusion of climate scientists. Despite the complexities of climatology, certain consistent trends emerge with implications for water availability: as the world gets warmer, it will experience increased regional variability in precipitation, with more frequent heavy precipitation events and more susceptibility to drought. These simple facts will have a profound impact on freshwater resources throughout the United States, as the warmer climate will reduce available water supplies and increase water demand. Unfortunately, current water law and policy are not up to the new challenges of climate change and resulting pressures on freshwater resources. …

Water Follies: Groundwater Pumping And The Fate Of America's Fresh Waters [Review Of Book By Robert Glennon], Robert H. Abrams

Journal Publications

This is a fun book to read. Most books of this genre decry a serious environmental problem and seek to influence a particular legal response to it. Those books tend to be long on details and heavy-handed in their advocacy. Many operate on the premise that the solution being presented requires an active effort at persuasion to convince the reader of the proposal's worth. This book is better: it tells fascinating stories, weaves together a series of poignant vignettes, and guides the reader to the desired conclusion implied by the book's title-America's water law in relation to groundwater pumping is …

Federal Liability For State Water-Adjudication Filing Fees: Has The United States Waived Its Sovereign Immunity?, Robert H. Abrams

Journal Publications

No abstract provided.

Thalwegs And Bottom Holes: Oil And Water Law Beneath The Mississippi River, Robert H. Abrams

Journal Publications

No abstract provided.

Setting Regional Policy On Diverting Great Lakes Water To The Arid West: Scaling Down Two Myths, Robert Haskell Abrams

Journal Publications

No abstract provided.