Law Commons^™

Current Challenges In The Rio Grande/Río Bravo Basin: Old Disputes In A New Century, Regina M. Buono, Gabriel Eckstein

Faculty Scholarship

The Rio Grande River traverses 2000 kilometres of the international border between Mexico and the United States. The river and its tributaries are governed by a series of border treaties and institutions, as well as under the domestic laws of each nation. Often lauded for enabling innovative and collaborative governance, in recent years the complicated regime has come under pressure as domestic and international water governance institutions struggle under the strain of climate change, population growth, and other stressors on water supply and demand in the region. This chapter considers three of the major challenges currently facing the Rio Grande …

Groundwater Exceptionalism: The Disconnect Between Law And Science, Christine A. Klein

UF Law Faculty Publications

Most judges, legislators, and regulators would be hard-pressed to articulate a comprehensive legal theory of groundwater. And yet, this under-appreciated, over-used, life-sustaining resource plays an increasingly pivotal role in prominent legal controversies. In defiance of hydrologic reality, lawmakers have routinely singled out groundwater for unique treatment and decoupled it from surface water. This Article dubs such phenomenon “groundwater exceptionalism,” and identifies groundwater as an under-theorized aspect of both property law and water law. It brings to light the numerous legal doctrines infected by exceptionalism, including state water rights law, the federal reserved rights doctrine, the apportionment of interstate waters, and …

2021 Final Butte Reduction Works (Brw) Smelter Area Mine Waste Remediation And Contaminated Groundwater Hydraulic Control Site Phase Iii Quality Assurance Project Plan (Qapp), Pioneer Technical Services, Inc.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Maintenance Of Water And Sewer Infrastructure In Response To Sea Level Rise In Massachusetts, Melissa Chalek

Marine Affairs Institute Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

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 …

Dustbowl Waters: Doctrinal And Legislative Solutions To Save The Ogallala Aquifer Before Both Time And Water Run Out, Warigia M. Bowman

Articles, Chapters in Books and Other Contributions to Scholarly Works

Eighty-three years after the Dust Bowl, residents of America’s High Plains face a dire threat: their primary aquifer faces depletion, and entire sections of the country are set to run out of groundwater by the end of the century or sooner. The Ogallala Aquifer provides a significant amount of America’s agricultural irrigation water and is a primary source of drinking water for Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. This Article argues that policymakers should slow the Aquifer’s depletion rate by implementing changes to irrigation technology, crop choice, consumer behavior, legal doctrine, and legislation. This Article …

An Aquifer Betrayed: The Monterey Desalinization Project At Odds With California Water Law, Paul Stanton Kibel

Publications

The California American Water Company's Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project (Cal-Am Project) is a proposed desalinization facility in Monterey County that was approved by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) in September 2018. The Cal- Am Project would treat water pumped from inland coastal groundwater aquifers-the Dune Sand Aquifer and the 180-Foot Aquifer-rather than water pumped directly from the ocean. The Cal-Am Project's pumping of these coastal aquifers is expected to result in increased seawater intrusion in groundwater.

The Marina Coast Water District and the City of Marina filed petitions with the California Supreme Court alleging violations of the California …

Calming Troubled Waters: Local Solutions, Part I, John R. Nolon

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

In 1861, the Ohio Supreme Court adopted the Absolute Use Rule to govern groundwater, essentially allowing landowners its unencumbered use. The opinion noted that the behavior of subterranean water was “occult and mysterious” and that it was beyond the competence of judges to determine its appropriate use. The Ohio court reversed course in 1984 and adopted the Reasonable Use Rule. By then, scientific knowledge had advanced to the point that the interconnected movement of water was more readily discoverable. The court noted that a primary goal of water law should be to conform to hydrologic fact. This Article explores the …

From Mono Lake To The Atmospheric Trust: Navigating The Public And Private Interests In Public Trust Resource Commons, Erin Ryan

Scholarly Publications

This Article partners a summary of the Mono Lake story — one of the all-time great tales of environmental, property, and water law — with additional historical context, expanded legal analysis, and new reporting on contemporary public trust developments, especially Juliana vs. United States and the unfolding atmospheric trust climate litigation. The Mono Lake case and its progeny — in which the public trust doctrine has been applied in contexts ranging from takings litigation to groundwater management to fracking regulation and now to climate change — prompt reflection about the way the public trust doctrine navigates complex conflicts between public …

Exempt Wells And Agriculture, Jesse Richardson, Iris Aloi

Law Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Owning Groundwater: The Example Of Mississippi V. Tennessee, Christine A. Klein

UF Law Faculty Publications

In Mississippi v. Tennessee, a case currently on the U.S. Supreme Court’s docket, Mississippi claims that it owns all groundwater stored underneath its borders that does not cross into Tennessee under “natural predevelopment” conditions—before the advent of modern well technology. Mississippi seeks more than six hundred million dollars for pumping by Tennessee wells that tap into a geologic formation that underlies both states. This is a remarkable claim that departs from the almost uniformly established proposition that the states do not “own” the water within their borders, but instead are authorized to manage that water for the “use” of …

Slides: Drought In The Murray Darling Basin: A 100 Year Perspective, Daniel Connell

Coping with Water Scarcity in River Basins Worldwide: Lessons Learned from Shared Experiences (Martz Summer Conference, June 9-10)

Presenter: Daniel Connell, Australian National University

22 slides

Slides: Water Management In Spain, Teodoro Estrela

Coping with Water Scarcity in River Basins Worldwide: Lessons Learned from Shared Experiences (Martz Summer Conference, June 9-10)

Presenter: Teodoro Estrela, Júcar River Basin Authority, Spain

15 slides

Slides: Scarcity And Bc's Water Future - The Evolution Of Western Water Law?, Oliver M. Brandes

Coping with Water Scarcity in River Basins Worldwide: Lessons Learned from Shared Experiences (Martz Summer Conference, June 9-10)

Oliver M. Brandes, University of Victoria

28 slides

Slides: Murray-Darling Basin, Australia, Tony Mcleod

Coping with Water Scarcity in River Basins Worldwide: Lessons Learned from Shared Experiences (Martz Summer Conference, June 9-10)

Presenter: Tony McLeod, MDBA, Murray-Darling Basin Authority

17 slides

Slides: Food For Thought: Water Requirements For Social-Ecological Systems, Michael Douglas, Sue Jackson

Coping with Water Scarcity in River Basins Worldwide: Lessons Learned from Shared Experiences (Martz Summer Conference, June 9-10)

Presenters:

Michael Douglas, University of Western Australia, Charles Darwin University

Sue Jackson, Griffith University

35 slides

Slides: Policy Framework: Fpwec: First Peoples' Water Engagement Council, Phil Duncan, First Peoples' Water Engagement Council

Indigenous Water Justice Symposium (June 6)

Presenter: Phil Duncan, Gomeroi Nation, New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council

25 slides

Framework For Drafting Ecological Objectives For Water Sharing Plans - Submission Of The Nsw Aboriginal Land Council, Geoff Scott, New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council

Indigenous Water Justice Symposium (June 6)

Presenter: Phil Duncan, Gomeroi Nation, New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council

4 pages

Contains 1 footnote

Letter addressed to Nick Cook, A/Team Leader, WSP Science & Evaluation - North, NSW Office of Water, from Geoff Scott, Chief Executive Officer, New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council.

Slides: Crystalised Not Frozen: Addressing Historical Exclusion Of Traditional Owners From Water, Poh-Ling Tan

Indigenous Water Justice Symposium (June 6)

Poh-Ling Tan, Griffith University

13 slides

Vol. 7 No. 2, Spring 2016; Muddy Waters: Why Polluted Groundwater Infiltrating Navigable Waters Should Not Be Excluded From National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permitting, Tad Juilfs

Northern Illinois Law Review Supplement

The debate over whether the Clean Water Act has jurisdiction over migratory groundwater in the same way that it does over navigable waters of the United States (regarding effluent standards) has left a wide split among courts attempting to interpret and apply the policy, goals, and language of the law. The problem lies in the difference between applying the law given its objectives and goals, or in a strict fashion using simply the language in the text of the Clean Water Act, while supplementing support from legislative and case law history. First in this Note, background information is provided regarding …

Partial Final Judgment And Decree Of The Water Rights Of The Pueblos Of Nambé, Pojoaque, San Ildefonso, And Tesuque, Usdc, Dcnm

Native American Water Rights Settlement Project

Court Decree: Partial Final Judgment and Decree of the Water Rights of the Pueblos of Nambé, Pojoaque, San Ildefonso, and Tesuque

Parties: Pueblos of Nambé, Pojoaque, San Ildefonso, Tesuque.

Contents: Approval of Settlement Agreement p. 2; Acquired Water Rights p. 3; Nambé Water Rights p. 3; Pojoaque Water Rights p. 5; Tesuque Water Rights p. 7; San Ildefonso Water Rights p.9; Limitations p. 11; Enforcement, Administration, Held in Trust p. 12.

Attachments: Attachment 1, p. 13: Nambé irrigation uses, domestic, community, commercial and industrial uses, livestock uses; Attachment 2, p. 25: Pojoaque irrigation uses, domestic, community, commercial and industrial …

Partial Final Judgment And Decree On The Water Rights Of Taos Pueblo, Usdc, Dcnm

Native American Water Rights Settlement Project

Court Decree: Partial Final Judgment and Decree on the Water Rights of Taos Pueblo: Parties: Taos Pueblo, New Mexico, USA, Town of Taos, Taos Valley Acequia Association, El Prado Water and Sanitation District, 12 Mutual Domestic Water Consumer Associations. Recitals; Approval of Settlement Agreement; Contract Rights to Water from San Juan - Chama Project; Historic and Existing Use Water Rights; Historically Irrigated Acreage; Municipal, Domestic, and Industrial Use; Livestock Use; Groundwater Rights; Disclaimers; Records of Water Use; Change of Use; Rights Held in Trust; Conclusions; Entry and Modification of Decree. 38 Exhibits: 5973-1 Taos Pueblo Settlement Agreement; 5973-2, Att. 1 …

Unlimited Rights In A Water-Scarce World? Quantification Of Dormant Rights To Common Pool Groundwater, Jennifer L. Harder

McGeorge School of Law Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.

Conjunctive Groundwater Management As A Response To Social Ecological Disturbances: A Comparison Of Four Western U.S. States, Sonya Ziaja, Zachary P. Sugg, Edella C. Schlager

All Faculty Scholarship

Recent severe droughts in U.S. western and Great Plains states have highlighted the challenges that socio-ecological disturbances can pose for governing groundwater resources, as well as the interconnections between groundwater and surface water and the need to manage the 2 in an integrated way. Conjunctive management recognizes these interconnections and can be used to mitigate disturbances and achieve a variety of water management goals. However, comparative studies of how and to what extent various states have implemented conjunctive management strategies are few. Here we compare and assess the use of conjunctive management practices in 4 western state —Arizona, California, Nebraska, …

Forgetting Nature: The Importance Of Including Environmental Flows In International Water Agreements, Amy Hardberger

Faculty Articles

From the moment States created political boundaries to define their territory, they have shared water. There are 263 transboundary lake and river basins worldwide and 300 known transboundary aquifer systems. Whenever sharing is present, the opportunity for conflict is too. Climate change and increasing population are only two factors that may lead to increasing conflict if attention is not given to these situations. Thankfully, sharing water also creates an opportunity for cooperation. Throughout the world, there are increasing examples of conflict and cooperation regarding shared water resources. International water agreements can promote regional peace and security and encourage economic growth. …

Slides: Wrapping Up The Big Horn Adjudication: Lessons After 38 Years And 20,000 Claims, Ramsey L. Kropf

Innovations in Managing Western Water: New Approaches for Balancing Environmental, Social and Economic Outcomes (Martz Summer Conference, June 11-12)

Presenter: Ramsey L. Kropf, Deputy Solicitor for Water Resources, Office of the Solicitor, U.S. Department of the Interior

34 slides

Slides: Never Let A Crisis Go To Waste, Lester Snow

Innovations in Managing Western Water: New Approaches for Balancing Environmental, Social and Economic Outcomes (Martz Summer Conference, June 11-12)

Presenter: Lester Snow, Executive Director, California Water Foundation

39 slides

Slides: Perspectives On Water Management In Arizona, Kathy Jacobs

Innovations in Managing Western Water: New Approaches for Balancing Environmental, Social and Economic Outcomes (Martz Summer Conference, June 11-12)

Presenter: Kathy Jacobs, Director, Center for Climate Adaptation Science and Solutions (CCASS), Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science, University of Arizona

25 slides

Slides: Urban Water Reliability And The Salton Sea: Can We Have Both?, Michael Cohen

Innovations in Managing Western Water: New Approaches for Balancing Environmental, Social and Economic Outcomes (Martz Summer Conference, June 11-12)

Presenter: Michael Cohen, Senior Research Associate, Pacific Institute

29 slides

Slides: Six Decades Of Texas Water Planning, Ronald Kaiser

Innovations in Managing Western Water: New Approaches for Balancing Environmental, Social and Economic Outcomes (Martz Summer Conference, June 11-12)

Presenter: Ronald Kaiser, Professor of Water Law and Policy, Chair of Graduate Water Degree Program, Texas A&M University

32 slides