Natural Resources Law Commons^™

Groundwater, Darcy S. Bushnell, Diego Urbina

Water Matters!

Since the late nineteenth century, New Mexicans have been developing the state’s groundwater resources. From hand-dug wells to proposed wells that could penetrate to 12,000 feet, residents have sought sources to supplement and replace surface water. The state relies upon groundwater to supply almost 50 percent of its needs.

As the population grows and drought intensifies, groundwater sources are tapped with increasing urgency. Limited steps are being taken to preserve groundwater through conservation, groundwater recharge, and regulation.

State And Regional Water Planning, Brigette Buynak, Susan Kelly, Sarah Armstrong

Water Matters!

A statewide water planning effort was initiated by the New Mexico legislature in the 2003 session. The Interstate Stream Commission (ISC),in collaboration with the Office of the State Engineer (OSE) and the Water Trust Board, was tasked with preparing and implementing a comprehensive state water plan. Regional water planning had begun much earlier, prompted by a lawsuit that El Paso filed against New Mexico in 1983, El Paso v. Reynolds.

The State Water Plan Act of 2003 (Act) was intended to promote stewardship of the state’s water resources and to establish clear policies and strategies for management of the state’s …

Community Water Systems, Joanne Hilton, Susan Kelly, Sarah Armstrong

Water Matters!

Apart from the major cities along the Rio Grande corridor, much of New Mexico remains relatively rural. Recent studies estimate a 2013population of around 2,085,500 statewide. In the state fiscal year 2011,about 1,836,000 people, or 88 percent of New Mexico’s population obtain their water from community water systems. Approximately 284,000 people, or about14 percent of the population, receive their drinking water from community water systems serving fewer than 5,000 people. As of 2012, there are 1,148 public water systems that provide drinking water in New Mexico. Of these systems, 593are community water systems; of these, 546 serve fewer than 5,000 …

Deep Water Regulation, Paul Bossert, Kari Olson

Water Matters!

With most of the surface water in New Mexico fully appropriated and with groundwater sources being drawn down and becoming less reliable, the search for new sources of water is reaching further and further afield of traditional sources and methods. Water wells deeper than 2,000 feet have been rare due to the expense of deep drilling and the uncertainty of finding potable water. Yet the combined circumstances of advances in hydrology and the escalating demand for new water have driven the search for water deeper than was previously considered practical.

Water Marketing, Jeremy Oat, Laura Paskus

Water Matters!

Water doesn’t just flow around New Mexico in streams and rivers: it also moves around on paper. Since all of the state’s surface-water and most of its groundwater have already been allocated, the only way for cities, developers, or conservation organizations to find new water supplies is to buy and transfer water rights from old uses and places to new uses and places. The N.M. Office of the State Engineer (OSE) approves each of these transfers, most of which are relatively small, but the numbers can add up over time. Between 1982 and 2011, for instance, 21,000 acre-feet of Middle …

Water Quality Regulation, Joanne Hilton, Susan Kelly, James Hogan, Kimberly Kirby, Jerry Schoeppner

Water Matters!

While many of the water issues in New Mexico center around having an adequate supply of water, the quality of the water is just as important as the quantity in supplying water for drinking and other uses that rely on clean water. Protecting water quality is financially more feasible than conducting expensive cleanup programs. New Mexico has a strong interest in water quality regulation to protect public health and the environment and to minimize expenditures for mitigation of contaminated supplies. Water quality is a difficult subject to navigate; there is a complex web of statutes and agency involvement. This paper …

Water Litigation In The Lower Rio Grande, Darcy S. Bushnell

Water Matters!

The water allocation issues are hotly contested in south-central New Mexico and the surrounding area. Today, the river and those who depend on it face more administrative challenges in the face of shrinking water supplies and increased population. These challenges have given rise to two ongoing lawsuits: the Lower Rio Grande Adjudication,New Mexico v. EBID, et al., 96-CV-888 (1996) (N.M. v. EBID) in the New Mexico Third Judicial District Court (adjudication court) and the New Mexico v. United States,et al., D.N.M. 11-CV-691 (2011) (N.M. v.U.S.) in United States District Court of New Mexico (U.S. District Court).

Eastern New Mexico Rural Water System (Ute Pipeline Project), Jerold Widdison, Paul Van Gulick, Darcy S. Bushnell

Water Matters!

The Ute Pipeline Project (Project), officially known as the Eastern New Mexico Rural Water System (ENMRWS),is a 151-mile-long pipeline project to provide a sustainable municipal and industrial water supply for several eastern New Mexico communities and a military base. The Congress authorized major federal funding for the Ute Pipeline in the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009. This important milestone for the project was reached after about 45 years of effort.Attention now shifts to myriad details involved in actually constructing, financing,and administering the project.

The Rio Grande As An International River, Margaret J. Vick

Water Matters!

The Rio Grande is divided into two major river reaches and has different legal regimes for each. New Mexico is primarily concerned with the Rio Grande from the headwaters in Colorado to Ft. Quitman in Texas, a distance of approximately 670 miles. This section of the river is the subject of the1906 Rio Grande Convention (Treaty) between the United States and Mexico. The lower section of the Rio Grande from Ft. Quitman to the Gulf of Mexico is the subject of the 1944 Rivers Treaty between the United States and Mexico; the 1944 Rivers Treaty also includes the Colorado and …

Remarks Of The Honorable Timothy E. Wirth: Symposium In Honor Of David H. Getches, Timothy E. Wirth

University of Colorado Law Review

No abstract provided.

Patience Is An Economic Virtue: Real Options, Natural Resources, And Offshore Oil, Michael A. Livermore

University of Colorado Law Review

The financial concept of real options has important consequences in areas of environmental and natural resources law where irreversible decisions are made in the face of uncertainty. This article argues that consideration of real options is necessary to maximize economic returns from nonrenewable natural resource extraction, using offshore oil drilling as a case study. Because decisions over drilling are often framed as a now-or-never choice, the option to wait (or the "real option" value) is improperly treated in administrative processes that determine whether, when, and how offshore oil resources will be tapped. The value associated with the option to delay …

Hydrofracking: State Preemption, Local Power, And Cooperative Governance, John R. Nolon

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Advocates for the gas drilling technology known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, argue that it will bring significant economic benefits to the private and public sectors. Its opponents dispute these claims and point to significant environmental and public health risks associated with fracking—risks that must be considered in adopting government regulations needed to protect the public interest. One of the many issues raised by fracking is which level of government should regulate which aspects of the practice. This debate is complicated by the fact that the risks associated with fracking raise concerns of federal, state, and local importance and fit …

Missouri Oil And Gas Update, Nadia B. Ahmad

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

The State of Missouri has untapped potential for the development of oil and natural gas resources. While the Missouri courts were quiet this past year on interpreting oil and gas rules and regulations, the legislature was active in amending laws governing storage tanks. The state has experienced a tremendous upsurge in oil and gas production in the past two fiscal years. Missouri is poised to ramp up its conventional oil and gas production in the coming years, so increased legislative actions and court activity will likely occur in the near future. Missouri's energy resources include coal bed methane, oil sand, …

Scattered And Dissonant: The Clean Air Act, Greenhouse Gases, And Implications For The Oil And Gas Industry, Alex Ritchie

Faculty Scholarship

In the midst of a domestic oil and gas production revolution, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has constructed a web of findings and regulations to control greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from stationary sources under the auspices of the Clean Air Act. This Article explores the theoretical and practical implications for the oil and gas industry of EPA’s Clean Air Act GHG regulatory regime that, in light of congressional paralysis, will continue to expand beyond major new and modified oil and gas facilities such as refineries and natural gas processing plants. Future rulemakings directly aimed at the oil and gas industry …

The Tragic Story Of The Federal Coal Leasing Program, Mark Squillace

Publications

No abstract provided.

Hero For The People, Hero For The Land And Water: Reflections On The Enduring Contributions Of David Getches, Charles Wilkinson

Publications

No abstract provided.

Water Transfers For A Changing Climate, Mark Squillace

Publications

The prior appropriation doctrine that dominates the water laws of the Western United States was perhaps the inevitable consequence of the need to manage water resources in a region where the demand for water often exceeds the supply. This doctrine has proved surprisingly clumsy at accommodating changing water needs during times of shortage. Economists have long viewed water markets as an attractive solution for reallocating water to meet the demands of an evolving community of water users. But most western states have been skeptical--sometimes even hostile--to proposed changes in historic water use patterns. This reluctance to encourage the transfer of …

Settler Colonialism And Reclamation: Where American Indian Law And Natural Resources Law Meet, Sarah Krakoff

Publications

Three hours west of Phoenix, Arizona, the Colorado River Indian Tribes (“CRIT”), a federally recognized tribe that includes over 3,700 enrolled members of Mohave, Chemehuevi, Navajo, and Hopi descent, occupies a reservation nearly 300,000 acres in size. The CRIT was one of five tribes to have its water rights confirmed in the landmark case of Arizona v. California, and therefore has senior rights to 719,248 acre-feet of Colorado River water, nearly one-third of Arizona’s allocation. How the CRIT came to be a single federally recognized tribe composed of members from four indigenous peoples located on lands that were a fraction …

Learning How To Fish: Catch Shares And The Future Of Fishery Conservation, Jonathan H. Adler, Nathaniel Stewart

Faculty Publications

The hard choices being made in an effort to save the Atlantic cod fishery today are all too common, as policymakers continue to employ and rely upon failed conservation policies, leaving fisheries the world over poorly managed and under stress. By some measures, a majority of exploited fisheries are depleted or in decline. Even more troubling, new research suggests that those fisheries about which scientists know the least may be in the worst shape. Yet all is not lost—perhaps not even for the great Atlantic cod. These same assessments conclude that, with proper management, fishery yields could double while remaining …

Using The Public Trust Doctrine To Achieve Ocean Stewardship, Mary Turnipseed, Michael C. Blumm, Duncan E.J. Currie, Kristina M. Gjerde, Peter Sand, Mary C. Wood, Julie A. Hambrook Berkman, Ryke Longest, Gail Osherenko, Stephen E. Roady, Raphael D. Sagarin, Larry B. Crowder

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.