Natural Resources Law Commons^™

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.

Selected Bibliography On Adjudications And New Mexico Water Management, Carol Romero-Wirth, Susan Kelly, Ernesto Longa

Publications

No abstract provided.

Agenda: The Future Of Natural Resources Policy, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center

The Future of Natural Resources Policy (December 6)

This forum will provide a post-election perspective on some of the challenges and opportunities that natural resources, public lands, and energy policymakers in Washington are likely to face in the next four years. An expert panel will discuss the dynamics in the Department of the Interior, the Department of Agriculture, and Congress, and how their evolving policies are likely to affect Colorado in the coming years.

Moderator: Dean Phil Weiser, University of Colorado Law School

Panelists:

Jay Jensen, Associate Director for Land & Water Ecosystems, White House Council on Environmental Quality

Scott Miller, Visiting Assistant Professor, University of Colorado Law …

Background Reading: Department Of The Interior, 2013 Departmental Overview, United States. Department Of The Interior, Ken Salazar

The Future of Natural Resources Policy (December 6)

18 pages (DO-5 through DO-22).

"Background Reading"

The Future of Natural Resources Policy: This forum will provide a post-election perspective on some of the challenges and opportunities that natural resources, public lands, and energy policymakers in Washington are likely to face in the next four years. An expert panel will discuss the dynamics in the Department of the Interior, the Department of Agriculture, and Congress, and how their evolving policies are likely to affect Colorado in the coming years.

Background Reading: Department Of Agriculture, 2013 Budget Overview, United States. Forest Service, United States. Department Of Agriculture

The Future of Natural Resources Policy (December 6)

57 pages.

"Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Overview"

"February 2012"

"Background Reading"

The Future of Natural Resources Policy: This forum will provide a post-election perspective on some of the challenges and opportunities that natural resources, public lands, and energy policymakers in Washington are likely to face in the next four years. An expert panel will discuss the dynamics in the Department of the Interior, the Department of Agriculture, and Congress, and how their evolving policies are likely to affect Colorado in the coming years.

Legal And Policy Implications Of The Perception Of Property Rights In Catch Shares, Mark Fina, Tyson Kade

Washington Journal of Environmental Law & Policy

Catch shares are a fishery management strategy under which persons are allocated exclusive access to specific portions of the total allowable catch of a fishery. Proponents of catch share management argue that these programs allow for more efficient management of annual catch limits and mitigate the negative biological and economic impacts associated with other management programs. Because of the exclusivity of their allocations, catch share programs have been characterized by their opponents as privatizing the public fisheries resource and granting catch share holders a property right to fish. However, case law suggests that a court is unlikely to conclude that …

Comment: Emerging Epa Regulation Of Pharmaceuticals In The Environment, Gabriel Eckstein

Faculty Scholarship

The May 25, 2012, report — entitled EPA Inaction in Identifying Hazardous Waste Pharmaceuticals May Result in Unsafe Disposal — disapproved of EPA’s lack of progress in determining whether certain pharmaceuticals found in surface, ground, and drinking water qualify as hazardous waste, as well as in establishing an evaluation and regulatory process for pharmaceutical wastes. As a result of the report, EPA is now considering mechanisms for assessing and regulating the presence of certain pharmaceutical products in the environment as hazardous wastes under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

Shockwave: Lender Liability Under Cercla After United States V. Fleet Factors Corporation, Nicholas M. Kublicki

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

Slides: What Went Wrong At Divide Creek?, Matthew Sura

Monitoring and Protecting Groundwater During Oil and Gas Development (November 26)

Presenter: Attorney Matthew Sura, Former Director of Western Colorado Congress, graduate of University of Colorado Law School; attorney specializing in representation of landowners and mineral owners in oil and gas transactions and disputes

17 slides

Agenda: Monitoring And Protecting Groundwater During Oil And Gas Development, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center. Intermountain Oil And Gas Bmp Project, Colorado Water And Energy Research Center

Monitoring and Protecting Groundwater During Oil and Gas Development (November 26)

This workshop is cosponsored by the Intermountain Oil and Gas BMP Project and the Colorado Water and Energy Research Center, with financial support from the Environmentally Friendly Drilling Project and the CU-Boulder Outreach Committee.

The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) recently initiated a rule making process to develop new, statewide regulations for baseline sampling and monitoring of groundwater near new oil and gas wells. COGCC’s first rule making hearing was held November 14; the rule is expected to be finalized December 10. This workshop will discuss oil and gas development procedures that can impact groundwater, the current rules …

Slides: Survey Of State Sampling And Monitoring Rules, Kathryn Mutz, Josh Kruger

Monitoring and Protecting Groundwater During Oil and Gas Development (November 26)

Presenters: Kathryn Mutz and Josh Kruger, Natural Resources Law Center, University of Colorado Law School

7 slides

Slides: Routes To Sustainability: Natural Gas Development And Air And Water Resources In The Rocky Mountain Region, Mark Williams

Monitoring and Protecting Groundwater During Oil and Gas Development (November 26)

Presenter: Mark Williams, University of Colorado Boulder

14 slides

Slides: Colorado Law: Protecting Water Quantity And Quality, Alan E. Curtis

Monitoring and Protecting Groundwater During Oil and Gas Development (November 26)

Presenter: Alan E. Curtis, White & Jankowski, LLP

23 slides

Further Information: Monitoring And Protecting Groundwater During Oil And Gas Development, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center. Intermountain Oil And Gas Bmp Project, Colorado Water And Energy Research Center

Monitoring and Protecting Groundwater During Oil and Gas Development (November 26)

1 page.

"For Further Information" (URLs):

COGCC

Rules and Proposed Rules from Other Jurisdictions

Sampling Protocols

Impacts