Water Law Commons^™

Center For Biological Diversity V. Jewell, Kirsa Shelkey

Public Land & Resources Law Review

Following years of pressure to list the upper Missouri River population of Arctic grayling as an endangered or threatened species, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service issued a 2014 Finding that listing the fish was “not warranted at this time.” The Service relied on voluntary Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances in the Big Hole River Basin to determine that listing criteria under the Endangered Species Act was not met and therefore listing was not necessary. Ultimately, the court deferred to agency expertise and found that the Service’s decision not to list the Arctic grayling was reasonable.

Trending @ Rwu Law: Julia Wyman's Post: The Threat Of Marine Debris 12-13-2016, Julia Wyman

Law School Blogs

No abstract provided.

California’S Curse: Perpetual Drought And Persistent Land Development, Gabrielle Kavounas

San Diego Law Review

This Comment argues that the California state legislature should take direct control of private water use rights through legislation that amends California’sConstitution Article X, Section 2, providing the state with the police powerto take back private water rights and centralize control over water management and distribution.[1] It also recommends imposing higher requirements for land development and water agency cooperation in standard form, state-controlled“general plans” to create efficiency in distributing water throughout the stateand in planning new land developments. The public trust doctrine, eminentdomain doctrine, and regulatory takings doctrine are possible justifications the state could use to effectuate the new legislation. …

Inefficient Efficiency: Crying Over Spilled Water, Vanessa Casado-Pérez

Faculty Scholarship

As the drought in Western states worsens, the agricultural sector is being criticized for failing to adopt technical responses, such as shifting to less water-demanding crops and state-of-the-art irrigation systems, in a timely manner. However, these responses can have the reverse effect: they can increase water consumption. Technological responses alone are insufficient to reduce water consumption if unaccompanied by changes in how the law defines and allocates water rights. This paper proposes a redefinition of water rights to ensure that changes in crops or irrigation techniques are socially efficient.

In the West, which uses the doctrine of prior appropriation to …

Getches-Wilkinson Center Newsletter, Fall 2016, University Of Colorado Boulder. Getches-Wilkinson Center For Natural Resources, Energy, And The Environment

Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment Newsletter (2013-)

No abstract provided.

Aboriginal Consultation In Canadian Water Negotiations:The Mackenzie Bilateral Water Management Agreements, Andrea Beck

Dalhousie Law Journal

Due to constitutional protection of Aboriginal water rights, the Canadian government has a duty to consult Aboriginal peoples in water-related decision making. In 2015, Alberta and the Northwest Territories signed an agreement for managing their shared waters in the Mackenzie River Basin. In light of Canada's record, observers have praised the preceding negotiation process as pathbreaking due to its high level of Aboriginal involvement. To evaluate such claims, this paper analyzes Aboriginal consultations in the 2011-2015 NWT-Alberta transboundary water negotiation. The comparative case study reaches the following conclusions. In their bilateral water negotiation, the two jurisdictions differed markedly in terns …

Evolving Water Law And Management In The U.S.: Montana, Irma S. Russell

Faculty Works

The availability of water or the lack thereof has influenced the evolution of each state and the laws of each state. The development of water law naturally grew from the realities of water and other resources in different areas of the country and the need for water for industry, agriculture, and other enterprises. The evolution and development of water management in Montana provide a good example of water management in the western United States. From the beginnings of Montana and of the West as a region, water sat at the top of the list of essentials for human occupancy and …

From Environmental Rights To Environmental Rule Of Law: A Proposal For Better Environmental Outcomes, Jessica Scott

Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law

With the recent lead contamination crisis in Flint, Michigan, the unfavorable United States country report of the former United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation seems prescient. The Special Rapporteur’s report highlighted the problem of drinking water contaminated from lead pipes and the disproportionate burdens Black Americans face in accessing safe drinking water. The report argues that the U.S. should address these issues by explicitly recognizing a human right to safe drinking water and sanitation under U.S. law.

Like the Special Rapporteur, much of the literature and some environmental advocates call for environmental …

Marine Law Symposium: Legal And Policy Approaches To Reduce Marine Debris In New England 11/04/2016, Roger Wiliams University School Of Law

School of Law Conferences, Lectures & Events

No abstract provided.

Presentation: Spatial Design Of An Objective Driven Theoretical Water Resources Monitoring Network, M Musariri, G Jager, B Haasbroek

Policy

Review, evaluation and optimization of the National Water Resources Monitoring Networks Project

Aim to:

•undertake an evaluation of each the 10 monitoring networks in their present condition

•redesign and realign (where necessary) the network with the strategic and management requirements of the DWS and SA

•optimized the networks as far as possible

•ensure sustainable, relevant and up-to-date data of an acceptable quality.

Outcome: National Water Resource Monitoring Implementation Strategy

Texas Groundwater And Tragically Stable “Crossovers”, Zachary A. Bray

Zachary Bray

One recurring question in the academic literature on common-pool resources relates to the persistence of “tragic” commons regimes—systems that encourage, or at least tolerate, the inefficient, wasteful, hazardous, or unfair exploitation of a resource that is easily accessed for and diminished by individual use and consumption. Of course, not all commons are tragic: some common-pool resources invite individual access in efficient, fair, and durable ways. Yet many commonly held resources do lie under systems of governance that are not just tragic but persistently and stubbornly so. Often the tragic aspects of such commons regimes are well known; indeed, for some …

Missing Water Markets: A Cautionary Tale Of Governmental Failure, Vanessa Casado-Pérez

Vanessa Casado Perez

California is facing a water crisis. Water is managed through a variety of mechanisms, including government administration and market tools. This Article argues for a regulated market-based solution. When it comes to water markets, the invisible hand needs help from the visible hand of government to prove effective. Administrative systems and markets are usually portrayed in opposition to each other, as mutually exclusive solutions. Water market advocates suggest government's role is minimal. However, as this Article identifies, to establish and maintain a functioning water market, government needs to play a variety of roles. These include the uncontested role of defining …

All Over The Map: The Diversity Of Western Water Plans, Vanessa Casado-Pérez, Bruce E. Cain, Iris Hui, Coral Abbott, Kaley Dodson, Shane Lebow

Vanessa Casado Perez

Water presents a complex challenge to western state governments. Water is scarcer in the West than in the East and western states face challenges unknown to eastern ones. The textual analysis of their state water planning summaries produced by the US Army Corps of Engineers between late 2008 and 2009 confirms the differences in their policy priorities. However, there is also a wide variance among western states’ policies as the diversity in their water plans show.

Water planning is a challenge not only because of the variability of the resource but also because water basins do not map our local, …

Presentation 1, M Musariri, G Jager, J D. Rossouw

Policy

No abstract provided.

Reducing Overdraft And Respecting Water Rights Under California's 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act: A View From The Kern County Farming Sector, Ashley Mettler

Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal

California groundwater is an invaluable drought reserve for agricultural farmers. With historically dry conditions affecting the annual water supply, precious groundwater has become one of the last water resources available to growers in the Central Valley. The devastating drought effects have necessitated the use of groundwater to help offset the surface water deprivation, and the increase in groundwater usage has become a source of growing conflict among water users and environmentalists across the state.

In 2014, the California Legislature introduced the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), opening the door to a new era of water management and new challenges for …

United States Army Corps Of Engineers V. Hawkes Co., Jonah Brown

Public Land & Resources Law Review

When landowners seek to determine if a permit is required from the Army Corps of Engineers to discharge dredged or fill material into waters within their property boundaries, they may first obtain a jurisdictional determination specifying whether “waters of the United States” are present. In an 8-0 judgment, Army Corps of Engineers v. Hawkes was a victory for landowners, concluding that an approved jurisdictional determination is a final agency action reviewable under the Administrative Procedure Act.

Water, Growth And The Endangered Species Act, Holly Doremus

Holly Doremus

24 pages.

Water, Growth And The Endangered Species Act, Holly Doremus

Holly Doremus

24 pages.

Water, Growth And The Endangered Species Act, Holly Doremus

Holly Doremus

24 pages.

Who Owns The Water?, Jesse Richardson

Law Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Scientific Review Report, J D. Rossouw, M Musariri

Policy

This report provides the Scientific Review results and recommendations regarding the existing surface and groundwater monitoring sites for all nine Water Management Areas following the Regional WMA Network Design Workshops held in Nelspruit, Cape Town, Durban,King Williams Town, Bela-Bela and Bloemfontein from March to June 2016. During these workshops theoretical monitoring network considerations for each WMA were presented to various stakeholders, and the considerations were used to review the existing networks and obtain changes and improvements to the networks as recommendations. The main objectives of the workshops were to review the existing monitoring networks against the prioritized National Monitoring Objectives …

Annexure To Scientific Review Report, J D. Rossouw, M Musariri

Policy

Contained in the main Scientific Review report is a summary of the recommendations regarding the existing surface and groundwater monitoring sites for all the Water Management Areas (WMAs) following the nine Regional Network Design Workshops held in Nelspruit, Cape Town, Durban, King Williams Town, Bela-Bela and Bloemfontein from March to June 2016. During these workshops theoretical monitoring network considerations for each WMA were presented to various stakeholders, and the considerations were used to review the existing networks and obtain changes and improvements to the networks as recommendations. The main objectives of the workshops were to review the existing monitoring networks …

Making The Most Of El Nino: Stormwater Collection And Rainwater Harvesting As Potential Solutions To Water Shortages In Southern California, Benjamin A. Harris

Villanova Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

There's Something In The Water: The Ehb Disregards Its Mandate And Disrespects Contract Law In Robinson Coal Company V. Department Of Environmental Protection, Ryan P. Duffy

Villanova Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Water, Water Everywhere, But Just How Much Is Clean?: Examining Water Quality Restoration Efforts Under The United States Clean Water Act And The United States-Canada Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, Jill T. Hauserman

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Constitutional Law - Federalism - As An Incident Of National Sovereignty, The United States Has Paramount Rights And Power In The Seabed And Subsoil Of The Outer Continental Shelf, Stephen O. Spinks

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Admiralty - Shipowners’ Limited Liability Act - A Shipowner Cannot Invoke The Act To Limit His Liability For Wreck Removal Expenses Since A Statutory Duty To Remove A Sunken Vessel Prevents Him From Being “Without Privity Or Knowledge,” A Condition Precedent To The Invocation Of The Act, Thomas C. Holcomb

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

The Icelandic Fisheries Dispute: A Decision Is Finally Rendered, Roger A. Briney

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

International Straits: The Right Of Access, R. P. Cundick

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Transboundary Legal Perspective: International Water Law, Gabriel Eckstein

Faculty Scholarship

This chapter provides readers with an introduction to international law in general and international water law in particular. The chapter discusses the scope, principle tenets, procedural obligations, and sources of international water law, and delves into discussions about transboundary aquifers and joint institutional mechanisms. An appendix that provides exercises and discussion topics to help readers retain and apply important information.