Water Law Commons^™

Charting A Course To Conserve 30% Of Freshwaters By 2030, Sandra B. Zellmer

William & Mary Law Review

One of President Biden’s earliest executive orders established an ambitious national goal to conserve at least 30 percent of U.S. lands, waters, and oceans by 2030. The Biden administration is not alone; over 100 countries support this goal as a means of combating climate change and slowing the pace of species extinction, both of which are accelerating at a rate that is unprecedented in history.

Despite its vow to pursue a wide-sweeping, all-of-government approach, Biden’s 30 by 30 initiative overlooks a critical component of the conservation goal—it pays virtually no attention to freshwater. Freshwater ecosystems are among the most endangered …

Takings Property And Appropriative Water Rights, Luis Inaraja Vera

Cardozo Law Review

The Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that “private property [shall not] be taken for public use, without just compensation.”1 While courts and academics have put considerable amounts of effort into discussing the meaning of “taken” or “public use,” they have given far less attention to the phrase “private property.” Notable scholars have provided a set of definitions and frameworks to determine when a particular right qualifies as takings property. However, courts and commentators have yet to define the types of rights that are entitled to constitutional protection with sufficient precision to avoid an …

The Clean Water Act: Wading Back Into Muddy Interpretations, Kord Wilkerson

MC Law Review

“Fresh water: everything that lives on land, animal or plant, depends upon it.” A necessity to our very livelihood, our nation’s waters must be protected. As concern grows over Earth’s stability, and environmental issues in particular, clean water has been at the forefront of this Gordian knot. To mitigate our nation’s impact on water cleanliness, state organizations, environmental activists, and the Environmental Protection Agency have joined forces in an effort to create and enforce environmental protection.

These water quality efforts, however, have not come without struggle. The creation, enforcement, and efficiency of legislation to mitigate water pollution in certain water …

Zaagtoonaa Nibi (We Love The Water): Anishinaabe Community-Led Research On Water Governance And Protection, Nicole Latulippe, Deborah Mcgregor

Articles & Book Chapters

This paper presents Indigenous community-led, collaborative, and community-engaged water governance research with a First Nations community in the Georgian Bay and Lake Huron region in northeastern Ontario, Canada. The methodology draws on Indigenous approaches to understanding and developing knowledge and is designed to build community capacity in research and in water protection and governance. This approach recognizes existing community strengths, including traditional knowledge, experiences, perspectives, and associated cultural perspectives and values, laws, responsibilities and lived experience in relation to water. Results identify and contextualize community-held responsibilities and legal principles pertaining to water that support culturally relevant water governance and strategic …

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 …

Upaya Pemerintah Terhadap Perlindungan Ekspresi Budaya Tradisional Batik Motif Parang Sebagai Warisan Budaya Dunia, Raden Zulfikar Supinarko Putra

"Dharmasisya” Jurnal Program Magister Hukum FHUI

Abstract

Batik is not just a design on a piece of cloth, more than that, batik is a soul that blends in the procession of Indonesian society. Since the baby has been carried with a batik cloth, weddings wear batik cloth until when they die they will be covered with batik cloth too usually. This fact become a consideration for UNESCO to establish Indonesian Batik as a Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in the Fourth Session of The Intergovernmental Committee. This research uses a normative legal research method that is descriptive and analytical using a statutory …

Perbedaan Akad Wakalah Bil Ujrah Dan Akad Qard Terhadap Permasalahan Akad Pembelian Barang Dalam Kehidupan Sehari-Hari, Zendy Sellyfio Ardiana

"Dharmasisya” Jurnal Program Magister Hukum FHUI

Abstract

The wakalah bil ujrah and qard contract are contracts that often cause difficulties in implementing the purchase of goods in everyday life, both in safekeeping for purchasing goods and for buying and selling in general. Where if it is wrong in its application, it can cause income in a sale and purchase to be haraam due to an error in understanding the contract used and not describing benefit as the core of maqashid al-sharia which has an important role in determining Islamic law. The purpose of this paper is to find out how the solution to the application of …

Tinjauan Yuridis Dalam Penyelesaian Pelanggaran Ham Berat Melalui Komisi Kebenaran Dan Rekonsiliasi Di Afrika Selatan Dan Indonesia, Tshana Erfandi

"Dharmasisya” Jurnal Program Magister Hukum FHUI

Abstract

Several countries are currently developing a solution to the problem by establishing a particular commission. The commission works outside the courts, parliament and executive. In Indonesia, In Indonesia. The People's Consultative Assembly set a stipulation regarding the establishment of the National Center for Truth and Reconciliation: (NCTR) in 2000. This stipulation has the intent and purpose for national unity to identify existing problems, determine the conditions that must be made in order to achieve national reconciliation and establish policy direction as a guide to carry out the consolidation of unity of a nation. Whereas in South Africa, the National …

Measuring The Benefits Of Power Plant Effluent Regulation, David A. Keiser, Bethany A. Daviss Noll, Catherine L. Kling, Rachel Rothschild

Other Publications

This report reviews the Economic Analysis (EA) that supported the 2020 Revisions of the Effluent Limitation Guidelines (ELGs) and Standards for the Steam Electric Power Generating Point Source Category (“2020 Rule” or “Rule”). We review the economic framework, literature, and analyses performed to support these revisions. Our report builds on Davis Noll and Rothschild (2021). In that report, Davis Noll and Rothschild detailed numerous impacts of the 2020 Rule that EPA neglected to examine in the EA, such as the health impacts from bromide, lead, and mercury emissions, harms to threatened and endangered species, and forgone climate benefits related to …

Treaty-Based Climate Change Claims: Litigation Pathways In The Face Of Cultural Devastation, Kirsten D. Gerbatsch

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

Do It For The Kids: Protecting Future Generations From Climate Change Impacts And Future Pandemics In Maryland Using An Environmental Rights Amendment, Johanna Adashek

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

Youth And Indigenous Voices In Climate Justice: Leveraging Best Practices From U.S. And Canadian Litigation, Randall S. Abate

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

Water Justice Under The Big Sky: Locating A Human Right To Water In Montana Law, Abigail R. Brown

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Judicial Duty: Interpreting And Enforcing Montanans' Inalienable Right To A Clean And Healthful Environment, Nate Bellinger, Roger Sullivan

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

Letter To The Reader

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

Editors And Staff Members

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Watershed Moment: The Health And Economic Impact Of Water Sustainability In The Navajo Nation Post Pandemic, Onnaedo Nwankwo

American Indian Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Case Law On American Indians, Thomas P. Schlosser

American Indian Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Come Hell Or No Water: The Story Of Sandbranch And The Unincorporated Community Fight For Public Services, Daeja Pemberton

Student Scholarship

Sandbranch is the only unincorporated community left in Dallas County, and the residents of this majority-Black, impoverished community have had their cries for basic necessities—such as clean, running water—largely ignored. With the County and the City of Dallas not remedying the problem so far, there is a question as to who is responsible for providing water and other public services to the community’s eighty residents. As it currently stands, Texas law simply permits local governments to offer assistance to unincorporated communities but does not mandate that affirmative measures be taken to ensure that these communities are provided for. What is …

Comparing Colonial Water Legacies: Flow And Stagnation In Legal Development, Erum Sattar

Buffalo Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Natural Transplants, Vanessa Casado-Pérez, Yael R. Lifshitz

Faculty Scholarship

Policymakers are constantly faced with the complex task of managing novel challenges. At times, these challenges result from new technologies: Consider fights over allocating air rights for drones or decisions about how to share scarce vaccines in a pandemic. Other times the resources are old, but the challenges are new, such as how to fairly allocate water in times of unprecedented drought or previously undesirable rare earth minerals that are in demand for modern manufacturing and energy production. Often, instead of carefully tailoring a regime to the new resource, decisionmakers simply rely on mechanisms they are familiar with. When jurisdictions …

Extraction Of Personal Data: A New Form Of Colonialism Or Continuation Of A Colonial Practice? Adult Native American Adoptees Resist Assimilation And Rebuild Erased Identities, Leonard Mukosi

American Indian Law Journal

A new form of colonialism, distinctive of the 21st century is reported to be taking shape: data colonialism. Data colonialism interprets the contemporary capture and processing of personal data by governments or data corporations as an evolution of historical colonialism. Scholars who advance this theory do not juxtapose the contents, form, let alone the physical violence of historical colonialism with the contemporary practices of appropriation of personal data. Instead, they only refer to historic colonialism in the context of its function within the development of economies on a global scale. The main argument made in this paper is that; to …

Crossing The Dark And Fearful River: Monsanto, Pcbs, And Emerging Tort Theories, Keith Dornan, Jamie Hearn

American Indian Law Journal

guide the discussion.

Tribal, state, and city authorities are currently pursuing or have settled product liability, public nuisance, and other common law and statutory tort claims brought against Monsanto[1] for PCB contamination.^[2] “Sovereign-led” litigation melds traditional plaintiff common law tort litigation with sovereign-led environmental suits and is an emerging trend in environmental law.^[3] Tort claims against the manufacturers of contaminants ubiquitous in the environment give sovereigns a new angle for pursuing damages separate from a traditional statutory environmental claim under federal or state regulatory schemes, such as the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA)

A Taking Timebomb: Loss Of Access Takings As A Barrier To Managed Retreat From Sea Level Rise, Isaac Foote

Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology

No abstract provided.

From “Trust” To “Trustworthiness”: Retheorizing Dynamics Of Trust, Distrust, And Water Security In North America, Nicole J. Wilson, Teresa Montoya, Yanna Lambrinidou, Leila M. Harris, Benjamin J. Pauli, Deborah Mcgregor, Robert J. Patrick, Silvia Gonzalez, Gregory Pierce, Amber Wutich

Articles & Book Chapters

Assumptions of trust in water systems are widespread in higher-income countries, often linked to expectations of “modern water.” The current literature on water and trust also tends to reinforce a technoscientific approach, emphasizing the importance of aligning water user perceptions with expert assessments. Although such approaches can be useful to document instances of distrust, they often fail to explain why patterns differ over time, and across contexts and populations. Addressing these shortcomings, we offer a relational approach focused on the trustworthiness of hydro-social systems to contextualize water-trust dynamics in relation to broader practices and contexts. In doing so, we investigate …

Groundwater Laws And Regulations: Survey Of Sixteen U.S. States, Abigail Adkins, Jack Beasley, Rebekah Bratcher, Justin Cias, Jackson Field, Ian Gaunt, Ashley Graves, Merrick Hayashi, Jenna Lusk, Matthew Maslanka, Erin Milliken, Connor Pabich, Margaret Reed, A. Wesley Remschel, Lauren Thomas, Ashley Wilde

EENRS Program Reports & Publications

This report is the second volume in a continuing project designed to explore and articulate the groundwater laws and regulations of all fifty U.S. states. This particular report presents surveys for sixteen states throughout the country. The first volume featured thirteen state surveys and can be found at: http://www.law.tamu.edu/usgroundwaterlaws.

The purpose of the project is to compile and present the groundwater laws and regulations of every state in the United States that could then be used in a series of comparisons of groundwater governance principles, strategies, issues, and challenges. Professor Gabriel Eckstein at Texas A&M University School of Law and …

Upper Missouri Waterkeeper V. Epa, Clare Ols

Public Land & Resources Law Review

State water quality standards developed under the Clean Water Act play a key role in curtailing the negative environmental, economic, and human health impacts of water pollution. Under the state water quality regulatory framework, EPA may grant variances to state standards should the state demonstrate the compliance with its standards is infeasible for a certain pollutant discharger or waterbody. Montana DEQ developed a variance for nutrients based on evidence that compliance with those standards would cause economic harm. EPA approved Montana's nutrient pollutant variance, and Upper Missouri Waterkeeper challenged EPA's approval on the grounds that the variance violates the Clean …

Everything Is Bigger In Texas, Including The Need To Incentivize And Implement Innovative Decentralized Wastewater Treatment Systems As A Method Of Water Reuse, Haley Varnadoe

Student Scholarship

Texas will need to adapt to a drier climate and reduced water supplyin the 21st centuiyas the negative hydological effects ofclimnate change continue. Rising temperatures will accelerate evaporation of surface water resources, which in turn both increases rehance on depletable groundwater resources and decreases the amount of surface water available for aquifer rechaige. As a result, Texans who rely on either groundwater or suiface water to meet their domestic water needs-particularlyt hose in rurala id regions-mays uffer as both quantities decrease in the coming decades. The practice ofdomestic water reuse presents one solution to a decreasing water supply by safely …

Groundwater Policy And Planning, Jenny Grönwall, Marianne Kjellén, Gabriel Eckstein, Kerstin Danert, Lesha Witmer, Rebecca Welling, Viviana Re, Katharina Davis, Lulu Zhang

Faculty Scholarship

Groundwater policy defines objectives, ambitions and priorities for managing groundwater resources, for the benefit of society. Planning translates policy into programmes of action. Both are often part of a wider water resource policy and planning framework, but the specific challenges pertaining to groundwater have traditionally received less attention than surface water.

The terms ‘policy,’ ‘strategy’ and ‘plans’ are used interchangeably in many countries and contexts.