Water Law Commons^™

From "Navigable Waters" To "Constitutional Waters": The Future Of Federal Wetlands Regulation, Mark Squillace

Publications

Wetlands regulation in the United States has a tumultuous history. The early European settlers viewed wetlands as obstacles to development, and they drained and filled wetlands and swamps at an astounding rate, often with government support, straight through the middle of the twentieth century. As evidence of the ecological significance of wetlands emerged over the last several decades, programs to protect and restore wetlands became prominent. Most notable among these is the permitting program under § 404 of the Clean Water Act. That provision prohibits dredging or filling of "navigable waters," defined by law to mean "waters of the United …

From Martz To The Twenty-First Century: A Half- Century Of Natural Resources Law Casebooks And Pedagogy, Michael C. Blumm, David H. Becker

University of Colorado Law Review

Clyde Martz published the first natural resources law casebook in 1951, combining the previously discrete subjects of water law, mining law, and oil and gas law. Martz relied almost exclusively on case excerpts and emphasized the creation of private rights in natural resources. Over the nexthalf century, through several generations of casebooks, the natural resources course developed in response to the rise of the environmental movement and a series of energy crises. This article traces the evolution of the natural resources law casebooks from Martz's pioneering effort through several generations of texts to a new generation of casebooks that has …

Generally Illegal: Npdes General Permits Under The Clean Water Act, Jeffrey M. Gaba

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

Under the Clean Water Act, it is unlawful for a point source to discharge pollutants without a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (“NPDES”) permit. Most NPDES permits are issued to individual facilities, but since 1979, EPA and States have had a process of issuing “General Permits” to satisfy the requirements of the Clean Water Act. These General Permits may contain enforceable effluent limitations and other requirements, but, unlike individual permit, they may apply to large numbers of sources discharging into many different bodies of water. The conditions of a General Permit are developed through a “notice and comment” process similar …

The Information Quality Act: The Little Statute That Could (Or Couldn't?) Applying The Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments Of 1996 To The Federal Communications Commission, Kellen Ressmeyer

Federal Communications Law Journal

In December 2000, Congress passed the Information Quality Act - a two sentence rider to a 712-page Appropriations Bill. The Information Quality Act, which seeks to ensure the quality of government-disseminated information, places the White House Office of Management and Budget in a supervisory role. The Office of Management and Budget subsequently finalized a set of mandatory Guidelines applicable to all federal agencies. Among other things, the Guidelines require adherence to the scientific standard articulated in the 1996 Amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act where such agencies engage in risk analysis to human health, safety, and the environment. As …

Exactions: Exploring Exactly When Nollan And Dolan Should Be Triggered, Jane C. Needleman

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Policy Tools For Smart Growth In New England, New England Environmental Finance Center

Smart Growth

Across New England communities have been experiencing a rapid outward surge of development away from our community and downtown centers. Effects of sprawl include a loss of wildlife habitat, farm and timber lands; increased costs of community services and higher taxes; auto-dependency, longer commutes, and increased congestion; increases in air and water pollution; a sedentary lifestyle and increased obesity; and losses to one’s sense of place and social ties.

State-level responses to sprawl have surfaced throughout New England in recent years. This report describes 11 examples of these responses, representing all six New England states and a diversity of recent …

Enjoys Long Walks On The Beach: Washington's Public Trust Doctrine And The Right Of Pedestrian Passage Over Private Tidelands, Ewa M. Davison

Washington Law Review

Under Washington's public trust doctrine, the state retains a jus publicum interest in tidelands, regardless of ownership. This interest obligates the state to protect the public rights encompassed within the jus publicum: navigation, fishing, boating, swimming, water skiing, and corollary recreational activities. The state satisfies this duty so long as its actions do not circumscribe public access to those resources, including tidelands, traditionally protected by the public trust doctrine. The title to any tidelands property sold into private ownership is similarly burdened; a private tidelands owner may not utilize property in a way that would compromise the state's jus …

A Complete Property Right Amendment, John H. Ryskamp

ExpressO

The trend of the eminent domain reform and "Kelo plus" initiatives is toward a comprehensive Constitutional property right incorporating the elements of level of review, nature of government action, and extent of compensation. This article contains a draft amendment which reflects these concerns.

Water Forum 2006, Susan Kelly

Publications

No abstract provided.

Reckoning With Rapanos: Revisiting "Waters Of The United States" And The Limits Of Federal Wetland Regulation, Jonathan H. Adler

Faculty Publications

Rapanos v. United States is the latest episode in the serial effort to identify the precise meaning of "waters of the United States." Federal courts have struggled to define the scope of federal regulatory jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act ("CWA") since the law was adopted.

Although no single opinion in Rapanos commanded a majority of the Court, the Court delivered a discernible holding. Specifically, the Court held that CWA jurisdiction over private lands is limited...and reaffirmed that federal regulatory authority only extends to those wetlands that have a "significant nexus" to navigable waters of the United States. Nonetheless, the …

The Tonle Sap: Reconsideration Of The Laws Governing Cambodia's Most Important Fishery, Ian J. Mensher

Washington International Law Journal

The Tonle Sap Basin is not only Cambodia’s largest inland fishery, but also the source of food and income for roughly one million Cambodians. Its biodiversity is unrivaled within Southeast Asia, and its sustainability is vital to the socioeconomic and political stability in the region. However, Cambodia’s current fishery, forestry, and land laws do not adequately protect the Tonle Sap Basin from over-fishing and the introduction of sedimentation and pollution caused by increasing development. The laws do not create or reflect a model for sustainable fishing and development. Both the laws currently in force and proposed legislation fail to limit …

Waters Of The United States: Theory, Practice And Integrity At The Supreme Court, Jamison E. Colburn

ExpressO

In the Supreme Court's two wetlands cases this Term, a question of statutory interpretation divided the justices sharply, in part because so much rides on the particular statutory provision at issue. The provision, a cryptic definition within the Clean Water Act (CWA), has now provided three separate occasions at the Court where the justices have confronted (1) the Chevron doctrine and the Court’s own ambivalence toward it, and (2) the CWA's enormous project of restoring the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation's waters. In this essay, I argue that the way the Court went about resolving its differences …

Water Reallocation By Settlement: Who Wins, Who Loses, Who Pays?, Rosalind H. Bark

ExpressO

The 2004 Arizona Water Settlements Act (AWSA) is the current standard for what a comprehensive, negotiated settlement can achieve in terms of water rights reallocation, water resource management, and water supply reliability enhancement. This note reviews the flows of money and water specified in Titles I and II of the AWSA to identify the signatory and non-signatory parties that benefit from the settlement and the allocation of costs between the various parties to the agreement. Opportunity costs are also considered. Innovative elements of the agreement are discussed particularly those that improve water supply reliability for the Gila River Indian Community …

An Economic Assessment Of The Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan, Rosalind Bark-Hodgins, Bonnie G. Colby

Natural Resources Journal

No abstract provided.

A People's History Of Wilderness, Edited By Matt Jenkins, Laura Pritchett

Natural Resources Journal

No abstract provided.

Precious, Worthless, Or Immeasurable: The Value And Ethic Of Water, Gabriel Eckstein

Faculty Scholarship

This Article introduces and briefly explores some of the topics related to the value and ethics of water that were considered at the symposium, Precious, Worthless, or Immeasurable: The Value and Ethic of Water, which took place November 2-4, 2006, at the Texas Tech University School of Law. The purpose of the Symposium was to consider how this precious liquid is valued, assessed, and perceived with regard to law and regulations, economics and commerce, people and communities, culture and religion, and others aspects of society that are impacted by water. While far from a comprehensive analysis of the subject matter, …

The Rise And Fall Of The Ebro Water Transfer, Jose Albiac, Michael Hanemann, Javier Calatrava, Javier Uche, Javier Tapia

Natural Resources Journal

No abstract provided.

The Commerce Clause, Interstate Compacts, And Marketing Water Across State Boundaries, Olen Paul Matthews, Michael Pease

Natural Resources Journal

No abstract provided.

The Commerce Clause, Interstate Compacts, And Marketing Water Across State Boundaries., Michael Pease, Olen Paul Matthews

Geography Faculty Scholarship

Increasing competition for scarce water resources should lead to a re-examination of constraints on water reallocation. Some constraints are "spatial" in nature and reduce the areal extent of reallocation processes. Interstate compacts are an example. Proponents of state protectionism look on compacts as a permanent allocation of water between states. A willing seller is not allowed to sell their water to a willing buyer in another state. On the other hand, the U.S. Constitution's Commerce Clause was designed to create an economic union that includes all states and all citizens. State attempts at economic protectionism through export bans are generally …

Finding A Water Ethic Through Religion, Aesthetics, Conflicts & The Law, Chad A. West

ExpressO

Water is important to humans for household uses, manufacturing, agriculture, ecological preservation, recreation, and many other interests. Legislators developing water policies often cannot reconcile conflicting water interests because they do not understand their regions’ water ethics. Ethics philosophers and legal analysts have performed extensive studies on environmental ethics and human values. These same experts, however, have neglected to separate water ethics from environmental ethics. In this article, I do not speculate on what the ideal water ethic should be. Instead, I use religion, aesthetics, water conflicts, and the law to exhibit that no single water ethic exists. Each continent, country, …

Sovereignty Of Aves Island: An Argument Against Standardized, Compulsory Arbitration, Michael S. Garrison

ExpressO

States engaging in preemptive dispute resolution frequently call upon adjudicative or diplomatic means to resolve territorial boundary disputes and comply with international law. In light of reduced efficacy of such dispute resolution mechanisms, however, some propose that all states should engage in compulsory, standardized arbitration subject to International Court of Justice (“I.C.J.”) review to resolve their boundary disputes. Although arbitration is an effective method of international dispute resolution in certain cases, standardized arbitration will not effectively resolve all boundary disputes between neighbor states.

This Comment argues against the proposition that the United Nations (“U.N.”) implement a standardized arbitration mechanism and …

Zoning And Eminent Domain Under The New Minimum Scrutiny, John H. Ryskamp

ExpressO

Recently the Supreme Court has made it clearer that minimum scrutiny is a factual analysis. Whether in any government action there is a rational relation to a legitimate interest is a matter of determining whether there is a policy maintaining important facts. This has come about in the Court’s emerging emphasis on developing fact-based criteria for determining government purpose. Thus, those who want to affect zoning and eminent domain outcomes should look to what the Court sees as important facts, and whether government action is maintaining those facts with its proposed land use or eminent domain action.

Finding New Constitutional Rights Through The Supreme Court’S Evolving “Government Purpose” Test Under Minimum Scrutiny, John H. Ryskamp

ExpressO

By now we all are familiar with the litany of cases which refused to find elevated scrutiny for so-called “affirmative” or “social” rights such as education, welfare or housing: Lindsey v. Normet, San Antonio School District v. Rodriguez, Dandridge v. Williams, DeShaney v. Winnebago County. There didn’t seem to be anything in minimum scrutiny which could protect such facts as education or housing, from government action. However, unobtrusively and over the years, the Supreme Court has clarified and articulated one aspect of minimum scrutiny which holds promise for vindicating facts. You will recall that under minimum scrutiny government’s action is …

Active Water Resource Management: Tools For Better Water Management, John D'Antonio

Publications

No abstract provided.

Water For Energy In The Southwest: Finding Water For Mohave, Stanley M. Pollack

Publications

No abstract provided.

Water For Energy In The Southwest: Where Will It Come From?, Marilyn C. O'Leary

Publications

No abstract provided.

Rapanos, Carabell, And The Isolated Man, Joel B. Eisen

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Book Review- Turning The Tide: Saving The Chesapeake Bay, Carl W. Tobias

University of Richmond Law Review

Nearly a quarter century ago, the states of the Chesapeake Bay region entered a compact by which they meant to improve the declining environmental quality of this national treasure. Concerned about the Bay's accelerating degradation, these jurisdictions hoped that the agreement would enhance the situation or at least stop the deterioration. Ten years after that accord's consummation, Tom Horton evaluated whether progress had been achieved in improving the Bay's environmental health. The writer determined that the answer was inconclusive. When a second decade had passed since the compact's adoption, Horton decided that he would conduct another examination to determine what …

Checking In On The Chesapeake: Some Questions Of Design, Jonathan Cannon

University of Richmond Law Review

The Chesapeake Bay Program ("the CBP" or "Program") has been widely celebrated as a model of collaborative management for large multijurisdictional watersheds and for ecosystem management more generally.' In an article published six years ago, I joined in the celebration.2 But recent events warrant consideration of whether restructuring of the program is called for. In this essay, I consider whether greater centralization of decisionmaking for the Bay would address recent criticisms of the Program and better protect the public interest. After evaluating two alternative forms for the Program involving greater centralization, I conclude that major restructuring is not in order. …

New Paradigm: Indian Tribes In The Land Of Unintended Consequences, Sam Deloria

Natural Resources Journal

No abstract provided.