Water Law Commons^™

The End Of Sustainability, Melinda Harm Benson, Robin Kundis Craig

Publications

It is time to move past the concept of sustainability. The realities of the Anthropocene warrant this conclusion. They include unprecedented and irreversible rates of human-induced biodiversity loss, exponential increases in per-capita resource consumption, and global climate change. These factors combine to create an increasing likelihood of rapid, nonlinear, social and ecological regime changes. The recent failure of the Rio +20 provides an opportunity to collectively reexamine--and ultimately move past--the concept of sustainability as an environmental goal. We must face the impossibility of defining--let alone pursuing--a goal of "sustainability" in a world characterized by such extreme complexity, radical uncertainty and …

Maintaining A Healthy Water Supply While Growing A Healthy Food Supply: Legal Tools For Cleaning Up Agricultural Water Pollution, Mary Jane Angelo, Jon Morris

UF Law Faculty Publications

This article will explore a number of legal mechanisms that could play a role in ensuring that discharges from agricultural activities do not cause or contribute to violations of water quality standards. Specifically, this article will evaluate the relative effectiveness of: (1) narrative nutrient criteria as compared with numeric nutrient criteria; (2) Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) implementation through regulatory and non-regulatory mechanisms; and (3) the relative efficacy of design-based standards such as Best Management Practices (BMPs) and performance-based standards in reducing water pollution from agriculture. The article will draw on experiences from the State of Florida, including Everglades' restoration …

The End Of Sustainability, Melinda Harm Benson, Robin Kundis Craig

Publications

No abstract provided.

Offshore Petroleum Facility Incidents Post Varanus Island, Montara, And Macondo: Have We Really Addressed The Root Cause?, Tina Hunter

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

This Article analyzes the role of offshore petroleum legislation in contributing to offshore facility integrity incidents in Australia’s offshore petroleum jurisdiction. It examines the regulatory framework that existed at the time of the Varanus Island, Montara, and Macondo facility incidents, determining that the regulatory regime contributed to each of these incidents. Assessing the response of the Commonwealth government to the regulatory framework existing at the time of the events, particularly the integration of well regulation as part of the National Offshore Petroleum Safety Authority’s (“NOPSA”) functions and the establishment of a national offshore regulator, this Article determines that while the …

Gaia’S Navy: The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society’S Battle To Stay Afloat And International Law, Gerry Nagtzaam

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

This Article critically examines the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and its self-appointed role to protect oceanic life. In Part I, the Article examines the history of this radical environmental group, the role performed by its charismatic leader, Paul Watson, its organizational structure, its strategies and tactics, its governing philosophy, and its attitudes to violence. Part II provides a history of the various direct actions carried out by the group; it examines the organization’s ongoing confrontations with the Japanese whaling fleet, documents the current legal travails the group and its leader are experiencing, and asks whether its methods are counterproductive to …

Climate Change And Water Transfers, Jesse Reiblich, Christine A. Klein

Pepperdine Law Review

Climate change adaptation is all about water. Although some governments have begun to plan for severe water disruptions, many have not. The consequences of inaction, however, may be dire. As a report of the U.N. Environment Programme warns, “countries that adopt a ‘wait and see’ approach potentially risk the lives of their people, their ecosystems and their economies.” In the United States, according to one study, nearly 60% of the states are unprepared to deal with the impending crisis. Responding to this void, we offer what we believe is the first comprehensive, state-by-state survey of water allocation law and its …

Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe Of Indians V. Nevada, Dept. Of Wildlife, David A. Bell

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe of Indians v. Nevada, Dept. of Wildlife, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld a Nevada federal district court decision to vacate the Nevada state engineer’s approval of the transfer of three water applications. While the appeals court recognized the state’s re-watering of wetlands as a “salutary” purpose, it could not allow the engineer’s decision to go forward because it did not meet the legal definition of “irrigation.” The Court made the decision pursuant to two federal court decrees, which resulted from prior actions by the United States to quiet title to …

Spring 2014 Utton Center Newsletter, Utton Center, University Of New Mexico - School Of Law

Publications

No abstract provided.

Public Lands Access Association V. Board Of County Commissioners Of Madison County, Graham Coppes

Public Land & Resources Law Review

On January 16, 2014, the Supreme Court of Montana reversed and remanded a district court decision that had foreclosed the public’s right to access the Ruby River. The Court held that the right of way was a public prescriptive easement, which extended beyond the road surface itself to include such area as necessary for the county to maintain the road in the interest of the public. Furthermore, the Court concluded that once a public right-of-way is established by prescriptive use, the scope of current and future use of such an easement is not limited to those historic adversarial practices which …

Agenda: Fracking, Water Quality And Public Health: Examining Current Laws And Regulations, Network For Public Health Law, American Society Of Law, Medicine & Ethics, Public Health Law Research Program

Fracking, Water Quality and Public Health: Examining Current Laws and Regulations (March 20)

Improved technology developments in directional drilling and hydraulic fracturing, more commonly known as "fracking," have resulted in an oil and gas production boom nationwide. Fracking involves pumping pressurized water, sand, and chemicals down wells to crack bedrock, freeing petroleum and natural gas. Wastewater discharges, hydraulic fracturing fluid releases, and other accidental spills pose potential water quality risks, sparking concern for public health.

This webinar will examine the laws and regulations governing water quality issues related to fracking, recent state court decisions affecting regulations, and implications for public health.

Slides: Best Management Practices For Oil And Gas Development And Comparative Water Quality Database Of Regulations Relating To Shale Oil And Gas, Matt Samelson, University Of Colorado Boulder. Getches-Wilkinson Center For Natural Resources, Energy, And The Environment. Intermountain Oil And Gas Bmp Project

Fracking, Water Quality and Public Health: Examining Current Laws and Regulations (March 20)

Presenter: Matt Samelson, J.D., Attorney, Consultant for Intermountain Oil and Gas Best Management Practices (BMP) Project, Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy and the Environment, University of Colorado Law School

34 slides

Bostwick Properties Inc. V. Montana Department Natural Resources And Conservation, Carolyn A. Sime

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The Montana Supreme Court upheld the law requiring that applicants for new ground water permits in closed basins show no net surface depletion and that the new appropriation will not adversely affect senior water appropriators. Where the relationship between surface and ground water is uncertain or attenuated, applicants still bear the burden of proof, even if the proposed use constitutes only a de minimis quantity. Once again, the Court acknowledged the hydrologic connection between surface and ground water and the underlying legal framework which seeks to make water available for new appropriation and simultaneously protect the water rights of senior …

Assessing Environmental Governance Of The Hudson River Valley: Application Of An Ippep Model, Wang Xi, Albert K. Butzel, Richard L. Ottinger, Nicholas A. Robinson, John Louis Parker, Taryn L. Rucinski, Marla E. Wieder, Radina R. Valova, Wang Pianpian

Pace Environmental Law Review

The process of obtaining effective implementation of environmental laws is a process of “environmental governance.” Law, including environmental law and other fields of law related to environmental law, is essential to frame, facilitate, and foster the major parties to correctly play their roles.

This thesis has been articulated through a Model of Interactions of Parties in the Process of Environmental Protection (IPPEP Model), which has been developed by Professor Wang Xi of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, in the context of the People’s Republic of China. The IPPEP Model is a tool for observing and accessing environmental governance at work. It …

Climate Change And Water Transfers, Jesse Reiblich, Christine A. Klein

UF Law Faculty Publications

Climate change adaptation is all about water. Although some governments have begun to plan for severe water disruptions, many have not. The consequences of inaction, however, may be dire. As a report of the U.N. Environment Programme warns, “countries that adopt a ‘wait and see’ approach potentially risk the lives of their people, their ecosystems and their economies.” In the United States, according to one study, nearly 60% of the states are unprepared to deal with the impending crisis. Responding to this void, we offer what we believe is the first comprehensive, fifty-state survey of water allocation law and its …

Leveraging Mining Investments In Water Infrastructure For Broad Economic Development: Models, Opportunities And Challenges, Perrine Toledano, Clara Roorda

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

The initial phase of the Leveraging Mining-Related Infrastructure Investments for Development project consisted of a worldwide survey of regulatory, commercial and operating case studies of shared use of mining-related infrastructure. This Policy Paper delivers the findings for water infrastructure.

Table Of Contents: Allen Chair Issue 2014

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Curtailment First: Why Climate Change And The Energy Industry Suggest A New Allocation Paradigm Is Needed For Water Utilized In Hydraulic Fracturing, Victor Flatt, Heather Payne

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Hydraulic Fracturing And The Baseline Testing Of Groundwater, Keith B. Hall

University of Richmond Law Review

This article discusses some of the legal and practical issues relating to baseline testing of groundwater and the rules designed to encourage or require such testing. Part I of the article discusses basic background material why this issue is important, what fracturing is and why it is used, the basic types of fracturing, why it can be challenging to determine the cause of alleged contamination, and why baseline testing might help. Part II examines different approaches to increasing the use of baseline testing, including regulations that require such testing and legislation that creates presumptions that provide incentives to conduct such …

Developing Adaptive And Integrated Strategies For Managing The Electricity-Water Nexus, Benjamin K. Sovacool, Alex Gilbert

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Reconciling Energy And Food Security Law, Rhett B. Larson

University of Richmond Law Review

This article argues that making "water security" a more predominant policy aim can help reconcile and integrate energy security and food security. Water security is the condition of a nation and its citizens having reasonable physical and economic access to sufficient and sustainable water, combined with acceptable levels of water-related risks (e.g., drought, flood, and water-related plagues).