To reduce the environmental impact of this program Course Materials were distributed to attendees on a searchable CD-ROM. If you would like to purchase a Hard Copy of the Course Materials for $80, which includes postage and handling please click here.

Twenty-first century water supply, use, and distribution: Do the old rules still apply?

Every year water lawyers, engineers, consultants, and academics from the public and private sectors gather at the ABA Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources’ San Diego Water Law Conference to share insights on one of the twenty-first century’s most critical resources—water. The 2008 conference will focus on the issues raised in supplying water in the face of changing public needs and public policy. The conference—to be held Feb. 21-22, 2008 at the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego—will include keynote speakers, plenary sessions, and breakout panels that will provide attendees with vital information about water law in the twenty-first century.

For lawyers just beginning a water law practice, the conference will again offer a pre-conference panel on “the fundamentals.” This panel will provide newer water lawyers and other attendees with core concepts in prior appropriation, riparian rights, and federal water rights to enable them to understand and appreciate more fully the panel discussions that follow.

The conference returns to the famous Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego. Bring your family and enjoy this beautiful resort’s amenities while attending the premier water conference. Don’t miss this unique mid-Winter chance to accomplish your professional development goals on the Pacific Ocean’s sunny shores.

Program Highlights

• Keynote presentation by Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Robert W. Johnson addressing the Bureau’s role in the future of water development, use, and distribution.

• An expert panel discussion on allocating and using shared groundwater basins, addressing the federal government’s role in allocating groundwater aquifers shared by several states, the states’ authority to control water distribution and use from such aquifers, and practical options for avoiding cross-boundary groundwater disputes.

• A discussion on the logistics and impacts of dam removal, including the appropriate sequence of permitting decisions for implementing dam removal decisions.

• A review of the Winters Doctrine on its 100th Anniversary. The panel will include John EchoHawk and Dean Suagee and will address the Winters Doctrine’s role and reach, specifically addressing off-reservation claims for instream flow.

• An analysis of the Endangered Species Act's continuing place in water law in light of the United States Supreme Court’s 2007 decision in National Home Builders Association v. Defenders of Wildlife.

• A review of what lawyers need to know about water in the market economy including water markets, commoditization, and anti-speculation laws.

• A Hot Topics luncheon on International Water Law examining water’s role in international conflicts.

Wendy Bowden Crowther is a shareholder at Clyde Snow Sessions & Swenson in Salt Lake City, Utah, where she practices water law, environmental law, and eminent domain.

Jeff B. Kray is a partner at Marten Law Group PLLC in Seattle, Washington, where he practices water resource and water quality law, and environmental litigation.

The Water Resources Committee focuses primarily on substantive and practice developments that impact water allocation and availability. These fall into a broad spectrum of subject areas, including state water law; federal and tribal water law; issues arising under the Endangered Species Act and the Clean Water Act; interstate allocation of water; the Public Trust Doctrine; reserved water rights; state, local and municipal planning of water supplies; and federal reclamation law. The Committee provides information to its members through several means, including the annual Water Law Conference; the Committee newsletter; brown bag programs and other forms of programming not involving formal conferences; solicitation of books and of articles for Trends and Natural Resources and Environment; and its contribution to The Year in Review.

The Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources is the premier forum for strategies and information for environmental, energy, and resource professionals. It represents more than 10,000 members with a wide range of professional interests. The Section keeps its members abreast of development trends, current court decisions, legislative initiatives and statutes concerning environmental, natural resources, and energy law. To learn more about Section committees and membership visit http://www.abanet.org/environ/.

Annual Section Sponsors

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Program Sponsors
ENTRIX, Inc.
Jones & Stokes

Program Co-Sponsors
Conference of Western Attorneys General
Native American Rights Fund
Western States Water Council

Other
The Water Report