Water Rights and Other Water Legal Issues

Judge Magnson Appeal

Carmela Orsini — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 14:28:45 +0000

It looks like Judge Magnuson’s ruling in the Tri-State Water Wars might not be the end result after all. It seems obvious that his ruling would be appealed by all sides on every issue, just based on the way the parties have acted in the past, and apparently, the panel of judges for the Court of Appeals in the 11th Circuit have hinted that they just might overrule on some issues. The most crucial of these issues is the Buford Dam/Lake Lanier supply of water for Atlanta.

The panel seems to think that the Corps of Engineers needs to get the necessary Congressional approval to let Atlanta draw from Lake Lanier and that doing so will solve the problem. Instead of letting Atlanta go thirsty by 2012, they seem to indicate that they will turn the case down to the Corps to get such approval, hoping that with a court order, Congress will actually be compelled to act.

Nothing has been ruled so far, so this is all premature, but what do you think? I feel like this approach has been tried before and the parties always find a way out of it. Congress doesn’t want to touch this – too many competing lobby groups, all of which are powerful. I just wonder if, once appealed as it naturally will be, this is the time when the Supreme Court might finally pick up the ball and make a final decision on the issue.

The law review geek in me kept hoping that someone somewhere would mention Environmental Justice, making my paper be SPOT ON! It hasn’t happened yet, but it will. I can tell. Maybe it’ll even be in the opinion. Maybe I should submit it to the court….

For the full story: http://www.ajc.com/news/court-appears-ready-to-865278.html

Getting Names Out There

Carmela Orsini — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 16:22:17 +0000

Rest assured, dear readers, I’m working on a great follow up blog about Gov. Deal’s water plan in the state of Georgia. See the post below for details about his ideas and watch for my next post to see how some of them have been implemented.

In the meantime, I’m in a class this semester called Fundamentals of Legal Practice where we are learning how to run our own small firms. A fellow classmate of mine, Shelia Manley, has two wonderful sites about her interests in Family Law. Though unrelated to water rights, it’s great to branch out and see other sides of the law and learn how people are incorporating their interests into their blogs and careers. Please check out Shelia’s sites, give her some feedback, and keep her in mind for any of your Family Law needs (once she passes the bar, of course)!

Deal pushing to end Water War in South East

Carmela Orsini — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 16:34:30 +0000

Still no word on whether or not I can post part or all of my law review article getting published about the Tri-State Water Wars. However, in the meantime, the Atlanta Journal Constitution posted this article today about Georgia Gov. Deal’s plans to end the struggle over the ACF River Basin:

http://www.ajc.com/news/georgia-politics-elections/deal-announces-new-plans-815197.html

In summary, Deal didn’t say too much about specific plans but claimed that Georgia needed to show good faith in the situation and his reliance on local governments to come up with creative reservoir solutions while being aided by a state agency.

What do you think? I want to know more specifics and details of his plan before I decide right away. My first, gut reaction is that it stinks. He doesn’t mention any efforts at conservation as part of the solution but instead focuses on creating man-made reservoirs and tapping other rivers in the state – potentially turning already struggling habitats in greater risk or ruining perfectly good natural beauty. I guess, as with all things, we’ll see how it goes.

Publication

Carmela Orsini — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 14:21:03 +0000

My law review article on Environmental Justice and the Tri-State Water Wars was selected for publication and is the Key Note of the Year for the Southern Regional BLSA Law Review! I’m going to have to check copyright issues about posting the entire article here, but at the very least, I should be able to post snippets from it once it gets into it’s final edited form.

Thanks for reading and comments! It helps me keep writing!

Law Review is Hard

Carmela Orsini — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 13:31:06 +0000

I’m sure that’s obvious, but I also find the hard law review to be rewarding. I’ve already learned a lot and changed my direction for my paper about 8 times. I hope to actually start writing pages by the end of the weekend.

In the meantime, enjoy this blog as a flashback to my last major topic, Great Lakes: http://www.greatlakeslaw.org/blog/2010/09/colorado-bottled-water-dispute-raises-questions-about-western-water-deals-and-renews-calls-for-feder.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+GreatLakesLaw+%28Great+Lakes+Law%29

My only dislike of the blog from a water rights professor is that I can’t comment on it! Feel free to leave comments here, instead

Water All Over the News Today

Carmela Orsini — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 16:53:42 +0000

CNN has had two different water stories grace their online homepage today, so far, and it’s only 1pm here on the East Coast!

First, cnn takes a look at the water crisis in China, as people outnumber supply: http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/09/13/china.water.crisis/index.html?hpt=Sbin

Then, a little closer to home, a story covers the methane contamination of water in Pennsylvania: http://money.cnn.com/2010/09/13/news/economy/epa_fracking/index.htm?hpt=C1

Have you seen any other water stories today?

One more great news article

Carmela Orsini — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 17:34:17 +0000

As my next deadline approaches for my paper, I’m once again turning to a news story somewhere else for my post. (I promise, once I get my outline done, I’ll post more on my topic!)

Regardless, I thought this was a really cool, innovative approach to a less oft discussed conservation issue. Plus the picture is really pretty.

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/148/fast-talk-joe-russo.html?partner=rss

Water in the News

Carmela Orsini — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:40:23 +0000

Taking a detour from my Tri-State Water Wars project, while browsing the internet today, I came across several water-related news stories, posts, etc. I compiled my favorites below:

Did you know that New York City’s water is filled with microscopic shrimp? Yum? http://consumerist.com/2010/08/new-yorks-water-filled-with-invisible-shrimp.html
Everything is way cooler if consumed from local sources, especially water: http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/crosspost/drink-local-sexy-tap-water-is-in-125489?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+apartmenttherapy%2Fthekitchn+%28The+Kitchn%29
Another way desalinization is way better than damming: http://www.fastcompany.com/1686239/china-water-crisis-south-north-water-transfer-project-three-gorges-dam?partner=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+fastcompany%2Fheadlines+%28Fast+Company+Headlines%29
Saving New Orleans’ ecosystems with poo (sewage): http://www.fastcompany.com/1686107/sewage-could-protect-new-orleans-from-hurricanes?partner=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+fastcompany%2Fheadlines+%28Fast+Company+Headlines%29

And good luck to everyone in the paths of the variety of tropical systems out there! Be smart, be safe, and stay dry!

What is the Tri-State Water War?

Carmela Orsini — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 17:23:51 +0000

As new to the issue, I had to do some background reading just to figure out what the problem is in the Tri-State Water Wars. Three rivers, the Chattahoochee, Flint, and Apalachicola, form the ACF River Basin which passes through three states: Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. All three states have an interest in what happens to the water from this basin.

Each state has filed or responded to a wide variety of litigation proceedings, and Congress or the Supreme Court could have stepped in to intervene at any time but has yet to do so. All the various litigations have been condensed into one and have been placed into the hands of a retired judge down in Florida with experience on complex water litigation. Despite handing down several decisions, nothing has yet been actually resolved as to what each party can/should/will do.

For my law review note, I’m going to look at how these states can come to an agreement themselves (inspired my ADR – Alternative Dispute Resolution background and training) instead of waiting on litigation or Federal intervention. I will argue that the states can, despite past bitterness and rivalry, find a solution that will work best for all the parties involved and can ensure amongst themselves enforcement measures and protections of the agreement they can and should reach.

Anyone have thoughts on this brief outline of an idea? Know of any sources that I should definitely look at either supporting or debunking my ideas? Thanks!

A New Avenue

Carmela Orsini — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 19:34:03 +0000

Finally, after months of potential technical changes and a severe lack in posting, I have finally embarked on a new water rights project. As part of my research for a law review note and independent research class, I will be switching my focus to the Tri-State water wars going on between Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee.

As part of my research and writing, I will be updating more with information that I find along the way.

The technical changes will probably still happen, but I don’t expect them to for another few months. Thanks for your insight, comments, and participation in the past and from here on out. Your thoughts will surely help me to see my own ideas and research from new perspectives (and rest assured, all proper credit will be given!)