The Emerging Revolution in Groundwater Rights
Presented on Tuesday, December 4, 2018
Groundwater rights are in the midst of a revolution. Courts, legislatures and administrative agencies are making significant changes to legal doctrines. This presentation will focus on two major issues that are impacting groundwater rights and the groundwater industry: exempt wells and federal reserved water rights. Although both of these issues began in the western United States, the concepts and effects are both spreading to the east as well.
Exempt wells refer to domestic, agricultural or low capacity wells that receive a lesser level of regulation. This regime exists mainly, but not solely, in prior appropriation states. Due to concerns about cumulative effects of many exempt wells, these water withdrawals are receiving increased scrutiny and regulation.
Federal reserved water rights automatically attach to lands reserved by the federal government, like Indian reservations and conservation areas. Federal courts recently found that groundwater comes within the ambit of federal reserved water rights.
Presenter:
Jesse Richardson Jr., J.D.
West Virginia University
Jesse J. Richardson, Jr. is the Lead Land Use Attorney at the Land Use and Sustainable Development Law Clinic and Associate Professor of Law at the West Virginia University College of Law. Before coming to WVU, Jesse was an Associate Professor in Urban Affairs and Planning at Virginia Tech, teaching land use law, environmental law, urban growth management and real estate. His research and experience focuses on land use law and water law. Prior to his academic endeavors, Jesse was in private practice in his home town of Winchester, Virginia, first with a large law firm, then as a solo practitioner. He presently serves on the Board of Directors of the American Agricultural Law Association, the Universities Council on Water Resources and the National Cave and Karst Research Institute. He previously served on the Virginia Farmland Protection Task Force and the Virginia Water Policy Technical Advisory Committee. Jesse was honored with the 1999 Professional Scholarship Award from the American Agricultural Law Association, the 2004 William E. Wine Award for a history of teaching Excellence from Virginia Tech (the highest teaching award granted by the university), and the 2009 University Certificate of Excellence in Outreach. He has worked with communities in West Virginia and Virginia on land use planning issues, including issues related to karst and water resources. He holds a B.S. and M.S. in Agricultural and Applied Economics from Virginia Tech and a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law.
