Water Law

1 credits · Law School

Issues relating to water rights, supply, allocation and pollution have emerged as one of the top environmental issues of the 21st century. This course is an introduction to and overview of certain U.S. state and federal laws relating to water. Specific issue areas to be studied include: the riparian and prior appropriation doctrines of rights to use surface law; rights to extract groundwater; state and federal authority and roles in the management of water resources; conflicts between states over rights to shared water resources; and federal/state regulation of water pollutants. Prominent current water issues will be addressed in case studies. If time permits, the course will provide an introduction to the jurisdictional zones of the oceans under international law. Students are not required to have completed environmental or other law studies prior to taking this course. [1]