On July 25th, the New Mexico Supreme Court issued its decision in Bounds v. State of New Mexico affirming an Appellate Court decision holding that New Mexico’s Domestic Well Statute does not violate either the state’s doctrine of prior appropriation in the New Mexico Constitution or the guarantees of due process of law. With the plaintiff unable to show any impairment from the issuance of domestic well permits, the Court was reluctant to cast aside the Domestic Well Statute on the grounds of theoretical injury. Continue reading
Is the Bay Delta Conservation Plan a Doable Deal?
Part 1: DWR underestimates capital costs of BDCP water facility by $2 billion
Beats me whether the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (“BDCP”) is a doable deal. My reaction is from a review of the meeting notes and materials posted by Chris Austin in Maven’s Notebook on the July 17th presentation by the Department of Water Resources. Ms. Austin has provided an invaluable service of making available detailed meeting notes (in her characteristic factual style) and source documents for her readers. Whatever one’s view is on the BDCP, all should express their gratitude to Maven.
At this stage, the BDCP is still a “concept deal.” Some concept deals mature into real projects. Others wither away. Further refinements in analysis and consideration will determine BDCP’s destiny. BDCP has problem children: Continue reading
Senate Hearing on Bureau’s Colorado River Basin Study: Seeking a Common Factual Understanding
The Senate Subcommittee on Water and Power held a hearing yesterday on the Bureau of Reclamation’s Colorado River Basin Water Supply and Demand Study. Seven witnesses extolled the virtues of the follow up to the Bureau’s study released last year. The “elephants in the room” were recreational/environmental demands, agricultural water use, Indian water rights and supply augmentation. Continue reading
¿Habla Espanol?: What Failure of Bay Delta Conservation Plan Means for Southern California
The Voice of San Diego ran a story today about the Cadiz Project that provides a “teachable moment” about the complexity of California water. Would the Cadiz project benefit from failure of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (“BDCP”)? The Voice says yes. Professionals know that water is complex and the impact of a Bay Delta failure is no exception. The big winner would be bi-national water projects, not Cadiz. Continue reading