The Water Values

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Two water lawyers, Nathan Bracken of Smith Hartvigsen and Jan Neuman of Tonkon Torp, join The Water Values Podcast to discuss the state of our federal water policy. Both Nathan and Jan are well-versed in water law and policy issues, and they have a number of recommendations for updating federal water policy. They also have interesting and provocative thoughts on what needs to happen in order to get the federal government, the states and the tribes in a position where updates to federal water policy might have a chance at success.

In this session, you’ll learn about:

• The current state of federal water policy
• A high-level overview of federal water regulatory oversight
• Why talk about overhauling federal water policy constitute fighting words
• Why Jan thinks we have the Rent-A-Wreck version of federal water policy
• Nathan’s thoughts on how cooperative federalism, and the federal governments and states differing views on how it works, affects water policy
• How the inconsistent and at times contradictory water policies found throughout the federal government came to be
• How the fragmented nature of the water sector contributes to the inconsistent and at times contradictory federal water policies
• What Jan and Nathan propose for fixing up federal water policy, or at least getting the sovereign parties (federal government, state government, tribes) to the point where trust can be built to the point that federal water policy can be better coordinated

Resources and links mentioned in or relevant to this session include:

• Jan’s law firm website
• Nathan’s law firm website
• Western States Water Council’s website
• Materials from the Western Water Policy Review Advisory Commission
• Article in Oil & Gas Journal about withdrawn U.S. Forest Service groundwater rule
• Environment News Service article on Oregon-California-Klamath Tribe water rights settlement
• StudentReader.com website describing cooperative federalism
• U.S. Water Policy: Trends and Future Directions by Adam Reimer (National Agricultural and Rural Development Policy Center)
• 35 Years of Water Policy: The 1973 National Water Commission and Present Challenges by Betsy A. Cody and Nicole T. Carter
• With Epic Drought, Is It Time for a National Water Policy? Article in March 21, 2015, USA Today by Thomas Kostigen

Transcript

Click here to download the Transcript for Session 67 of The Water Values Podcast.

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