Idaho Law Review 2024 Water Law Symposium

 

Idaho Law Review 2024 Water Law Symposium

Sponsored by the University of Idaho College of Law and the Idaho State Bar Environmental & Natural Resources and Water Law Sections

 

Friday, March 22,2024

8:00 am – 4:30 pm

University of Idaho College of Law

501 W. Front St. Rm. 114 – Boise or via Zoom

5.0 CLE credits (pending)

Registration:  Free to All

Join us to hear from the leading scholars and experts in their fields about state water rights adjudications; administrative regulation over “waters of the United States” (“WOTUS”) after Sackett v. EPA; and how state and federal laws impact the resilience of interstate rivers and aquifers. Special Opening and Closing Keynote addresses will be delivered by former Idaho Governor Dirk Kempthorne and the Solicitor for the Department of the Interior, Robert Anderson.

 

Program Schedule

8:00 – Check-in & Coffee

8:30 – OPENING KEYNOTE ADDRESS: Dirk Kempthorne, Former Idaho Governor & Secretary of the Interior

Former Secretary of the Interior and Idaho Governor Dirk Kempthorne will deliver a reflection on Idaho’s Snake River Basin Adjudication, its historic success, and continuing importance.

9:30 – Break

9:45 – Session 1: State Water Rights Adjudications in Idaho

Presenter: Judge Eric Wildman, Idaho Water Court

Why adjudicate water rights in Idaho? An overview of the Snake River Basin Adjudication (SRBA), its purpose, historic significance, application, and motivation for adjudicating the rest of the state.

10:45 – Break

11:00 – Session 2: Water Quality Regulation in the wake of Sackett v. EPA

Moderator: Katy Riker, Holland & Hart LLP & ISB Environment & Natural Resources Law Section

Presenter: Norman Semanko, Parsons, Behle & Latimer

A primer on water quality regulation as administered by states and the federal government. Explores the basis for federal jurisdiction over state water resources as “waters of the United States” (“WOTUS”) under the Clean Water Act. Specific focus will be placed on the implications of the 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision Sackett v. EPA affecting administrative rules defining WOTUS and wetlands.

12:00-1:15           LUNCH – Preordered Catered Box Lunches available via Eventbrite

1:30 – Session 3: Legal Mechanisms for Ensuring the Resilience of Interstate Water Resources

Moderator: Jillian Greene, Clerk, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Richard Tallman

Panelists:
Burke Griggs, Professor at Washburn University School of Law;

Albert Barker, Marten Law LLP & Member, Idaho Water Resources Board;

Jason Robison, Professor at University of Wyoming College of Law;

Dr. Robert Van Kirk, Hydrologist, Henry’s Fork Foundation.

Panelists will discuss the intersection of state sovereignty over water and the complex legal framework governing interstate water resources shared by multiple states, such as rivers and aquifers. The implications of federal water laws and interstate litigation over transboundary rivers and water compacts will also be explored.

3:30 – CLOSING KEYNOTE ADDRESS: Robert Anderson, Solicitor, U.S. Dep’t of the Interior

The current Solicitor for the U.S. Department of the Interior will address the federal approach to managing the Northwest’s interstate rivers in the face of climate change.