Have you heard of the Public Trust Doctrine? Are you curious how it applies to your water rights? This is a Hot Topic in Nevada right now.

According to Black’s Law Dictionary, the Public Trust Doctrine preserves submerged and submersible lands for public use and the state bears the responsibility of preserving and protecting the public’s right to use the water upon it. Can this doctrine have an impact on your water rights, and if so, how? The Nevada Supreme Court is currently considering how the Public Trust Doctrine will apply in Nevada. Specifically, the two certified questions being considered by the Court are:

1. Does the public trust doctrine apply to rights already adjudicated and settled under the doctrine of prior appropriation and, if so, to what extent?
2. If the public trust doctrine applies and allows for reallocation of rights settled under the doctrine of prior appropriation, does the abrogation of such adjudicated or vested rights constitute a “taking” under the Nevada Constitution requiring payment of just compensation?

Several Amicus briefs have been filed and more are expected.

Most recently the Nevada Water Resources Association held a discussion at their annual conference debating the many issues related to the intersection of Public Trust Doctrine and already Decreed water rights on the Walker River system. Schroeder Law Offices’ shareholder Therese Ure will be presenting in March on the Public Trust Doctrine and how it applies to water rights to a small group in Lovelock Nevada, to further consider the intersection of Decreed water rights and this Doctrine.