This Wednesday, October 13th, Laura Schroeder will speak to Oregon State University’s Water Resources Graduate Program during the Water Resources Seminar Series. Laura will address “Municipal Water Permitting in an Era of Change: Legal Structures and Policy Trajectories.”
Under the traditional requirements of western water law, an appropriator must divert water, put it to beneficial use, and continuously use the water to prevent loss of his right of use in the future. This “use it or lose it” principle centered on the prevention of water speculation and monopoly. Municipalities in Oregon (as in most prior appropriation states) may apply and receive a permit to appropriate water now for development in the future, a practice that flies in the face of the traditional doctrine.
Laura’s presentation will explore Oregon’s municipal water permitting requirements, and how these requirements are at odds with traditional tenets of western water law. She will discuss the reasons why municipalities are treated differently than other appropriators, and the challenges that municipalities face in providing water to a growing and ever-changing demographic.
For more information about Oregon State University’s upcoming water events, please visit the OSU web site.
