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Journal of Real Property Law students, Professor Gabriel Eckstein and several symposium speakers posed for a photo following the event.
The symposium was held at Texas Wesleyan School of Law on Nov. 9, 2012, and was hosted by the law school’s
Journal of Real Property Law.
The morning’s keynote presentation was by G. Tracy Mehan III, a principal in the drinking water and water quality group of The Cadmus Group and a former assistant administrator with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. An expert in the implementation of the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Clean Water Act, Mehan spoke on coping with water scarcity, risk and uncertainty.
The first panel of the symposium addressed the challenges to securing water supplies and was moderated by Gina Warren, associate professor of law at Texas Wesleyan. Panelists were George William Sherk, Brad Castleberry and Sharlene Leurig.
The topic of the second panel which included Mary E. Kelly, Dr. Ron Kaiser and Paul Bork was opportunities for securing water supplies for the future. Russell Johnson, a partner with McGinnis, Lochridge & Kilgore, LLP, moderated the panel.
The Sooners were on the sidelines for Linda Christie’s luncheon keynote presentation on the Red River Rivalry. Water rather than football was at the heart of her talk on meeting North Texas’ demands with Oklahoma surplus water supplies. Christie is the community and government relations director for the Tarrant Regional Water District.
The water district has been leaning on Oklahoma to help gather water resource related data. “OSU determined that growth in Oklahoma is determined by growth in Texas, but not vice versa,” Christie said. Considering water conservation strategies, she went on to note, “We cannot conserve enough water from existing supplies to meet the phenomenal growth we have been experiencing [in North Texas].”
The Tarrant Regional Water District has been approaching the water dispute with Oklahoma on several different levels, including legal action. “We filed suit in Federal District Court challenging Oklahoma laws that prohibit the Oklahoma Water Resources Board from issuing permits for out-of-state water use,” Christie continued.
The water district lost at the Federal Court level and again at the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. A petition has been filed with the U.S Supreme Court with a response expected near the end of this year or in early 2013.
During the afternoon sessions, Jane Cohen, the Edward Clark Centennial Professor at the University of Texas School of Law, presented a symposium synthesis and Professor Eckstein moderated a roundtable featuring all the symposium speakers.
“I really think the symposium was the best gathering of American water experts I have ever seen,” Cohen said. “All of the participants were fluent and insightful, and every minute was worthwhile. The roundtable was an especially terrific component, as it was possible to see people trade ideas and spar with zero acrimony.”
In conclusion, Eckstein praised the efforts of the law students. “I particularly want to congratulate the law school’s
Real Property Law Journal for hosting such a wonderful program,” he said. “The students did a fantastic job in organizing and hosting the event and deserve volumes of credit. It was a smashing success!”
Podcasts of the entire symposium are available on the symposium website at:
http://bit.ly/TWUWaterLaw