Fall 2021
6341 Water Law - HESTER- 27705
Professor(s):
Tracy Hester (DIRECTOR/SUPERVISOR )
Credits: 3
Course Areas: Energy, Natural Resources and Environmental Law
Time: 2:30p-4:00p TTH Location: 111 TUII
Course Outline: As water law issues become increasingly prominent in the news, public discourse, and legal practice, many ask: is water the most important natural resource? If so, why, and how does water law affect the ways that we use and develop land, energy, and other resources? This course combines a general survey of U.S. water law and policy with an examination of water law doctrines, institutions, and policy issues of particular significance to Texas. One goal of this class, therefore, is to give students a basic introduction to the laws and institutions that have shaped the use, development, and preservation of water throughout the United States. Thus, we will examine the legal principles and doctrines that have shaped the use of surface water and groundwater in different jurisdictions across the United States, as well as the evolution of public and private rights in these resources. In addition, this class is intended to examine how water law doctrines and water law institutions have evolved in Texas. The final goal of this class is to examine the evolution of water law as it influences the use, development, and preservation of other important resources.
Course Syllabus: Syllabus
Course Notes: Whether this course will be distance education, or will have a physical room assigned, and if so the extent to which the instructor might use the room during the semester, is not determined at the time when registration initially opens for this course. You may see contrary indications in the UH systems where you actually register for the course. In other words, this course might be distance education with no use of a physical classroom. It might be the “HyFlex” mode in which some Law Center courses used a physical room during 2020-21. As we get closer to the start of the term/semester for this course, this course note will be updated as decisions are determined. The instructors will be involved in those decisions, but decisions about modalities may not be invariant throughout the term/semester or between now and when the course starts.
Prerequisites:
First Day Assignments:
Final Exam Schedule: 12/07 1pm-4pm 144 TU2
This course will have:
Exam:
Paper:
Satisfies Senior Upper Level Writing Requirement: No
Experiential Course Type: No
Bar Course: No
DistanceEd ABA:
Pass-Fail Student Election: Unavailable (Instructor Preference)
Course Materials
Book(s) Required
Course Materials: Adler, Craig, and Hall, Modern Water Law, 2d edition (2018), Foundation Press, ISBN: 9781634603409
