Representative Matters: Water Law

• Rodey lawyers negotiated a strategy for resolving a dispute involving a client's residential subdivision. A neighboring property owner failed to attend public hearings on the project before the County Commission, but then convinced the Attorney General's Office that there was not sufficient water for the project based on an advisory opinion issued by the Water Conservation Bureau of the State Engineer's Office. This opinion was refuted by three independent professional hydrologists. The project was again scheduled for a hearing before the County Commission. This time the hearing was on the sole issue of water availability. Rodey coordinated with a team of hydrologists to present its client's case. After hearing the evidence, the County Commission determined that there was sufficient water for the project.
• Rodey lawyers represented owners of property and water rights historically used for mining. The owners applied to the State Engineer to transfer the water rights from mining use to use in a residential subdivision. A local neighborhood association protested the transfer on various grounds, including allegations that the water rights had never been put to use in the declared amount and, alternatively, that the water rights had been abandoned or forfeited. Case preparations involved extensive discovery focusing on the use of water in over a century of mining operations. Following three days of hearing with fact as well as expert witnesses, the State Engineer granted the requested transfer in the amount requested.

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