Category Archives: Texas Water Wars

Breaking News: Supreme Court Allows Texas to Proceed with Lawsuit Against New Mexico

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*This article is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney.* On Monday, the United States Supreme Court granted Texas’ Motion for Leave to File a Complaint with the Court, thereby permitting Texas to proceed with its lawsuit against New Mexico and Colorado over waters of the Rio Grande.  Texas filed its motion seeking leave to file a complaint in January 2013, alleging that New Mexico was violating the 1938 Rio Grande Compact between the states.  [Read prior blog discussing dispute here.] The Court’s ruling allows New Mexico to file a Motion to… Read More →

December 20, 2013 Weekly Round Up

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**This article is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney.** Here are some of the ag law-related stories making the news this week. *  Dallas Passes Strict Fracking Limitation.  The City of Dallas voted last week to impose one of the strictest fracking ordinances in the country, requiring oil wells to be 1500 feet away from “protected areas” including homes, schools, and churches.  This ordinance greatly increases the set back distance, which currently is 300 feet.  [Read article here.] *  New York Times Article Focuses on Rio… Read More →

Update to Breaking News: United States’ Brief in Texas v. New Mexico

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**This article is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney.** As mentioned yesterday, the Solicitor General filed a brief in the Supreme Court case between Texas and New Mexico.  A copy of the brief can be found here. In the brief, Solicitor General takes the position that the Court should grant Texas’ Motion and allow the complaint to be filed because Texas “alleges an interstate dispute of sufficient importance to warrant this Court’s exercise of its original jurisdiction…”  Further, the Solicitor General believes that “Texas has adequately pled an… Read More →

Breaking News: US Files Brief in Texas v. New Mexico Lawsuit

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**This article is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney.** The Solicitor General, on behalf of the United States, filed a 33-page brief today in the Supreme Court battle over water between Texas and New Mexico.  In April, the Supreme Court requested input from the United States on whether it should grant Texas’ motion to file a complaint and hear the case. Newspapers, including the Albuquerque Journal, are reporting that the brief takes a middle-ground approach by encouraging the Court to hear the case, but also by allowing New… Read More →

Texas Water Wars: Texas v. New Mexico

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**This article is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney.** Today we turn to our third and final post in the Texas Water Wars series.  Here are links to the first two posts in this series:  United States v. Mexico and Texas v. Oklahoma. Background In 1938, Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado entered into the Rio Grande Compact (“the Compact”) to allocate water from the Rio Grande between the three states.  The Compact requires that New Mexico deliver water into the Elephant Butte Reservoir.  At that point, the United… Read More →

Texas Water Wars: Oklahoma Victorious Over Texas

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**This article is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney.** We are moving on to the second of our three part Texas Water Wars blog series today.  As you recall, last Monday the blog focused on the dispute over a 1944 treaty between Mexico and the United States.  Today, we turn our attention north and look at the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Tarrant Regional Water Board v. Herrmann. As Justice Sonya Sotomayor pointed out, there is a long history of battles involving the Red River–a Civil… Read More →

Texas Water Wars: United States v. Mexico

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**This article is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney.** Texas has been fighting against its neighbors for water on many fronts.  In 2013, Supreme Court litigation has pitted Texas against Oklahoma in one case and against New Mexico in another, and there is currently an ongoing dispute with Mexico over its compliance (or lack thereof) with a treaty allocating Rio Grande water to the United States.  In the upcoming weeks, I intend to post a series of blogs called Texas Water Wars.  This series will discuss each of these battles, outline… Read More →