Lawrence J. MacDonnell

WATER ALLOCATION IN A CHANGING CLIMATE: INSTITUTIONS AND ADAPTATION

Global warming may profoundly affect temporal and spatial distributions of surface water availability. While climate modelers cannot yet predict regional hydrologic changes with confidence, it is appropriate to begin examining the likely effects of water allocation institutions on societys adaptability to prospective climate change. Such institutions include basic systems of water law, specific statutes, systems of administration and enforcement, and social norms regarding acceptable water-use practices. Both climate and the changing nature of demands on the resource have affected the development and evolution of water allocation institutions in the United States. Water laws and administrative arrangements, for example, have adapted to changing circumstances, but the process of adaptation can be costly and subject to conflict. Analysis of past and ongoing institutional change is used to identify factors that may have a bearing on the costliness of adaptation to the uncertain impacts of global warming on water availability and water demands. Several elements are identified that should be incorporated in the design of future water policies to reduce the potential for disputes and resource degradation that might otherwise result if climate change alters regional hydrology.

Global change in microcosm: The case of U.S. water institutions

Water is a resource that already has been affected by some aspects of global change and whose availability in time and place may be substantially further altered by global warming. As human demands and impacts on water resources have increased, institutions governing water use have evolved in response to pressures exerted by competing resource users. The record of such institutional evolution and its implications for the impacts of environmental change on human welfare can provide a glimpse of issues that are likely to arise as other natural resources are increasingly subject to the effects of global environmental transformations. Efforts to manage multiple interdependent water uses present informative analogies to the general problem of managing the many interrelated aspects of global change.

Institutional response to climate change: Water provider organizations in the Denver Metropolitan Region

This study addresses regional adjustments to possible reductions in water availability which may occur with a future climate change. The study assesses potential responses of urban water suppliers to reduced water availability by examining an analogous case of reduced supply in the Denver metropolitan region. In this case the U.S. Environmental Protection Agencys veto of a large surface storage project (the Two Forks dam) prompted water providers in metropolitan Denver to take other actions to ensure adequate future water supply. In some cases, actions taken since the veto process began represent a departure from previous water provider policies. It is argued that similar institutional adjustments may occur due to climate change-induced reductions in regional water supplies and that useful lessons may be drawn from an analysis of institutional responses to the Two Forks veto. This paper introduces what is envisioned as a long-term assessment of regional adjustments to reduced future water supplies.

Government mandated costs: The regulatory burden of environmental, health and safety standards

Abstract The environmental, health and safety effects of mining have prompted increased governmental intervention in recent years. This paper begins with a brief review of some of the adverse effects associated with metals, mining and processing. The legal framework by which governmental controls have been imposed in the USA is then presented. The Canadian approach is also summarized, as are examples from several other countries. Available information concerning the costs of these US regulations is then given. Finally, there is a discussion of the effect of these government mandated costs on the competitiveness of US metals production. A major conclusion is that these costs have impaired competitiveness but probably less significantly than other factors.

APPROACHES TO GROUNDWATER QUALITY PROTECTION IN THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

Groundwater sources supply about 38% of all water uses in the 19 western states. Most attention has focused on withdrawals from these sources but, in recent years, concerns have been raised about the quality of groundwater. At the federal level, several laws address aspects of groundwater quality but protection of this resource has been left primarily to the states. Western state groundwater quality protection programs were comprehensively surveyed relating to six aspects: assessment of existing groundwater quality, levels of protection established, controls placed on sources of contamination, use of special management areas, coordination among the involved agencies, and program enforcement. The survey revealed several promising approaches in each of these areas in the western states which are set forth in the paper. Most of these approaches have been established in recent years, reflecting the greatly increased state attention to groundwater quality protection. It is too early to evaluate the effectiveness of particular approaches. In general the western states are taking a more active role in groundwater quality protection, and several states recently have established comprehensive programs for this purpose. Others, however, are still considering approaches to protection of groundwater quality and may find the discussion in this paper of some use.

Regulation of Wastes From the Metals Mining Industry: The Shape of Things to Come

The metals mining industry generates enormous quantities of waste materials. In the past these waste materials were not regulated. In some instances, inadequate management practices regarding these wastes resulted in significant environmental damage. The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) contain provisions affecting the management of waste materials from mining. This paper reviews the amounts and types of waste material generated during the mining and beneliciation stages. The provisions of RCRA and CERCLA affecting the disposition of these wastes are discussed. Special attention then is given to natural resources damage suits under CERCLA aimed at old mining sites and the recently announced EPA program for regulating newly generated mining wastes.