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A LEGAL-ECONOMIC CRITIQUE OF GROUNDWATER LAW AND ADMINISTRATION: WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO ARIZONA AND NEBRASKA
Abstract
The law and administration of groundwater are critiqued from both legal and economic perspectives. The purposes of this dissertation are to examine alternative methods of allocating rights to groundwater and to recommend measures for improving the efficiency and equity of allocating those rights. The Arizona and Nebraska experiences in administering rights to groundwater are examined. Groundwater as an economic resource is reviewed, and the externalities arising from the use of groundwater are discussed. Alternative methods for allocating groundwater among uses, and users, and over time are analyzed. Those allocative methods include (a) judicial allocation by enforcement of common-law doctrines, (b) political allocation by imposition of permit systems, (c) involuntary transfers of rights to groundwater by condemnation or prescription, (d) taxation of groundwater use, (e) market allocation through the sale of rights to groundwater, and (f) voluntary agreements. The groundwater law and administration in Arizona and Nebraska are critiqued and compared. A proposal for improving the administration of rights to groundwater is presented.
Subject Area
Agricultural economics
Recommended Citation
NELSON, DOUGLAS CLARENCE, "A LEGAL-ECONOMIC CRITIQUE OF GROUNDWATER LAW AND ADMINISTRATION: WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO ARIZONA AND NEBRASKA" (1981). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI8122597.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI8122597