Judge Matt Reynolds of the 7th Judicial District of New Mexico recently spoke at the University of New Mexico's School of Law - 2011 Natural Resources Speaker Series.
You can view a video of his talk here.
The talk runs for about an hour, with another 15 minutes for Q & A. There are no visual aids; it's just Reynolds speaking.
Here is a transcript: Download Reynolds-drought
Reynolds naturally focuses on New Mexico, its water code, and the drought the state is facing. Since I lived and worked in New Mexico for 17 years, that's fine with me. I may joke about New Mexico, but its water code is pretty advanced compared to other states, and it is currently being revised.
It does take a long time to adjudicate basins, however. I remember when the state talked about adjudicating the Middle Rio Grande basin (greater Albuquerque area) and one of the attorneys said it would take about 50 years. Reynolds noted that mediation should be written into the revised water code so that adjudication begins with mediation, not invoking it after years of wrangling. Mediation resolves water disputes, he said.
He noted that New Mexico manages surface water and groundwater conjunctively, something it has done since about 1931. In fact, a number of states have copied New Mexico's approach.
Reynolds also indicated some archaic aspects of the state's water code, and some things that night be changed to deal with long droughts. Three principles should be used to guide any code revisions: 1) science; 2) the state water plan; and 3) its constitution. Good!
He did mention that he foresees more water dispute cases in the future as the landscape dries out.
Despite the New Mexico emphasisI found his comments to be extremely useful in a general sense. Other states might be wise to heed his remarks regarding how water codes can be updated to deal with extended drought. He invoked the ASCE ModelWater Codes - one for riparian (Eastern) states and one for appropriative (Western) states and hoped that some of the provisions in these codes be cherry-picked for New Mexico's revised code.
Reynolds gave an excellent talk. He's a smart man, very insightful. As one of my colleagues said, he should be appointed to the New Mexico Supreme Court.
As I watched the talk, I couldn't help but wonder if Judge Reynolds was related to legendary State Engineer Steve Reynolds, who served in an appointed position for 35 years - 1955-1990 - for seven governors. He died in office in 1990. Here is a article about him after he died. They still talk about him. I suspect that Judge Reynolds is unrelated to Steve Reynolds because no one mentioned it.
Worth listening and reading. Enjoy!
"If you win, what will you have when everyone else has lost?" -- Judge Matt Reynolds, referring to a 'water card game' (c. 55:50 of his talk)
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