Professor Frank Publishes Op-ed in San Francisco Chronicle on Water Law Reform
Professor of Environmental Practice Richard Frank published on op-ed in the San Francisco Chronicle on the need to reform California's water laws.
"The fundamental problem is that California's water rights system was created over a century ago, when the population of the entire state was less than 3 million residents, and relatively stable water supplies were more than adequate to support the agrarian economy of the state at that time," writes Frank. "California law created - and still relies on - a ‘first in time, first in right' system, under which those who secured their water rights first obtained priority over later, ‘junior,' water claimants."
Frank includes suggestions as to how the system could be modernized and improved, including recognizing water as a public resource, improving requirements for monitoring and reporting water diversions, creating fixed terms for water rights permits, making water transfers easier and quicker, giving the environment a seat at the water allocation table, and increasing water rights enforcement.
Professor Frank also participated in a live interview on KCBS radio on the same topic. The interview aired on April 14.
Frank, a 1974 graduate of King Hall, is a leader in the field of environmental law and the founding Director of the California Environmental Law and Policy Center at UC Davis School of Law.