UC Davis Law Hosts Clean Water Act at 50 Conference

On Oct. 7, the California Environmental Law and Policy Center at UC Davis School of Law hosted the Clean Water Act at 50 Conference. Planning partners for the event also included the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences, Tahoe Environmental Research Center, California State and Regional Water Boards, and Resources Legacy Fund.

Over the day, the conference commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Clean Water Act. It included a retrospective of the Act’s first half-century, an assessment of the current Water Act issues and challenges, and predictions as to how the Clean Water Act can and should evolve over its second 50 years.

King Hall has a longstanding commitment to educating students on environmental law and policy. The Clean Water Act is one of the nation’s foundational and most successful environmental laws. In 1972, the same year that Congress passed the Act, King Hall first offered a course in environmental law, taught by Professor Emeritus Harrison “Hap” Dunning. King Hall’s devotion to educating law students on these issues is as strong today as it was back then. The California Environmental Law and Policy Center and the Environmental Law Certificate Program are testaments to King Hall's commitment to the environment. Environmental law faculty members today include Karrigan Börk, Chris Elmendorf, Rick Frank and Al Lin. Over the day, professors Lin and Börk moderated panel discussions. A special thanks to Professor Rick Frank for his hard work in making the conference happen.

Jennifer Novak '96 spoke on a panel about the enforcement of the Clean Water Act. A representative of the Environmental Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, Laura Thoms, and a commissioner of the California Public Utilities Commission, Cliff Rechtschaffen, also were on the panel.