Texas Tech Law School Hosts Conference on Water Law and Policy

Texas Tech University School of Law is hosting a conference on National Water Policy and the Future of Texas Water: A Local and National Debate from 1- 5:30 p.m. Jan. 29 in the Donald Hunt Court Room in the Lanier Professional Development Center at the law school. Conference participants will discuss the current water conditions in Texas and explore current and future federal roles in water law, policy and management. Two panels of experts and government representatives will discuss Texas water supplies and management and the merits of a national water policy and its implications for Texas. “Water management and allocation decisions have historically been left to the states,” said Gabriel Eckstein, law professor, director of the Texas Tech Center for Water Law & Policy, and George W. McCleskey Chair in Water Law. “In recent years, however, discussions in Congress and among pundits and academics have raised the possibility of developing a nationally-applicable water policy. Although such a policy has yet to be formally proposed, positions are being formulated and lines drawn in the proverbial sand.” Speakers include Sen. Robert Duncan; Billy Finn, chief, Water Accounting Division, U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission; Ronald Kaiser, professor and chair of the Texas A&M University Water Program; Bill Mullican, former Texas Water Development Board deputy administrator; Ken Rainwater, director, Water Resources Center, Texas Tech University; Jim Thebaut, writer and director of the documentary “The American Southwest: Are We Running Dry?”; Valentina Valenta, legislative director for U.S. Congressman John Linder; and J. Kevin Ward, executive director of the Texas Water Development Board. Pending approval, the conference will provide an estimated three hours of continuing legal education units. Find Texas Tech news, experts and story ideas at www.media.ttu.edu. CONTACT: Peter Hall,Texas Tech University School of Law, (806) 742-3990 ext. 256, or peter.hall@ttu.edu.