Environmental and Natural Resources

Utah Division of Water Rights Announces New Tool to Track Status of Change Applications

by Graham J. Gilbert On June 22, 2020, the Utah Division of Water Rights (also referred to as the State Engineer’s Office) released a new tool to assist with tracking permanent water right change applications.  Change applications propose modifications to existing water rights.  For instance, a change application may modify a water right’s point of […]

| 3 min read | Tagged: , , , ,
GG
Former Counsel

New Rules Influence Groundwater Development in Park City, Utah and the Snyderville Basin

In September, the Utah State Engineer’s Office adopted a new Groundwater Management Plan for the Snyderville Basin and Park City.  The new Management Plan affects, among others, those considering purchasing water rights, changing existing water rights, or pursuing new development in the Snyderville Basin.  A new article in Utah Business by Graham Gilbert discusses how […]

| 1 min read | Tagged: , , , , , ,
GG
Former Counsel

Utah Lake/Jordan River General Water Rights Adjudication: I am on the List of Unclaimed Water Rights, Now What?

by Graham Gilbert This article discusses a specific aspect of the Utah Lake/Jordan River General Water Rights Adjudication: options if you miss the deadline for filing a Statement of Water User’s Claim and your water rights end up on the List of Unclaimed Rights.  Before tackling this topic, I want to offer some background about […]

| 5 min read | Tagged: , , , ,
GG
Former Counsel

Protests Flow Freely After Utah and Idaho Apply to Appropriate 400,000 Acre Feet of Water From Bear Lake

by Graham J. Gilbert Bear Lake straddles the Utah-Idaho border.  While it was originally an isolated, natural lake, improvements installed over a century ago connected the lake to the nearby Bear River and allowed it to be operated as a reservoir.  Outflow from Bear Lake now enters the Bear River, which flows north and west […]

| 4 min read | Tagged: , , , ,
GG
Former Counsel

Utah Supreme Court Clarifies Administrative Agencies’ Fact Finding Duty and the Standard of Review for Administrative Appeals

By: Graham Gilbert In McElhaney v. City of Moab, 2017 UT 65, —- P.3d —-, the Utah Supreme Court held that an adjudicative land use decision, and likely all administrative decisions subject to substantial evidence review on appeal, must include findings of fact sufficient to permit meaningful appellate review.  In McElhaney, the owners of a […]

| 4 min read | Tagged: , , ,
GG
Former Counsel