Edwards Aquifer Authority v. Day and McDaniel

Edwards Aquifer Authority v. Day and McDaniel
Court	Supreme Court of Texas
Decided	February 24, 2012 (2012-02-24)

Edwards Aquifer Authority v. Day and McDaniel is a judgment of the Supreme Court of Texas.

Facts

The Edwards Aquifer is the primary water source for much of southern central Texas. ^[1] Burrell Day and Joel McDaniel owned a 350-acre ranch in Van Ormy, Bexar County. ^[2] Under the Edwards Aquifer Authority Act (EAAA), landowners who had historically used Edwards Aquifer groundwater for irrigation purposes were assured of a minimum permit amount of 2 acre-feet of production per year per acre irrigated. ^[3]

Judgment

On February 24, 2012, the Supreme Court of Texas issued a 50-page, unanimous opinion written by Justice Nathan Hecht affirming the Fourth Court of Appeals decision. ^[4]

Applying the case law applicable to oil and gas, the Texas Supreme Court determined that groundwater is "owned in place" by the landowner, and that this ownership right can support a claim for uncompensated taking under the state and federal constitutions. ^[5]

Commentary

The Texas Farm Bureau welcomed the decision. ^[2] The rule on uncompensated taking was applied in Edwards Aquifer Authority v. Glenn and JoLynn Bragg. ^[6]

References

Citations

1. Walton 2013, p. 30, Dependence on the Edwards Aquifer.
2. Galbraith, Kate (February 24, 2012). "Texas Supreme Court Hands Victory to Landowners in Landmark Water Case". The Texas Tribune . Archived from the original on August 10, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
3. Johnson & Ellis 2013, p. 37, Facts of the Day Case.
4. Johnson & Ellis 2013, p. 38, The Supreme Court Answers the Question of the Nature of Landowner Groundwater Rights.
5. Johnson & Ellis 2013, p. 39, Impacts on Surface and Groundwater Management and Regulation.
6. Malewitz, Jim (May 1, 2015). "State High Court Punts on Major Water Case". The Texas Tribune . Archived from the original on August 9, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2021.

Bibliography

• Johnson, Russell S.; Ellis, Gregory M. (May 17, 2013). "A New Day? Two Interpretations of the Texas Supreme Court's Ruling in Edwards Aquifer Authority v. Day and McDaniel". Texas Water Journal. 4 (1): 35–54. doi: 10.21423/twj.v4i1.6990 . ISSN   2160-5319.  This article incorporates textfrom this source, which is available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
• Walton, Adam T. (August 2013). "Edwards Aquifier [sic] Authority v. Day and the Search for Consistency in the Theory of Groundwater Rights". Liberty University Law Review. 8 (1): 27–75.

Further reading

• Newman, Ashlie (2012). "Edwards Aquifer Authority v. Day and the Future of Groundwater Regulation in Texas". The Review of Litigation . ISSN   0734-4015.
• Kulander, Christopher S. "Edwards Aquifer Authority v. Day and Bragg – Predictions on Their Effects for Regulatory Takings Claims for Groundwater Used in Oil & Gas Operations" (PDF). Baylor Law Review . 66 (3): 471–528. ISSN   0005-7274.