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The article offers news briefs related to environmental health in the U.S. as of October 2022. Topics mentioned include the enactment of state legislation on food safety, drinking water, and climate change, the introduction of the Food Safety Administration Act of 2022, and the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act.

India’s water federalism is at a crossroads. It is a unique twotier system that has the constitutional and enabling provisions for water management and inter-state water dispute resolution as its base. These support the tribunal system that adjudicates inter-state river water disputes and administers water justice. More than six decades have elapsed since its establishment. At the same time, during this period, the per capita water availability has fallen drastically. India is now one of the world’s most water-stressed countries. Water disputes between States are becoming more animated and highly volatile. This article examines water federalism in India in terms of two questions: 1) Should water be transferred from the State List to the Concurrent List? 2) Should India persist with the tribunal system or replace it with the judicial process at the Supreme Court level? The first assumes importance as India persists with the river linking project. The second is relevant because the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act is almost 65 years old. In 2016, India’s Supreme Court re-wrote the law, and, more recently, the Union Government sought to revamp the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act through amendments. All these impel the need to re-look the idea of water federalism as it operates in India in its entirety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports that Louisiana has been recognized as a water-rich state. Topics include considered as a function of apparent overabundance of water, most of the state's historical approach to water management has treated the resource as more of a nuisance than a gift and examines a wary approach serves a purpose.

The article explores the implications of the 1945 Kansas Water Appropriation Act and the Kansas Supreme Court's 1962 Williams v. City of Wichita decision on water law rights. It mentions the article proposes potential solutions that balance the concerns from the Williams dissent and maintain traditional property law principles. It also mentions possible solutions to the outstanding questions raised by Justice Schroeder.

Pennsylvania farmer Robert Brace was sued by the federal government in 1987 for repairs he made to an existing drainage system on his farm. The Third Circuit Court of Appeals held in 1994 that Brace's repair activities did not constitute "normal farming activity" and were therefore subject to Clean Water Act regulation. After thirty years of contending with the government, Brace has now filed an $8 million administrative action against the Environmental Protection Agency, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service requesting financial compensation for improper regulatory enforcement that has resulted in millions of dollars of lost profits. Mr. Brace should prevail in this lawsuit because he was wrongfully accused of violating federal regulations from which he was in compliance or exempt. Furthermore, to ensure that other farmers are not subjected to such a fate, structural changes must be made to the United States' environmental and agricultural regulatory systems. These changes include redefining "normal farming activities" under the Clean Water Act to reflect a more realistic understanding of agriculture, reinforcing the original definition of Prior Converted Cropland to definitively exclude croplands converted prior to 1985 from Clean Water Act jurisdiction, and definitively recognizing the Commenced Conversion exemptions from Clean Water Act regulation given to farmers like Robert Brace. The Robert Brace case is a poignant reminder that failing to restrain regulatory overreach seriously threatens America's farmers. Agricultural and environmental interests must be balanced by policymakers and citizens alike, but regulatory frameworks divorced from the realities of farming are unhelpful on many levels. The story of Robert Brace shows that the shifting sands of the administrative state can pose a grave threat to individual freedoms if allowed to roam unchecked. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Utah deserts supply the state with exquisite beauty and are a definitive part of Utah's identity. However, a consequence of this arid beauty is aridity itself. Because Utah is one of the driest states in the nation, water is an important resource. Accordingly, Utah legislators have enacted statutes that ensure that those who own water will use it beneficially and that ownership of water can be transferred easily from one owner to another. Water ownership is categorized as either ownership of a water right or a share of water stock. This Note focuses on the need for a resolution in Utah law regarding the transfer of shares of water-stock. Under Utah statutes, shares of water stock transfer as securities according to the principles of Utah's Uniform Commercial Code. However, Utah courts have ignored these statutes and have applied judicially made rules in an ad hoc manner to determine whether the shares of stock in question should transfer as securities or as real property. This Note advocates that Utah courts should acquiesce to the Utah Legislature and hold that shares of water stock are transferred per the Utah Uniform Commercial Code. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Drinking water instead of beverages with added sugar can help prevent obesity and cavities and promote overall health. Children spend much of their day in school, where they have variable access to drinking water. In 2010, federal and state law required California public schools to provide free potable water to students in areas where meals are served and/or eaten. The current study aims to identify factors associated with an excellent drinking water culture in schools.Design: A qualitative assessment of barriers and facilitators to providing excellent water quality and access in a purposive sample of California schools. In-depth interviews with key informants were conducted using a snowball sampling approach, after which data were analysed using both inductive and deductive methods.Setting: California public elementary, middle/junior and high schools.Participants: Knowledgeable individuals involved in initiatives related to school drinking water accessibility, quality or education at each selected school.Results: Thirty-four interviewees participated across fifteen schools. Six themes emerged as prominent facilitators to a school's success in providing excellent water access to students: active and engaged champions, school culture and policy, coordination between groups, community influences, available resources and environmentalism.Conclusions: While policy is an important step for achieving minimum standards, resources and interest in promoting excellence in drinking water access and quality can vary among schools. Ensuring that schools have dedicated staff committed to advancing student health and promoting the benefits of water programs that are more salient to schools could help reduce disparities in drinking water excellence across schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policy PointsA major factor explaining government actors' failure to mitigate or avert the Flint, Michigan, water crisis is the sheer complexity of the laws regulating how governmental agencies maintain and monitor safe drinking water. Coordination across agencies is essential in dealing with multiple legal arrangements.Public health legal authority and intervention mechanisms are not self‐executing. Legal preparedness is essential to efficiently navigating complex legal frameworks to address public health threats.The Flint water crisis demonstrates the importance of democracy for protecting the public's health. Laws responding to municipal fiscal distress must be consistent with expected norms of democracy and require consideration of public health in decision making. Context: The Flint, Michigan, water crisis resulted from a state‐appointed emergency financial manager's cost‐driven decision to switch Flint's water source to the Flint River. Ostensibly designed to address Flint's long‐standing financial crisis, the switch instead created a public health emergency. A major factor explaining why the crisis unfolded as it did is the complex array of laws regulating how governmental agencies maintain and monitor safe drinking water. Methods: We analyzed these legal arrangements to identify what legal authority state, local, and federal public health and environmental agencies could have used to avert or mitigate the crisis and recommend changes to relevant laws and their implementation. First, we mapped the legal authority and roles of federal, state, and local agencies responsible for safe drinking water and the public's health—that is, the existing legal environment. Then we examined how Michigan's emergency manager law altered the existing legal arrangements, leading to decisions that ignored the community's long‐term health. Juxtaposed on those factors, we considered how federalism and the relationship between state and local governments influenced public officials during the crisis. Findings: The complex legal arrangements governing public health and safe drinking water, combined with a lack of legal preparedness (the capacity to use law effectively) among governmental officials, impeded timely and effective actions to mitigate or avert the crisis. The emergency manager's virtually unfettered legal authority in Flint exacerbated the existing complexity and deprived residents of a democratically accountable local government. Conclusions: Our analysis reveals flaws in both the legal structure and how the laws were implemented that simultaneously failed to stop and substantially exacerbated the crisis. Policymakers need to examine the legal framework in their jurisdictions and take appropriate steps to avoid similar disasters. Addressing the implementation failures, including legal preparedness, should likewise be a priority for preventing future similar crises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On Sept 6, Narendra Modi's National Democratic Alliance Government completed the first 100 days of its second term in office. On May 23, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won a sweeping mandate for a second 5-year term, under the campaign slogan Sankalpit Bharat, Sashakt Bharat - determined India, empowered India. On Aug 15, 2019, India's Independence Day, Modi announced his government's aim to provide safe tap water to every household in the country by 2024. [Extracted from the article]

The Flint water crisis demonstrates the importance of adequate legal preparedness in dealing with complicated legal arrangements and multiple statutory responsibilities. It also demonstrates the need for alternative accountability measures when public officials fail to protect the public's health and explores mechanisms for restoring community trust in governmental public health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This paper describes and comments on contemporary legislation concerning prevention of epidemics caused by contaminated drinking water from public water supplies in the Czech Republic.Methods: Suggestions are made for removing existing legislative shortcomings, clarifying diction of existing laws and expanding sanctions and penalties for health injury caused by providers and operators of public drinking water.Results: The author reflects on improving legislation concerning the compensation of victims of contaminated water with reference to the aftermath of a local epidemic in the Dejvice District of Prague.Conclusion: The issues raised should be addressed since better legislation can significantly contribute to the limitation of water-borne epidemics and their consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Water quality testing is critical for guiding water safety management and ensuring public health. In many settings, however, water suppliers and surveillance agencies do not meet regulatory requirements for testing frequencies. This study examines the conditions that promote successful water quality monitoring in Africa, with the goal of providing evidence for strengthening regulated water quality testing programs.Methods and Findings: We compared monitoring programs among 26 regulated water suppliers and surveillance agencies across six African countries. These institutions submitted monthly water quality testing results over 18 months. We also collected qualitative data on the conditions that influenced testing performance via approximately 821 h of semi-structured interviews and observations. Based on our qualitative data, we developed the Water Capacity Rating Diagnostic (WaterCaRD) to establish a scoring framework for evaluating the effects of the following conditions on testing performance: accountability, staffing, program structure, finances, and equipment & services. We summarized the qualitative data into case studies for each of the 26 institutions and then used the case studies to score the institutions against the conditions captured in WaterCaRD. Subsequently, we applied fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) to compare these scores against performance outcomes for water quality testing. We defined the performance outcomes as the proportion of testing Targets Achieved (outcome 1) and Testing Consistency (outcome 2) based on the monthly number of microbial water quality tests conducted by each institution. Our analysis identified motivation & leadership, knowledge, staff retention, and transport as institutional conditions that were necessary for achieving monitoring targets. In addition, equipment, procurement, infrastructure, and enforcement contributed to the pathways that resulted in strong monitoring performance.Conclusions: Our identification of institutional commitment, comprising motivation & leadership, knowledge, and staff retention, as a key driver of monitoring performance was not surprising: in weak regulatory environments, individuals and their motivations take-on greater importance in determining institutional and programmatic outcomes. Nevertheless, efforts to build data collection capacity in low-resource settings largely focus on supply-side interventions: the provision of infrastructure, equipment, and training sessions. Our results indicate that these interventions will continue to have limited long-term impacts and sustainability without complementary strategies for motivating or incentivizing water supply and surveillance agency managers to achieve testing goals. More broadly, our research demonstrates both an experimental approach for diagnosing the systems that underlie service provision and an analytical strategy for identifying appropriate interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study introduces an end-use-based system dynamics model to support municipal water planning and management over the medium-to long-term. The Calgary Water Management Model (CWMM) simulates water demand and use to 2040 at a weekly time step for ten municipal end-uses, as well as the effects of population growth, climate change, and various water management policies, and includes policy implementation costs for assessment of conservation versus economic trade-offs. The model was validated against historical water demand data for Calgary, Alberta. A series of scenario simulations showed (1) potentially large changes to both seasonal and non-seasonal water demands with climate change and population growth, (2) a need to enhance historical water management policies with new policies such as xeriscaping and greywater reuse to achieve water management goals, and (3) the value of an end-use based model in simulating management policy effects on municipal water demand and use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The agriculture sector in Malaysia contributes significantly to the country's economic growth and to national development. The series of Malaysia Development Plans (Plans) or 'Rancangan Malaysia', has set out strategies to ensure that productivity and growth of the agricultural industry become a mainstay of the five-year development programmes. The link between sustainable agriculture and sustainable water resources is acknowledged in the plans, and in several policy documents. In Kedah, Malaysia's rice bowl, the Kedah Water Resources Enactment 2008 provides nine key regulatory aspects that can help realise the goals of sustainable agriculture. This paper briefly discusses the enactment, particularly the role it can play in ensuring sustainable development of the agriculture sector through efficient water-resource management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews sources of misalignment between the institutional arrangements, incentives and resources mobilized in water policies. It is argued that the resulting policy gaps develop mainly at the implementation phase and are deeply connected to flaws in the ‘meso-institutions’ linking both the macro-level, at which general rules are established through laws and customs, and the micro-level, at which actors operate within the domain thus delineated. It is suggested that the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Principles on Water Governance (2015) are primarily and rightly targeting these flaws. The discussion is substantiated with numerous examples, mainly from developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reviews the regulation of lead in drinking water, highlighting its epidemiological, engineering and ethical aspects with a focus on the Flint water crisis. We first discuss water quality policy and its implementation with a focus on lead contamination of water, primarily from pipe systems between a water treatment facility and a tap. We then discuss physician's roles and ethical responsibilities regarding safe drinking water using a human rights framework. We argue that physicians can play an important role in safeguarding drinking water in their communities by being vigilant, honoring the community's trust in them, and warning, educating and empowering patients and broader communities so as to protect tap water safety and public health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1974, President Gerald Ford signed into law the Safe Drinking Water Act, the first piece of legislation of its kind to provide a comprehensive regulatory framework for overseeing the nation's drinking water supply. The law has proven instrumental in setting standards for ensuring that the US population can access drinking water that is safe. However, the law delegates much of its monitoring requirements to states, creating, at times, a confusing and complicated system of standards that must be adhered to and enforced. Although it has proven valuable in the safety standards it specifies, the law's administration and enforcement poses tremendous challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New England communities are facing substantial and increasing wastewater and stormwater infrastructure challenges because of age, population growth, funding constraints and severe weather. Integrated planning for and implementation of Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination programs and Sewer System Evaluation Surveys can improve efficiency, maximize compliance and refine capital improvement programs to get the greatest benefit from limited funding. Integrated implementation of clean water programs may also be a more attractive way to discuss sewer and stormwater programs with the public. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: The 1974 Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) regulates >170,000 public water systems to protect health, but not >13 million private wells. State and local government requirements for private well water testing are rare and inconsistent; the responsibility to ensure water safety remains with individual households. Over the last two decades, geogenic arsenic has emerged as a significant public health concern due to high prevalence in many rural American communities. OBJECTIVES: We build the case for universal screening of private well water quality around arsenic, the most toxic and widespread of common private water contaminants. We argue that achieving universal screening will require policy intervention, and that testing should be made easy, accessible, and in many cases free to all private well households in the United States, considering the invisible, tasteless, odorless, and thus silent nature of arsenic. DISCUSSION: Our research has identified behavioral, situational and financial barriers to households managing their own well water safety, resulting in far from universal screening despite traditional public health outreach efforts. We observe significant socioeconomic disparities in arsenic testing and treatment when private water is unregulated. Testing requirements can be a partial answer to these challenges. CONCLUSIONS: Universal screening, achieved through local testing requirements complemented by greater community engagement targeting biologically and socioeconomically vulnerable groups, would reduce population arsenic exposure greater than any promotional efforts to date. Universal screening of private well water will identify the dangers hidden in America's drinking water supply and redirect attention to ensure safe water among affected households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Water Framework Directive (WFD) is arguably the most ambitious piece of European Union (EU) legislation in the field of water. The directive defines a general framework for integrated river basin management in Europe with a view to achieving "good water status" by 2015. Institutional novelties include, among others, water management at hydrological scales, the involvement of nonstate actors in water planning, and various economic principles, as well as a common strategy to support EU member states during the implementation of the directive. More than 15 years after the adoption of the WFD, and with the passing of an important milestone, 2015, we believe it is time for an interim assessment. This article provides a systematic review of existing scholarship on WFD implementation. We identify well-documented areas of research, describe largely unchartered territories, and suggest avenues for future studies. Methodologically, we relied on a meta-analysis. Based on a codebook of more than 35 items, we analyzed 89 journal articles reporting on the implementation of the directive in EU member states. Our review is organized around three major themes. The first is "who, when, and where"; we explore publication patterns, thereby looking into authors, timelines, and target journals. The second is "what"; we analyze the object of study in our source articles with a particular focus on case study countries, policy levels, the temporal stage of WFD implementation, and if the directive was not studied in its entirety, the aspect of the WFD that received scholarly attention. The third is "how," i.e., theoretical and methodological choices made when studying the WFD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. To determine how urban water conservation strategies in California cities can affect water and energy conservation efforts, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and benefit public health. Methods. We expanded upon our 2014 health impact assessment of California's urban water conservation strategies by comparing the status quo to 2 options with the greatest potential impact on the interrelated issues of water and energy in California: (1) banning landscape irrigation and (2) expanding alternative water sources (e.g., desalination, recycled water). Results. Among the water conservation strategies evaluated, expanded use of recycled water stood out as the water conservation strategy with potential to reduce water use, energy use, and greenhouse gas emissions, with relatively small negative impacts for the public's health. Conclusions. Although the suitability of recycled water for urban uses depends on local climate, geography, current infrastructure, and finances, analyses similar to that presented here can help guide water policy decisions in cities across the globe facing challenges of supplying clean, sustainable water to urban populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chilean Water Code of 1981 is a radical case of implementation of free market policies. In the Atacama Desert, the Atacameño people of the city of Calama have mobilized their indigenous identity and traditional celebrations within the context of the imposition of this code. Using a political ecology framework, in this article I examine how their claims, in opposition to the neoliberal model of water exploitation, are interwoven with the process of identity formation, traditions, and market behavior. For this purpose, I have studied transactions of water rights and conducted interviews of urban leaders. The results bring into question the neoliberal hypothesis that water rights flow towards the uses of greatest economic value within a free market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

National and sub-national governments develop and enforce regulations to ensure the delivery of safe drinking water in the United States (US) and countries worldwide. However, periodic contamination events, waterborne endemic illness and outbreaks of waterborne disease still occur, illustrating that delivery of safe drinking water is not guaranteed. In this study, we examined the potential added value of a preventive risk management approach, specifically, water safety plans (WSPs), in the US in order to improve drinking water quality. We undertook a comparative analysis between US drinking water regulations and WSP steps to analyze the similarities and differences between them, and identify how WSPs might complement drinking water regulations in the US. Findings show that US drinking water regulations and WSP steps were aligned in the areas of describing the water supply system and defining monitoring and controls. However, gaps exist between US drinking water regulations and WSPs in the areas of team procedures and training, internal risk assessment and prioritization, and management procedures and plans. The study contributes to understanding both required and voluntary drinking water management practices in the US and how implementing water safety plans could benefit water systems to improve drinking water quality and human health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in court case 'Koontz v. St. John River Water Management District' concerning the laws between property rights and government regulation of water resources. Topics discussed include laws governing sections of land near oceans, lakes and rivers under the U.S. Clean Water Act (CWA), the Supreme Court decision in the case 'Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)' on the issue, and rules of the EPA on property rights.

The article discusses health issues concerning the fracking or hydraulic fracturing method of producing natural gas. It mentions the March 2015 report by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on the possible public health effects of the method, comment from the Independent Petroleum Association of America on the report, and the opinion of professor Madelon Finkel of Weill Cornell Medical College on the developments.

This paper examines the legal and policy framework related to Tribal water rights, with a key focus on the environmental public health impacts of dam construction in Indian Country. Three dam projects will be highlighted: the Dalles Dam, the Elwha River Dams, and the Pick-Sloan Missouri River Basin Program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents updates for several environmental law and legislation in Great Britain as of March 2015. Among the laws updated include one on deregulation, one for self-build and custom housebuilding, and one for dogs registration. Other laws discussed include Historic Environment Scotland Act 2014, Flood and Water Management Act 2010 (Commencement No. 9) Order 2014, and Electricity and Gas (Energy Company Obligation) Order 2014.

• Develop multi-objective optimal operation models for cascade reservoirs. • Hybrids Parallel Mechanism with optimization algorithms to optimize multi-objective. • Water supply contradiction and transformation rules among three objectives are obtained. • Optimal scheme ensures power generation efficiency, irrigation requirements and ecological safety. In recent years, the water conflict between competing users in the middle and lower reaches of the Heihe River has intensified, causing severe social, economic, and ecological problems. This research aims to alleviate water conflicts between multiple objectives that consider eight cascade reservoirs in the upper reaches of the Heihe River Basin to be the regulatory bodies using the optimal operation model and fuzzy optimization evaluation model. The innovative approach combining the parallel mechanism with optimization algorithms (i.e., Flower Pollination Algorithm and Non-dominated Neighbor Immune Algorithm) is proposed to solve the optimal operation models, analyze the time distribution laws of water supply dilemma and the transformation rules among three objectives (power generation, irrigation, and ecology). Based on the evaluation indicator system and subjective and objective comprehensive weighting methods (i.e., Analytic Hierarchy Process and Entropy Weight Method), a fuzzy optimization evaluation model is applied to search for the optimal dispatching scheme for the multi-objective joint operation of cascade reservoirs. Results indicate several findings. First, the Parallel - Flower Pollination Algorithm produces high precision and stability with outstanding calculation efficiency. Second, the period of the water supply dilemma is October and next April, and the annual water supply dilemma is affected by the frequency of incoming water. Third, the competitive relationship between irrigation and ecology is the strongest, followed by the relationship between ecology and power generation, the relationship between ecology and power generation is relatively weak. Fourth, the optimal dispatching scheme in each typical year is the scheme with the ratio values of the transformation coefficients among power generation, irrigation, and ecological objectives the closest to 1:1:1, respectively. It is conducive to scientifically guiding the dispatch of water resources in the Heihe River Basin, alleviating water conflicts, and ensuring socio-economic development and ecological safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on several legislations and court cases enacted in Great Britain and European Union relating to environmental concerns from April 1, 2014 to Jun 30, 2014. Topics discussed include Environmental Bill enacted for the management of natural resources, Water Act 2014 for delivering more resilient water supplies, and court case Brown v Carlisle City Council for reviewing the defendant local authority's decision to erect a freight distribution centre at an airport.

A human right to water has been a major issue in recent times, both nationally and internationally. The international community has taken different approaches to tackle the global water crisis by realising a human right to water. Unfortunately, international uncertainty remains. Bangladesh adopted different policies before finally enacting the Bangladesh Water Act to try and ensure a right to water. Sadly, the existing legal regime in Bangladesh falls short of effectively doing so. It is argued in this article that the existing international instruments are not sufficient to realise a human right to water and a codified right would better ensure its implementation. It is also suggested that increased judicial activism could play a vital role in protecting and promoting the human right to water in Bangladesh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines water issues that normally arise in the context of real estates transactions in Arizona. Topics covered include the method that purchasers can use for applying for and obtaining water services, a brief introduction to the water law in Arizona, and the provisions of the Groundwater Code that governs the withdrawal and use of groundwater in the state.

Twenty-five years ago, the late B.A. Godana stressed that despite the gap between, on the one hand, the vast number of African international drainage basins and their potential for socio-economic development of the States and, on the other hand, the dearth of international regulations governing water resources, it was noteworthy that the achievements in terms of cooperation were impressive. More than any other African river, the Senegal has been characterized and governed by the most progressive and articulated legal regime. The leitmotif since the inception of this legal regime has been to engage in an experiment that not only follows the most advanced concepts of integrated water resources management, but may also offer lessons in cooperation at the global level. Therefore, the legal architecture to foster cooperation over the management of the Senegal has influenced the development of the law of international watercourses in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovations in European Union (EU) policy making have produced a distinctive, novel mode of policy that combines components of participatory and multi-level governance for policy implementation. In this manuscript we provide a conceptualization of what we term the EU's ‘mandated participatory planning’ (MPP) approach. This approach is increasingly used to implement EU directives, mandating the explicit formulation of certain plans or programmes on mostly subnational or cross-national levels. Drawing on three empirical examples from (mostly) environmental policy, we argue that analysing MPP as such is useful to help identify challenges and possibilities for EU policy making. Our framework provides a means to organize inquiry and compare disparate policies, and to more broadly understand the integration of policy, planning and implementation. This perspective, in turn, sheds fresh light on familiar concepts at the intersections of multi-level governance, policy implementation and participatory governance, namely multilayer implementation, participatory implementation and polycentric governance. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

As demand for freshwater increases and surface water supplies diminish, states increasingly tap groundwater to meet their water needs. Like rivers and lakes, groundwater aquifers cross state lines and create legal challenges for allocation and management. For over a century, the Supreme Court has applied its equitable-apportionment doctrine to allocate shared surface water supplies among states. The Court has not yet been faced with an equitable-apportionment action for groundwater, but several disputes are emerging around the country that may soon command the Court's attention. This Article examines how the equitable apportionment doctrine can be applied to an interstate groundwater dispute, using the Snake Valley Aquifer shared by Nevada and Utah as a case study. Equitable apportionment is a viable doctrine for resolving interstate groundwater disputes, but it is not ideal. Instead, interstate compacts provide a constitutional mechanism for cooperation by which states may protect and utilize a shared natural resource. There are over twenty interstate compacts currently in effect, covering major interstate waters such as the Colorado River and the Great Lakes. Some of these compacts address connected groundwater, but none to date are focused on sustainable aquifer management. Recently, Nevada and Utah have developed a proposed agreement to manage the Snake Valley Aquifer. While the proposed agreement was rejected for political reasons, and the Snake Valley Aquifer dispute itself seems headed for litigation, the agreement provides a model for sustainable and cooperative transboundary aquifer management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unconventional drilling for natural gas by means of high volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing (fracking) is an important global public health issue. Given that no sound epidemiologic study has been done to assess the extent of exposure-related adverse health effects among populations living in areas where natural gas extraction is going on, it is imperative that research be conducted to quantify the potential risks to the environment and to human health not just in the short-term, but over a longer time period since many diseases (i.e., cancers) appear years after exposure. It should not be concluded that an absence of data implies that no harm is being done. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1996, the Alberta legislature passed the Water Act, a landmark piece of legislation that introduced a number of significant water policy reforms, including a variety of eco-support instruments: regulatory mechanisms that can be used to define and preserve a share of water for environmental protection and restoration purposes. This article explains the inclusion of eco-support instruments in the Water Act by combining the Advocacy Coalition Framework with Joseph Nye's distinction between “hard” and “soft” power. It identifies two main advocacy coalitions in the Alberta water policy subsystem, the “Greens” and the “Aggies,” and argues that the development of the Water Act can be characterized as a contest between Green soft power and Aggie hard power. Accordingly, the inclusion of eco-support instruments in the Water Act was the result of the Greens' newfound soft power, but the Aggies' enduring hard power ensured that more radical reforms were not undertaken. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Interstate water disputes have long been a mainstay of the Supreme Court's original jurisdiction, the traditional forum for sovereign states to resolve their water wars peaceably. For over a century, these remained disputes between sovereigns: until 2010, when the Court permitted a private power company to intervene in such a dispute. The decision was an affront to state sovereign control of water resources, but its implications reach beyond dignitary concerns. Under the public trust doctrine, states have long held a fiduciary responsibility to allocate water resources within their borders in the interests of their citizens. As global climate change and the increasing demands of energy production continue to stress America's water resources, the Court's decision will further complicate states' efforts to enact sound water policy for the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An analysis of Arizona's water resources system has been implemented. This study uses a qualitative system analysis approach to evaluate the most important components of the system: water supply, water demand, laws and regulations, stakeholders, decision makers, etc. Moreover, the investigation centres on some key components of the water resources system such as water conservation in active management areas (AMA), rural Arizona, population growth, and water rights transfers. This study provides insights on these important components, identifies factors that can be enhanced and offers suggestions for improving them. The overall goal of this analysis is to contribute ideas that will help to establish a more efficient and holistic programme to secure sustainable development of water resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper chronicles the implementation of water service privatization to combat severe water shortage in Mexico City, also known as the Distrito Federal (DF), from 1994 to 2011. Initially, the DF's administration successfully employed private actors to provide more extensive and efficient service while retaining public control of infrastructure. Privatization in the DF was unique in its competitive service structure and the support provided it by the city's populist government. However, political manoeuvring stalled progress in contract governance, network extension, and regional coordination, suggesting the need for more robust accountability structures linking municipal and national political outcomes to household service delivery. An improved theoretical understanding of how stakeholders can collectively manage common pool resources in the urban environments of middle-income countries is also essential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many public water systems in the U.S. are unsafe because the communities cannot afford to comply with the current 10 parts per billion (ppb) federal arsenic standard for drinking water. Communities unable to afford improvements remain vulnerable to adverse health effects associated with higher levels of arsenic exposure. Scientific and bipartisan political consensus exists that the arsenic standard should not be less stringent than 10 ppb, and new data suggest additional adverse health effects related to arsenic exposure through drinking water. Congress has failed to reauthorize the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund program to provide reliable funding to promote compliance and reduce the risk of adverse health effects. Congress's recent ad hoc appropriations do not allow long-term planning and ongoing monitoring and maintenance. Investing in water infrastructure will lower health care costs and create American jobs. Delaying necessary upgrades will only increase the costs of improvements over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]