176: Excellent Discussion on Conjunctive Management

TJ Budge of Racine & Olson joins us to give a fantastic update on the 2015 Idaho Groundwater Pumpers Association (IGWA) Settlement Agreement. The 2015 Settlement Agreement adopted an innovative conjunctive management program of balancing senior surface water rights and junior groundwater use with conservation measures, aquifer recovery and recharge, and collaborative modeling efforts. The provisions of the 2015 Settlement Agreement were tested in the drought years of 2021 and 2022, resulting in tensions amongst users and new litigation. The Parties have now revised and entered a new Settlement Agreement keeping key elements of the 2015 Settlement Agreement and revising more problematic provisions. Great discussion about “living law.”