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Getches-Wilkinson Center Water Law Fellow Position Announcement

Annie Carlozzi — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 18:03:40 +0000

Getches-Wilkinson Center Water Law Fellow Position Announcement Annie Carlozzi Mon, 10/20/2025 - 12:03

Program Overview

The Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment (GWC) at the University of Colorado Law School invites applications for the next GWC Water Law Fellow – an early-career attorney eager to make a difference in the field of water law and policy.

The Water Law Fellowship offers a one-of-a-kind opportunity to work on today’s most pressing water law reform challenges. Fellows are mentored by leading faculty and practitioners and partner with decision-makers from the nonprofit, government, and private sectors.

Water Law Fellows will be expected to draft at least one paper for publications in the first year and to assist with organizing conferences, workshops, public education events, and other GWC events. Fellows may also publish white papers on current topics, attend conferences on water-related topics, draft blog posts and other communications on emerging issues, and work on other projects that develop in-depth expertise in water law.

Key benefits include:

Personalized research agenda and drafting original scholarship for publication supported by GWC staff and Colorado Law Faculty, focused on real-world water law challenges in the American West, including Colorado River management, interstate water governance, groundwater management, and Tribal water rights.
Mentorship from faculty, GWC staff, and practicing attorneys – opportunities to work alongside GWC’s Executive and Assistant Directors, the Director of GWC’s Western Water Policy Program, and access to GWC’s network of leaders on the Advisory Council.
Opportunities to collaborate with leaders in NGOs, government agencies, Tribes, and private practice.
The freedom to explore creative, multidisciplinary solutions to water challenges in the West.
Travel support to represent GWC at professional gatherings, conferences and networking events.
Organization and participation in workshops, public events and conferences at Colorado Law.

Terms, Salary, and Benefits:

Start date: Flexible between January 1 and September 1, 2026.
Duration: One year, with the option to extend for a second year.
Salary: $75,000/year, plus travel and training support.
Location: Boulder, CO
Benefits: Excellent medical, dental, and transit benefits (ECO Pass) through the ��

What we require:

J.D.
At least one year of relevant professional experience or a demonstrated commitment to water issues during law school (judicial clerks encouraged to apply).
Excellent research and writing skills.

What we would like you to have:

Strong academic record.
Background in water or natural resources law.
Experience in environmental research.
Commitment to equity and service to underrepresented communities.
Collaborative, team-oriented approach.

Application Instructions:

Submit the following as a single PDF to Annie Carlozzi (annie.carlozzi@colorado.edu) by Monday, November 10, 2025, at 11:59 p.m.

Cover letter explaining your interest in water law and the Fellowship.
Resume (max 2 pages)
Law school transcript (unofficial accepted)
Writing sample (max 10 pages)

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, so early applications are encouraged.

The Water Law Fellowship is open to individuals regardless of race, national origin, religion, age, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or gender. We encourage individuals from groups historically underrepresented in environmental conservation to apply.

Contact Information

For more information, please contact Annie Carlozzi, GWC Assistant Director, at annie.carlozzi@colorado.edu

Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy and the Environment

The Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy and the Environment advances the truly sustainable management and conservation of natural resources, with a focus on the American West, by:

Influencing natural resources law and policy, including issues of water, land, climate change, and the rights of Tribes and Indigenous Peoples; and

Educating, inspiring and mentoring the next generation of committed lawyers and advocates devoted to justice and equity.

Learn more about Colorado Law

Download GWC Water Law Fellow Announcement

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Could Good Samaritans Fix America’s Abandoned Hardrock Mine Problem?

Annie Carlozzi — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 15:45:21 +0000

Could Good Samaritans Fix America’s Abandoned Hardrock Mine Problem? Annie Carlozzi Mon, 10/20/2025 - 09:45

Daniel Anderson

Until the passage of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) in 1980, miners across the American West extracted gold, silver, and other valuable “hardrock” minerals—and then simply walked away. Today, tens of thousands of these abandoned hardrock mines continue to leak acidic, metal-laden water into pristine streams and wetlands. Federal agencies estimate that over a hundred thousand miles of streams are impaired by mining waste. Nearly half of Western headwater streams are likely contaminated by legacy operations. Despite billions already spent on cleanup at the most hazardous sites, the total cleanup costs remaining may exceed fifty billion dollars.

So how did we end up here? In short, the General Mining Law of 1872 created a lack of accountability for historic mine operators to remediate their operations, but CERCLA and the Clean Water Act (CWA) arguably add an excess of accountability for third parties trying to clean up abandoned mines today.

The first legislation to address this problem was introduced in 1999. Many iterations followed and failed, even in the wake of shocking images and costly litigation due to the Gold King Mine spill that dyed the Animas River a vibrant orange in 2015. Finally, in December, 2024, Congress passed the Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act of 2024 (GSA).

The GSA is a cautious, bipartisan attempt to empower volunteers to clean up this toxic legacy. The law creates a short pilot program and releases certain “Good Samaritans” from liability under CERCLA and the CWA, which has long deterred cleanup by groups like state agencies and NGOs. EPA has oversight of the program and the authority to issue permits to Good Samaritans for the proposed cleanup work.

Despite the promise of this new legislation, critical questions remain unanswered about the GSA and how it will work. Only time will tell whether EPA designs and implements an effective permitting program that ensures Good Samaritans complete remediation work safely and effectively. EPA now has the opportunity as the agency that oversees this program to unlock the promise of the GSA.

The GSA left some significant gaps unanswered in how the pilot program will be designed and directed EPA to issue either regulations or guidance to fill in those gaps. EPA missed the statutory deadline to start the rulemaking process (July, 2025) and is now working to issue guidance on how the program will move forward. EPA must provide a 30-day public comment period before finalizing the guidance document according to the GSA. With EPA’s hopes of getting multiple projects approved and shovels in the ground in 2026, the forthcoming guidance is expected to be released soon. While we wait, it’s worth both looking back at what led to the GSA and looking ahead to questions remaining about the implementation of the pilot program.

A Century of Mining the West Without Accountability

The story begins with the General Mining Law of 1872, a relic of the American frontier era that still governs hardrock mining on federal public lands. The law allows citizens and even foreign-based corporations to claim mineral rights and extract valuable ores without paying any federal royalty. Unlike coal, oil, or gas—which fund reclamation through production fees—hardrock mining remains royalty-free.

As mining industrialized during the 20^th century, large corporations replaced prospectors. Until 1980, mines were often abandoned without consequences or cleanup once they became unprofitable. The result: an estimated half-million abandoned mine features will continually leach pollution into American watersheds for centuries.

CERLCA Liability Holds Back Many Abandoned Mine Cleanups

Congress sought to address toxic sites through CERCLA, also known as the Superfund law, which makes owners and operators strictly liable for hazardous releases. In theory, that ensures accountability. In practice, it creates a paradox: if no polluter can be found at an abandoned site, anyone who tries to clean up the mess may be held responsible for all past, present, and future pollution.

Even state agencies, tribes, or nonprofits that treat contaminated water risk being deemed “operators” of a hazardous facility. That fear of liability—combined with enormous costs—has frozen many potential Good Samaritans in place. Federal efforts to ease this fear have offered little more than reassurance letters without real protection.

The Clean Water Act’s Double-Edged Sword

The Clean Water Act compounds the problem. Anyone who discharges pollution into a surface water via any discernible, confined and discrete conveyance must hold a point source discharge permit. By requiring these permits and providing for direct citizen enforcement in the form of citizen suits, the CWA has led to significant improvements in water quality across the country. That said, courts have ruled that drainage pipes or diversion channels used to manage runoff from abandoned mines may also qualify as point sources. As a result, Good Samaritans who exercise control over historic point sources, like mine tunnels, could face penalties and other liabilities for unpermitted discharges, even when they improve overall conditions.

The 2024 Good Samaritan Act Steps onto the Scene

After decades of failed attempts, the Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act was signed into law in December, 2024. The GSA authorizes EPA to create a pilot program, issuing up to fifteen permits for low-risk cleanup projects over seven years. Most importantly, permit holders receive protection from Superfund and Clean Water Act liability for their permitted activities. This legal shield removes one of the greatest barriers to cleanup efforts.

Applicants can seek either a Good Samaritan permit to begin active remediation or an investigative sampling permit to scope out a site for potential conversion to a Good Samaritan permit down the road.

In either case, applicants must show:

they had no role in causing, and have never exercised control over, the pollution in their application,
they possess the necessary expertise and adequate funding for all contingencies within their control, and
they are targeting low-risk sites, which are generally understood to be those that require passive treatment methods like moving piles of mine waste away from streams or snowmelt or diverting water polluted with heavy metals below mine tailings toward wetlands that may settle and naturally improve water quality over time

Under the unique provisions of the GSA, each qualifying permit must go through a modified and streamlined National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review process. EPA or another lead agency must analyze the proposed permit pursuant to an Environmental Assessment (EA). If the lead agency cannot issue a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) after preparing an EA, the permit cannot be issued. The GSA therefore precludes issuance of a permit where the permitted activities may have a significant impact on the environment.

The pilot program only allows for up to fifteen low risk projects that must be approved by EPA over the next seven years. Defining which remediations are sufficiently low-risk becomes critical in determining what the pilot program can prove about the Good Samaritan model for abandoned mine cleanup. To some extent, “low risk” is simply equivalent to a FONSI. But the GSA further defines the low-risk remediation under these pilot permits as “any action to remove, treat, or contain historic mine residue to prevent, minimize, or reduce (i) the release or threat of release of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant that would harm human health or the environment; or (ii) a migration or discharge of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant that would harm human health or the environment.”

This excludes “any action that requires plugging, opening, or otherwise altering the portal or adit of the abandoned hardrock mine site…”, such as what led to the Gold King mine disaster. Many active treatment methods are also excluded from the pilot program, therefore, because they often involve opening or plugging adits or other openings to pump out water and treat it in a water treatment plant, either on or off-site. As a result, the Good Sam Act’s low-risk pilot projects focus on passive treatment of the hazardous mine waste or the toxic discharge coming off that waste, such as a diversion of contaminated water into a settlement pond.

The GSA requires that permitted actions partially or completely remediate the historic mine residue at a site. The Administrator of EPA has the discretion to determine whether the permit makes “measurable progress”. Every activity that the Good Samaritan and involved permitted parties take must be designed to “improve or enhance water quality or site-specific soil or sediment quality relevant to the historic mine residue addressed by the remediation plan, including making measurable progress toward achieving applicable water quality standards,” or otherwise protect human health and the environment by preventing the threat of discharge to water, sediment, or soil. The proposed remediation need not achieve the stringent numeric standards required by CERCLA or the CWA.

Furthermore, it can be challenging to determine the discrete difference between the baseline conditions downstream of an acid mine drainage prior to and after a Good Samaritan remediation is completed. Not only do background conditions confuse the picture, but other sources of pollution near the selected project may also make measuring water quality difficult. This may mean that the discretion left to the EPA Administrator to determine “measurable progress” becomes generously applied.

Finally, once EPA grants a permit, the Good Samaritan must follow the terms, conditions, and limitations of the permit. If the Good Samaritan’s work degrades the environment from the baseline conditions, leading to “measurably worse” conditions, EPA must notify and require that the Good Samaritantake “reasonable measures” to correct the surface water quality or other environmental conditions to the baseline. If these efforts do not result in a “measurably adverse impact”, EPA cannot consider this a permit violation or noncompliance. However, if Good Samaritans do not take reasonable measures or if their noncompliance causes a measurable adverse impact, the Good Samaritan must notify all potential impacted parties. If severe enough, EPA has discretion to revoke CERCLA and CWA liability protections.

Recently, EPA shared the following draft flowchart for the permitting process:

Challenges Facing the Pilot Program Implementation

Despite its promise, the pilot program’s scope is limited. With only fifteen Good Samaritan permits eligible nationwide and no dedicated funding, the law depends on states, tribes, and nonprofits to provide their own resources. The only guidance issued so far by EPA detailed the financial assurance requirements that would-be Good Samaritans must provide to EPA to receive a permit. Definitions provided in this financial assurance guidance raised concerns for mining trade organizations and nonprofits alike with EPA’s proposed interpretations of key terms including “low risk” and “long-term monitoring”. Crucial terms like these, along with terms impacting enforcement when a permitted remediation action goes awry, like “baseline conditions”, “measurably worse”, and “reasonable measures” to restore baseline conditions, are vague in the GSA. How EPA ultimately clarifies terms like these will play a large role in the success of the GSA in its ultimate goal: to prove that Good Samaritans can effectively and safely clean up abandoned hardrock mine sites. The soon-to-be-released guidance document will therefore be a critical moment in the history of this new program.

Funding the Future

Funding remains the greatest barrier to large-scale remediation efforts. Coal mine cleanups are funded through fees on current production under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act. Current hardrock mining, however, still pays no federal royalty. A modernized system could pair Good Samaritan permitting with industry-funded reclamation fees, ensuring that those profiting from today’s mining help repair the past. Without this reform, the burden will remain on underfunded agencies and nonprofits. However, this General Mining Law reform remains politically unlikely. In the meantime, the GSA creates a Good Samaritan Mine Remediation Fund but does not dedicate any new appropriations to that fund. Grants under Section 319 of the CWA (Nonpoint Source Pollution) and Section 104(k) of CERCLA (Brownfields Revitalization) programs may help, but funding opportunities here are limited.

The GSA includes provisions that allow Good Samaritans to reprocess mine waste while completing Good Samaritan permit cleanup work. These provisions include a key restriction: revenue generated from reprocessing must be dedicated either to the same cleanup project or to the GSA-created fund for future cleanups. A January 20, 2025 executive order to focus on domestic production of critical minerals led to a related Interior secretarial order on July 17, 2025, for federal land management agencies to organize opportunities and data regarding reprocessing mine waste for critical minerals on federal lands. Shortly after these federal policy directives, an August 15, 2025, article in Science suggested that domestic reprocessing of mining by-products like abandoned mine waste has the potential to meet nearly all the domestic demand for critical minerals. Legal and technical hurdles might prevent much reprocessing from occurring within the seven-year pilot program. Reprocessing projections aside, the political appetite for dedicated funding for the future may still grow if the GSA pilot projects successfully prove the Good Samaritan concept using a funding approach reliant on generosity and creativity.

Despite Significant Liability Protections, Good Samaritans Face Uncertainties

While the new law should help to address significant barriers to the cleanup of abandoned mines by Good Samaritans, uncertainties remain. The GSA provides exceptions to certain requirements under the Clean Water Act (including compliance with section 301, 302, 306, 402, and 404). The GSA also provides exceptions to Section 121 of CERCLA, which requires that Superfund cleanups must also meet a comprehensive collection of all relevant and appropriate standards, requirements, criteria, or limitations (ARARs).

In States or in Tribal lands that have been authorized to administer their own point source (section 402) or dredge and fill (section 404) programs under the CWA, the exceptions to obtaining authorizations, licenses, and permits instead applies to those State or Tribal programs. In that case, Good Samaritans are also excepted from applicable State and Tribal requirements, along with all ARARs under Section 121 of CERCLA.

However, Section 121(e)(1) of CERCLA states that remedial actions conducted entirely onsite do not need to obtain any Federal, State, or local permits. Most GSA pilot projects will likely occur entirely onsite, so it is possible that Good Samaritans might still need to comply with local authorizations or licenses, such as land use plans requirements. While it appears that GSA permitted activities are excepted from following relevant and applicable Federal, State, and Tribal environmental and land use processes, it is a bit unclear whether they are also excepted from local decision making.

The liability protections in the GSA are also limited by the terms of the statute. Good Samaritans may still be liable under the CWA and CERCLA if their actions make conditions at the site “measurably worse” as compared to the baseline. In addition, the GSA does not address potential common law liability that might result from unintended accidents. For example, an agricultural water appropriator downstream could sue the Good Samaritan for damages associated with a spike in water acidity due to permitted activities, such as moving a waste rock pile to a safer, permanent location on site.

Finally, the GSA does not clearly address how potential disputes about proposed permits may be reviewed by the federal courts. However, the unique provisions of the GSA, which prohibit issuance of a permit if EPA cannot issue a FONSI, potentially provide an avenue to challenge proposed projects where there is disagreement over the potential benefits and risks of the cleanup activities.

Measuring and Reporting Success of the Pilot Program

The Good Samaritan Act authorizes EPA to issue up to fifteen permits for low-risk abandoned mine cleanups, shielding participants from Superfund and Clean Water Act liability. Applicants must prove prior non-involvement, capability, and target on low-risk sites. Each permit undergoes a streamlined NEPA Environmental Assessment requiring a FONSI. To be successful, EPA and potential Good Samaritans will need to efficiently follow the permit requirements found in the guidance, identify suitable projects, and secure funding. The GSA requires baseline monitoring and post-cleanup reporting for each permitted action but does not require a structured process of learning and adjustment over the course of the pilot program. Without this structured, adaptive approach, it may be difficult for Good Samaritan proponents to collect valuable data and show measurable progress over the next seven years that would justify expanding the Good Samaritan approach to Congress. EPA’s forthcoming guidance offers an opportunity to fix that by publicly adopting a targeted and tiered approach in addition to the obligatory permitting requirements.

The EPA’s David Hockey, who leads the GSA effort from the EPA’s Office of Mountains, Deserts, and Plains based in Denver, has suggested taking just such a flexible, adaptive approach in public meetings discussing the GSA. EPA, working in coordination with partners that led the bill through Congress last year, like Trout Unlimited, intends to approve GSA permits in three tranches. EPA currently estimates that all fifteen projects will be approved and operational by 2028.

The first round will likely approve two or three projects with near-guaranteed success. If all goes according to plan, EPA hopes to have these shovel-ready projects through the GSA permit process, which includes a NEPA review, with the remedial work beginning in 2026. These initial projects will help EPA identify pain points in the process and potentially pivot requirements before issuing a second round of permits. This second tranche will likely occur in different western states and might increase in complexity from the first tranche.

Finally, the third tranche of permits might tackle the more complex projects from a legal and technical standpoint that could still be considered low risk. This may include remediation of sites in Indian Country led by or in cooperation with a Tribal abandoned mine land reclamation program. Other projects suited for the third tranche might include reprocessing of mine waste, tailings, or sludge, which may also require further buy-in to utilize the mining industry’s expertise, facilities, and equipment. These more complex projects will benefit most from building and maintaining local trust and involvement, such as through genuine community dialogue and citizen science partnerships. The third tranche projects should contain such bold choices to fully inform proponents and Congress when they consider expanding the Good Samaritan approach.

EPA appears poised to take a learning-by-doing approach. But the guidance can and should state this by setting public, straightforward, and measurable goals for the pilot program. This is a tremendous opportunity for EPA and everyone who stands to benefit from abandoned mine cleanup. But this is no simple task. Each permit must be flexible enough to address the unique characteristics at each mine site, sparking interest in future legislation so more Good Samaritans can help address the full scale of the abandoned hardrock mine pollution problem. But if EPA abuses its broad discretion under the GSA and moves the goalposts too much during the pilot program, they may reignite criticisms that the Good Samaritan approach undercuts bedrock environmental laws like the Clean Water Act. If projects are not selected carefully, for instance, the EPA could approve a permit that may not be sufficiently “low risk”, or that ultimately makes no “measurable progress” to improve or protect the environment. Either case may invite litigation against the EPA under the Administrative Procedure Act’s arbitrary and capricious standard or bolster other claims against Good Samaritans.

While the GSA itself imposes only a report to Congress at the end of the seven-year pilot period, a five-year interim report to Congress could help ensure accountability. If all goes well or more pilot projects are needed, this interim report could also provide support for an extension before the pilot program expires. The guidance issued by EPA should only be the beginning of the lessons learned and acted on during the GSA pilot program.

Seizing the Window of Opportunity

The GSA represents a breakthrough after decades of gridlock. It addresses the key fears of liability that stymied cleanup. Yet its success will depend on how effectively the EPA implements the pilot program and the courage of Good Samaritans who are stepping into some uncertainty. If it fails, America’s abandoned mines will continue to leak toxins into its headwaters for generations to come. But if the program succeeds, it could become a model for collaborative environmental restoration. For now, the EPA’s forthcoming guidance could mark the first steps toward success through clear permitting requirements and by setting flexible yet strategic goals for the pilot program.

If you are interested in following the implementation of the Good Samaritan Act, EPA recently announced it will host a webinar on December 2, 2025. They will provide a brief background and history of abandoned mine land cleanups, highlight key aspects of the legislation, discuss the permitting process, and explain overall program goals and timelines. Visit EPA’s GSA website for more information.

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Meryl Compton (Colorado Law '27) Named 2025 Charles N. Woodruff Fellow

Annie Carlozzi — Fri, 10 Oct 2025 20:44:19 +0000

Meryl Compton (Colorado Law '27) Named 2025 Charles N. Woodruff Fellow Annie Carlozzi Fri, 10/10/2025 - 14:44

University of Colorado Law student Meryl Compton (’27) was awarded the Charles N. Woodruff Fellowship. The Charles N. Woodruff fellowship was established in memory of Charles Woodruff, a highly successful water resources lawyer, to promote excellence in the practice of natural resources law.

Meryl is a 2L student at the University of Colorado Law School. She is primarily interested in energy and public utilities law and hopes to contribute to regulatory solutions that facilitate a clean, equitable energy future. Meryl's interest in western land management and sustainable energy was inspired by her experience growing up in Colorado and spending time throughout the West.

Prior to law school, Meryl worked at Colorado-based company, E Source, where she managed a team focused on developing demand-side management data tools for energy utilities. She also contributed to research on beneficial electrification and regulatory solutions to promote decarbonization. Before E Source, she worked for the Public Interest Network doing environmental and consumer protection policy research.

Meryl graduated from Davidson College, where she majored in environmental studies and economics. At Colorado Law, Meryl is involved with the Environmental Law Society, Acequia Assistance Project, and Environmental Law Journal. She is also a Legislation and Regulation tutor. As the current Woodruff Fellow, she is working on a research project related to a federal insurance program for grazing land. She looks forward to connecting with everyone at the GWC this year!

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The 1922 Compact is Now the Obvious Elephant in the Negotiating Room

Annie Carlozzi — Tue, 07 Oct 2025 18:02:46 +0000

The 1922 Compact is Now the Obvious Elephant in the Negotiating Room Annie Carlozzi Tue, 10/07/2025 - 12:02

Eric Kuhn , Anne Castle , John Fleck , Kathryn Sorensen , Jack Schmidt , Katherine Tara

The Colorado River system is inching closer and closer to the “tripwire” in the 1922 Compact. This is the requirement that a specified volume of water pass Lee Ferry, the dividing point between the Upper and Lower Basins, every ten years. Declining flows and depletion of reservoir storage reserves, as well as the need to protect the Infrastructure of Glen Canyon Dam, are challenging our ability to operate the river system in a way that both preserves critical levels in Lakes Powell and Mead and avoids triggering the tripwire. This new paper by Eric Kuhn, Anne Castle, John Fleck, Jack Schmidt, Kathryn Sorensen, and Katherine Tara explains the issues, runs the numbers, and explains the conclusions. The only solution to this unavoidable conflict is a negotiated agreement among the seven Colorado River Basin states.

Read the full paper here.

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Meet the Fall 2025 GWC Research Assistants

Annie Carlozzi — Thu, 02 Oct 2025 16:11:51 +0000

Meet the Fall 2025 GWC Research Assistants Annie Carlozzi Thu, 10/02/2025 - 10:11

We are excited to welcome 5 Research Assistants to the GWC team this fall!

Corinne Griffin

Corinne grew up in Orlando, Florida, and found her passion for the environment after she assisted her community in flora rebuilding after hurricanes hit the state of Florida. She attended the University of Florida. She recieved a BA in Environmental Science, with a double minor in Agricultural and Natural Resource Law/Environmental Justice and Policy. She always knew she wanted to go to law school, but found a keen interest in environmental justice through her undergraduate honors thesis, where she wrote about how COVID-19 exacerbated environmental justice concerns across the United States. Through the GWC RA position, she hopes to learn more about public land law, mining law, tribal law, water law, and any environmental issues impacting the West.

Jake Lehrman

Jake first joined the GWC this past summer as a Research Assistant, where he focused on researching the public’s right to access waterways in Colorado and the broader Mountain West region. His work explored the legal, historical, and policy dimensions of public access, contributing to ongoing conversations about how to balance recreation and private property interests. Beyond his research, Jake volunteered at the 45th Annual Colorado Law Conference on Natural Resources, Turning Hindsight into Foresight: The Colorado River at a Crossroads, where he had the opportunity to learn about the complex issues surrounding the Colorado River's management. He also had the opportunity to offer a window into the Colorado Law student experience through writing blog posts on behalf of the GWC. Now continuing his work as a Research Assistant, Jake is excited to delve even deeper into the evolving landscape of public access rights to Colorado’s waters.

Tori Matson

Tori first connected with GWC after receiving the 2024 Harrison Fellowship for her 1L summer which allowed her to intern at the Legal Resources Centre, an environmental nonprofit organization in Durban, South Africa. In the Fall of 2024, she continued her involvement with the GWC through volunteering at GWC events including the Martz Symposium and Ruth Wright Lecture, where she wrote blog post summaries. She also helped plan and execute the "Effect of Executive Orders" event panel with GWC RA Catie Pursifull, which they also wrote a blog summary for. As a Spring 2025 Research Assistant, she contributed to GWC projects on pertinent public lands issues such as the nondelegation doctrine. She looks forward to continuing to support GWC's research and programming this upcoming year!

Lex Padilla

Lex is a second-year law student at the University of Colorado, originally from Phoenix, AZ, with a focus on toxic torts and environmental justice. She earned her B.A. in Political Science from the University of San Diego, where she also studied environmental science and conducted chemical research. Growing up amid drought and air pollution in Phoenix and studying near sites of environmental injustice such as Barrio Logan, CA and the Tijuana Sewage Crisis, shaped her commitment to advancing equity through environmental law.

Catie Pursifull

Catie is a Research Assistant in the Getches Wilkinson Center, researching under Director Chris Winter. She is currently looking into the expansion of renewable energy on federal public lands and the level of the government's compliance with their requirements of tribal consultation on tribal ancestral lands. This topic is especially interesting to her given her previous experience working with renewable energy developers, and she is excited to learn more about how/if developers can meaningfully and equitably engage in the consultation process with tribes.

In the past year, Catie planned an event with the GWC to debrief several environmental Executive Orders passed in the beginning of President Trump's second term and attended several of her acquaintances' events that the GWC has helped promote and sponsor. In this next year, Catie is excited to keep contributing to the events that the GWC puts on that bring the CU Law environmental community together, discussing the most pertinent environmental topics of the day. Catie will continue working in renewable energy transactions after graduation.

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State Legislators Focused on Trends and Emerging Concerns in Western Water

Annie Carlozzi — Wed, 01 Oct 2025 19:23:02 +0000

State Legislators Focused on Trends and Emerging Concerns in Western Water Annie Carlozzi Wed, 10/01/2025 - 13:23

Doug Kenney

The Council of State Governments (Western chapter), comprised of state legislators and legislative staff, recently convened in Jackson Wyoming to review a variety of challenging issues facing the western states, including water. The Getches-Wilkinson Center was asked to participate in the lively review of trends and emerging concerns in western water, with a focus on those issues most likely to demand action from state legislatures.

Three interrelated issues dominated the discussion. First, the increasing impact of climate change in the West, especially in the arid and semi-arid regions, is rapidly intensifying water scarcity challenges. This is best shown by the unfolding interstate crisis on the Colorado River, which is quite likely to require the individual basin states to implement new (and often painful) coping strategies. Second, this increased competition for water, when combined with other trends (in subjects as diverse as foreign trade and immigration) continue to strain the viability of ranches and farms throughout the West. Agriculture, especially small-scale family farms, are in decline in many (if not most) pockets of the West. And third, the “federal apparatus” of agencies, expertise, programs, and other resources to deal with these challenges is being aggressively culled, shifting the burden of problem-solving increasingly to the states and state legislators. It is, unfortunately, a perfect storm of bad news.

State decision-makers are finding these challenges particularly burdensome as they offer few opportunities for win-win solutions, and are of a scale (and cost) that is beyond the resources of many states. Nonetheless, dispute the troubling nature of the trends and emerging concerns, most participants remain hopeful that discussing experiences with each other through the CSG-West network will help identify viable paths forward.

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Sydney Stellato (Colorado Law '26) Named 2025 Conscience Bay Company Western Water Policy Fellow

Annie Carlozzi — Mon, 29 Sep 2025 17:29:15 +0000

Sydney Stellato (Colorado Law '26) Named 2025 Conscience Bay Company Western Water Policy Fellow Annie Carlozzi Mon, 09/29/2025 - 11:29

University of Colorado Law School student Sydney Stellato ('26) is this year’s Conscience Bay Company Western Water Policy Fellow. The Conscience Bay Company Western Water Policy Fellowship, initiated in 2023 by leaders of the Conscience Bay Company, is awarded each year to a Colorado Law student on the basis of academic performance, commitment to public service, and interest in the study of Western water law and policy. To the extent practicable, each Conscience Bay Company Western Water Policy Fellow will focus on a specific project in advancing innovative solutions for sustainable management of water in the Western United States.

Sydney Stellato is a 2L student at the University of Colorado Law School, where she is exploring her interest in water law, public lands, and the intersection of conservation and community. She graduated from the University of Texas with degrees in Sustainability Studies and Geography. While at UT, her studies centered on the relationship between people and waterways, culminating in a senior project where she developed a citizen science project to monitor stream health. Before law school, she worked with the Texas Conservation Corps where she focused on conservation, trail work, and sustainability programs. At CU, she is involved with the Environmental Law Society, OUTLaw, and the Environmental Law Journal. She looks forward to applying her background in environmental work to the Fellowship while learning how Western water law can balance resource management, conservation, and community needs. In her free time she enjoys skiing, hiking, and indoor rock climbing.

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Green Amendments for the Generations

Annie Carlozzi — Sat, 20 Sep 2025 18:39:36 +0000

Green Amendments for the Generations Annie Carlozzi Sat, 09/20/2025 - 12:39

Wednesday, Oct 15 at 12pm in Room 301

Join ELS and the GWC for a lunch talk with Maya K. van Rossum, author of Green Amendments and founder of Green Amendments For The Generations, and Wendy Kerner who is spearheading the movement for a Green Amendment in Colorado. They will give a presentation on Green Amendments, and we will have time for a brief Q&A.

Lunch will be provided!

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Intro to Practice: Environmental Law

Annie Carlozzi — Thu, 18 Sep 2025 17:55:45 +0000

Intro to Practice: Environmental Law Annie Carlozzi Thu, 09/18/2025 - 11:55

Intro to Practice Lunch Series

Tuesday, October 7, 2025 12pm to 12:50pm

Room 301

Explore various areas of legal practice in this series designed for 1L students (but open to all). Each week, a different panel of attorneys will discuss their particular area of practice (including what they do), provide insight into what skills and experiences helped them build their career path, and talk about what attracts employers in each of the practice areas. In addition to providing students with a glimpse into various practice areas, this lunch series also provides students with several contacts in these practice areas and an easy networking opportunity.

Students are encouraged to attend as many of the sessions that interest them. Lunch will be available at each of the sessions.

September 23 – Intellectual Property
September 30 – Judicial Clerkships
October 7 – Environmental
- Peter Jaacks (’21), Jewell Jimmerson Natural Resources Law LLC
- Robert Rigonan (’18), Earthjustice
- Senator Dylan Roberts, Colorado General Assembly
- Gabriella Stockmayer (’11), Dietze and Davis, P.C.
October 14 – Alternative Pathways in Law

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Film Screening: YINTAH

Annie Carlozzi — Wed, 17 Sep 2025 18:27:58 +0000

Film Screening: YINTAH Annie Carlozzi Wed, 09/17/2025 - 12:27

Wednesday, October 8, 2025 4pm to 6:30pm in Wolf Law 301

Join ELS, NALSA, and the GWC for a discussion led by Hannah Adhers, American Indian Law Program Fellow, and Daniel Anderson, GWC Water Law Fellow, on the intersection between Indian law and environmental protection followed by the film YINTAH.

The Film:
YINTAH: A DOCUMENTARY ON A DECADE OF WET’SUWET’EN RESISTANCE
Spanning more than a decade, YINTAH follows Howilhkat Freda Huson and Sleydo’ Molly Wickham as their nation reoccupies and protects their ancestral lands from the Canadian government and several of the largest fossil fuel companies on earth.
Learn more and watch the trailer here: https://www.yintahfilm.com/

Snacks and drinks provided.

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