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Adell Amos - University of Oregon. Eugene, OR, UNITED STATES

Adell Amos

School of Law Environmental & Natural Resources Law Center | University of Oregon

Eugene, OR, UNITED STATES

Expert in environmental and natural resources law, with a penchant for water law

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Biography

Adell Amos is an expert in water law and policy, natural resource law and resource management. She is especially well-versed in policy and law related to public lands, conservation, wilderness, and hydrology. At the University of Oregon, she is the Clayton R. Hess Professor of Law, serves as the associate dean for academic affairs at the UO School of Law, and teaches in the nationally-ranked Environmental and Natural Resources Law Program. Selected by the Obama Administration in 2008 to serve a two-year appointment with the U.S. Department of the Interior as the Deputy Solicitor for Land and Water Resources, Adell developed strategies and oversaw law and policy issues around the nation’s public lands.

Areas of Expertise (10)

Environmental and Natural Resource Management

Environmental Conflict Resolution

Drought

Environment

Natural Resources

Wilderness

Conservation

EPA

Policy

Law

Media Appearances (3)

Why it makes little sense to regulate rainwater barrels in the dry western U.S.

The Conversation  

2016-03-25

Many of us never think about who gets to use the drops of rain that fall from the sky. But it’s an increasingly pertinent question as more people look to collect rainwater as a way to conserve water, live off the grid or save money on water bills...

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The Future of Water in Oregon

1859 Oregon Magazine  print

2016-07-06

“Oregon, along with other western states, must plan for and address how a changing climate challenges our current systems and policies, and threatens our economy and quality of life.” University of Oregon School of Law dean and water law expert Adell Amos agreed with this assessment: “Drought in Oregon has previously been treated as an oddity, but those days are over.”

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EPA's clean eater rule: What's at stake and what comes next

Truth-Out  

2015-06-09

Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers released the long-anticipated Clean Water Rule. The new rule aims to clarify years of confusion about which waters - including certain tributaries, marshes and wetlands - fall within the definition of “waters of the United States” and are protected under the Clean Water Act (CWA)...

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Articles (5)

Evaluating Instream Flow Programs: Innovative Approaches and Persistent Challenges in the Western United States


The Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation

2015 This chapter will provide a brief overview of several approaches taken to recognize instream flow rights and integrate those rights within the overall water rights allocation system adopted by states in the western United States.

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Developing the Law of the River: The Integration of Law and Policy into Hydrologic and Socio-Economic Modeling Efforts in the Willamette River Basin


Kansas University Law Review

2014 A legal and policy infrastructure referred to as a “law of the river” exists for every river basin in the U.S. and can be as important as natural processes in terms of managing the future of the resource. Because of the way that water law and policy have evolved in the U.S., this infrastructure involves a matrix of state and federal law that governs the choices that policymakers, end users, and agencies make.

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Dam Removal and Hydropower Production in the U.S.—Ushering in a New Era


Journal of Environmental Law & Litigation

2014 My talk today concerns balancing hydropower production and dam removal in the United States and ushering in, what many commentators believe represents, a new era in hydropower and dam development in the United States. I hope after this talk you will be able to understand the basics of hydropower production in the United States and, in particular, the legal and the regulatory structures for the various kinds of hydropower facilities that we have in the United States.

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Freshwater Conservation in the Context of Energy and Climate Policy: Assessing Progress and Identifying Challenges in Oregon and the Western United States


University of Denver Water Law Review

2008 Many, if not all, governmental entities today are facing tough and controversial questions involving energy demand and consumption. In the western United States, these energy questions are often inextricably linked to water resource issues. With increased population...

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The Use of State Instream Flow Laws for Federal Lands: Respecting State Control While Meeting Federal Purposes


Environmental Law

2006 This Article examines the relationship between the four major federal land-managing agencies and state water law and makes a five-part recommendation for finding a balance in the tension between the state and federal governments over water rights for federal lands. First, federal agencies need to articulate a cohesive policy for evaluating options for instream flow protection under state law. Second, in response to federal recognition of state law solutions, states need to remove barriers for protecting federal interests. Third, in the process described above, the federal agencies must maintain their options under federal authorities for establishing water rights and not refrain from utilizing those authorities before securing the equivalent protection under state law. Fourth, federal and state officials need to continue seeking unique and creative solutions to the tension between state and federal law on water rights, while recognizing that the devil lies in the details of these innovative approaches. Finally, both the state and the federal governments should enhance citizen and public involvement in the policy discussions and ultimate resolution of these water rights conflicts.

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