Water Law is one of the most important and technical specialties in the legal field. With the scarcity of water in the western United States, it is not a stretch to say that he who controls water, controls land use. Use of water is a state constitutional and statutory right, and water rights are a form of real property in Idaho. Moffatt Thomas attorneys have decades of expertise in the promotion and protection of private water rights throughout Idaho through its representation of agricultural and dairy entities, its representation of irrigation districts and other water distribution entities, and its representation of individual and entity water users. Moffatt Thomas is an active member of the Idaho Water User’s Association, and the firm handles all aspects of water law representation, from transactional work to litigation.
Water Law services include:
- Water rights permitting and analysis involving all types of water uses (e.g., agricultural irrigation, commercial, mining, municipal, domestic, instream flows, fish propagation, commercial snow-making, hydroelectric, and industrial uses).
- Preparation of water right permit and transfer applications, including all related administrative and judicial processes.
- Preparation and litigation of water rights filings for numerous clients in the Snake River Basin Adjudication.
- Preparation of opinion letters regarding water rights issues for numerous lending institutions.
- Analysis and permitting involving wetlands issues of the Clean Water Act.
- NPDES enforcement defense involving the Environmental Protection Agency.
- Irrigation storage contract preparation and renewal with the Bureau of Reclamation and the Army Corps of Engineers.
- Permitting of small scale hydroelectric projects.
Moffatt Thomas Water Law attorneys are active members of the Idaho State Bar Water Law Section, including serving as current and past chairs of that section. Moffatt Thomas Water Law attorneys are frequent speakers at Idaho Water User's Association seminars and conventions, and also speak as faculty in a variety of continuing legal education seminars.