Beneficial Use Doctrine Essay ⋆ Environment Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

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The beneficial use doctrine refers to the principle of water management adopted by the western United States during a period of expansion during the 19th century. The California Gold Rush and other stimuli led to a rapid population increase in the western states that was plagued by little standing groundwater, among other features. The Beneficial Use Doctrine stipulates that land rights, which may be transferred or bought, are also accompanied by a right to water that exists on that property, insofar as any use of the water is beneficial and not wasted in any way, with the risk of forfeiture of those rights for individuals who fail to comply with that stipulation.

Challenges

The concept of beneficial use has remained in practice, although it has been challenged on a number of grounds since its introduction. One set of challenges has centered on practical issues related to the implementation of laws based on the doctrine and as expressed in the legislation of the separate states. This has included the comparative weakness of the laws when it comes to monitoring and prosecution. However, a more persistent set of challenges has arisen on a more fundamental, ideological basis. Many people believe that market-based allocation of resources would be equal or even superior to the Beneficial Use Doctrine, and that the latter should, therefore, be phased out of the legislation.

Much has changed over the past century in terms of the demand for water resources, which has grown enormously, as well as the ability to use technology to efficiently manage water, route it, and recycle it to an extent previously unimagined. The purpose of the original doctrine was to hinder the seizing of a monopoly and concomitant speculation and price gouging in water resources. This does not necessarily encourage the most efficient and parsimonious use of water, but simply deters its use in ways that openly flout the regulations. Modern requirements have changed, and it may be that adjustment of the doctrine will better reflect these requirements. In any case, it will be important to ensure that any such adjustment is the result of genuine public consultation and is not hijacked by corporate interests.

Bibliography:

Micha Gissa, “Groundwater: Focusing on the Real Issue,” Journal of Political Economy (v.91/6, 1983);
Janet Neuman, “Beneficial Use, Waste, and Forfeiture: The Inefficient Search for Efficiency in Western Water Use,” Environmental Law (v.28, 1998);
T.D. Tregarthen, “Water in Colorado: Fear and Loathing of the Marketplace,” in Water Rights: Scarce Resource Allocation, Bureaucracy and the Environment (Pacific Institute for Public Policy Research, 1983).