CLE Lecture with Stephen Farris & Steve Hernandez

February 26, 2017

"Texas v. New Mexico"

On February 26, the Utton Center and the Natural Resources and Environmental Law Program hosted a CLE lecture featuring Stephen R. Farris, Assistant Attorney General of New Mexico and Director, Water, Environment and Utilities Division, and Steven L. Hernandez, Esq. of the Law Offices of Steven L. Hernandez in Las Cruces, discussing the Supreme Court case of Texas v. New Mexico and other ongoing Rio Grande water cases.

The U.S. Supreme Court has spoken: Texas can sue New Mexico for allegedly violating the Rio Grande Compact, but New Mexico will get its chance to end the litigation quickly. Texas v. New Mexico is not the only ongoing, high-stakes case over Rio Grande water, however. The outcome of these cases will be important for the entire state, but especially for water users in southern New Mexico along the Lower Rio Grande. This program featured two experienced New Mexico attorneys who offered very different views of Rio Grande water disputes.