Agenda

Webinar instructions will be emailed before the date of the webinar.
Please log into the webinar 15 – 30 minutes before start time.

Tuesday, August 22, 2023
8:30 am – 3:35 pm PDT


Understanding Nevada Surface Water and Groundwater Rights     
         
Presented by: Tamara Thiel

  • Ownership of Nevada surface and groundwater:
    • Public waters, private rights and prior appropriation
  • Regulation of surface water rights
    • Obtaining surface water rights
    • Application and permitting process
    • Amending surface water rights
    • Current issues in surface water rights
  • Regulation of groundwater rights
    • Obtaining groundwater rights
    • Application and water well permitting process
    • Current issues in groundwater rights 
  • Conjunctive regulation of surface and groundwater rights
    • Historic examples of conjunctive management
    • Current issues on conjunctive management

Water Conservation in Southern Nevada   
Presented by: Katie Horn, MPA                                                        

  • Overview of Southern Nevada Water Authority
  • Drought in the Colorado River Basin
  • Managing drought and water resources for an urban community
  • Las Vegas’ approach to water conservation
  • Drought resilient infrastructure
  • Meeting future demands

Water Rights and Water Management on Native American Reservation Lands
Presented by: Loretta Singletary, PhD

  • Overview of current regional water management issues challenges facing Tribal Nations on reservation lands
  • Tribal Nations’ land tenure and water rights: historical context
  • Current water management challenges and opportunities facing Tribal Nations on reservation lands

Well Regulatory Issues and Well Driller Licensing in Nevada  
Presented by: Thomas Gallagher, P.E. 

  • Well regulation in Nevada
  • Well driller licensing requirements
  • Licensed well driller responsibilities
  • Well completion requirements
  • Well decommissioning and plugging
  • Recent regulation changes

The Colorado River Basin: Current Challenges and Policy Responses
Presented by: Elizabeth Koebele, PhD

  • Overview of current regional water management challenges
  • Colorado River Basin governance structure and historical context
  • Nevada’s role in the Colorado River Basin
  • Current shortage management policies and actions across the Basin
  • On-going policy development for the Basin’s future


Webinar Instructions

All attendees must log-on through their own email – attendees may not watch together if they wish to earn continuing education credit. HalfMoon Education Inc. must be able to prove attendance if either the attendee or HalfMoon Education Inc. is audited.

Certificates of completion can be downloaded in PDF form upon passing a short quiz. A link to the quiz will be sent to each qualifying attendee immediately after the webinar. The certificate can be downloaded from the Results page of the quiz upon scoring 80% or higher.

Webinars are presented via GoToWebinar, an easy-to-use application that can be run on most systems and tablets. Instructions and login information will be provided in an email sent close to the date of the webinar. It is highly recommended that you download, install and test the application before the webinar begins by clicking on the link in the email.

GoToWebinar App requirements:
Windows 7 – 10 or Mac OSX Mavericks (10.9) – macOS Catalina (10.15)

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The two most recent version of the following browsers:
Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Microsoft Edge
Internet Explorer v11 (or later) with Flash enabled

Internet connection: Minimum of 1Mbps       Hardware: 2GB RAM or more

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Credits

Engineers
6.5 PDHs

Geologists
6.5 PDHs

Attorneys
6.5 General MCLE Credits

APA/AICP - American Planning Association/American Institute of Certified Planners
.65 CM

 

Continuing Education Credit Information

This webinar is open to the public, and it is designed to qualify for up to 6.0 PDHs for professional engineers in Nevada, and 6.0 PDHs for most geologists who have continuing education requirements.

The Nevada Board of Continuing Legal Education has approved this webinar for 6.0 general MCLE credits.

HalfMoon Education is an approved CM Provider with the American Planning Association. This course is registered for CM | 6 for Certified Planners.

Attendance will be monitored, and attendance certificates will be available after the webinar for those who attend the entire course and score a minimum 80% on the quiz that follows the course (multiple attempts allowed).

On-Demand Credits

The preceding credit information only applies to the live presentation. This course in an on-demand format may not be eligible for the same credits as the live presentation; please consult your licensing board(s) to ensure that a structured, asynchronous learning format is appropriate.

Speakers

Thomas K. Gallagher, P.E.

Nevada Water Solutions, LLC

Mr. Gallagher is a consulting engineer in Reno, Nevada with long experience assisting clients in acquiring and managing water for their projects. Prior to his consulting business, Mr. Gallagher worked for 31 years at the Nevada Division of Water Resources and served under six different state engineers. He is an expert in Nevada water rights and offers expertise in related resource development regulatory compliance. He also offers expertise in regional groundwater and surface water hydrology and water availability, drilling engineering, well design and borehole abandonment, well flow testing and analysis of aquifer characteristics. Mr. Gallagher graduated with a B.S. degree in Hydrology from the University of Nevada and is a licensed professional civil engineer and licensed water right surveyor. He prepares applications for water and supporting maps, proofs of beneficial use, and extensions of time for water appropriations throughout the state. Mr. Gallagher also provides permitting expertise with the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection, Water Pollution Control and Safe Drinking Water, as well as permitting resource development with the United States Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service. He also provides expert witness testimony and formal reports for litigation. 

Katie Horn, MPA

MPA is the Management Services Manager for the Southern Nevada Water Authority and Las Vegas Valley Water District

In this role, she oversees the organization’s policy-related initiatives, including the organization’s advisory committees, board processes, and other projects. She has been with the organization since 2005 and has supported a number of initiatives such as development code changes, water rate adjustments, conservation programming and others. A Las Vegas native, Ms. Horn received her bachelor of arts degree in History and Business Administration from the University of Redlands, and her Masters of Public Administration degree from the University of Nevada Las Vegas.

Elizabeth A. Koebele, PhD

Associate professor of Political Science at the University of Nevada, Reno

Ms. Koebele is also associate director of the Graduate Program of Hydrologic Sciences. Dr. Koebele holds Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in Environmental Studies from the University of Colorado Boulder, as well as B.A. degrees in English and Education from Arizona State University. She researches and teaches about water policy and governance in the western United States, with a focus on the Colorado River Basin. Dr. Koebele’s research has been funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, among others, and she has published her findings widely in policy and interdisciplinary environmental science journals. She also co-edits the scholarly journal Policy & Politics and regularly provides analysis of western water issues for regional and national media outlets.

Loretta Singletary, PhD

Professor of Economics and Extension and the Interdisciplinary Outreach Liaison for the University of Nevada, Reno

Ms. Singletary has more than three decades of experience developing integrated research and outreach programs focused on land and water management challenges specific to Tribal Nations on reservation lands throughout the US. Her recent USDA-NIFA funded project, Native Waters on Arid Lands, involved 49 Tribal Nations in the Great Basin and American Southwest to identify Tribes’ climate data and information needs to support Tribes in their adaptation planning efforts focused on water management on reservation lands. In addition to publishing numerous journal articles and Extension curricula on this topic, she is lead author on Status of Tribes and Climate Change Report, Chapter 6, Economic Development: Renewables, Sustainable Economies, and Carbon Offsets (2021), and co-author on the 4th National Climate Assessment, Chapter 15, Tribes and Indigenous Peoples (2018).

Tamara Thiel

Attorney at Taggart & Taggart, Ltd

Ms. Thiel has extensive experience in water rights matters. She has been qualified as an expert in Nevada water title before the Nevada State Engineer since 2015, and has reviewed and filed thousands of reports of conveyance for water rights across the state. Ms. Thiel represents clients in adjudication matters relating to the determination of vested water rights, in performance of due diligence in land and water transactions, in drafting opinion letters, and in permitting and regulatory compliance on water rights issues. Ms. Thiel also works on administrative proceedings at the State Engineer’s office, mitigation plans and permitting, and appeals of administrative decisions. She has provided research and support on ditch easement issues, and worked with irrigation companies relating to title, stock, and changes in water use. She has experience with water rights dedications for development with water municipalities, and effluent water re-use permitting. Ms. Thiel has extensive work in stockwater rights on federal and state range lands, including vested rights research, title, and permitting. Ms. Thiel also assists clients with real estate transactions. She has experience in preparing and reviewing easements, leases, deeds of trust and other securities.