Latest Potomac River Legal Dispute Between Maryland and West Virginia is Resolved
Earlier this month, we described the latest Potomac River legal dispute over water rights and the Wall Street Journal chronicled this dispute with the assistance of our attorney, Adam Van Grack. This most-recent Potomac River legal dispute started when West Virginia declared to Maryland on November 2, 2016 that Maryland had no authority to issue permits or deny access to West Virginia to withdraw water from the Potomac River. The Attorney General of West Virginia wrote a letter to Maryland which included authority from multiple United States Supreme Court cases which supported its position that Maryland could not regulate West Virginia’s water rights to the Potomac River. West Virginia was threatening to seek appellate review of its position to the Supreme Court of the United States if Maryland would not relent from issuing permits, and possibly denying permits, for West Virginia to withdraw water from the Potomac River.
As a result and in response to West Virginia’s water rights position, just a few days ago, Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh and Maryland Secretary of the Environment Ben Grumbles wrote a letter to West Virginia regarding this latest Potomac River legal dispute. Maryland justified its permitting process by noting that West Virginia lacks a program to regulate withdrawals from the river and West Virginia “has traditionally not taken an active role in the management of this critical public resource.” Thus, Maryland specifically invited “West Virginia, as a member of the federal Interstate Compact for the Potomac River Basin, to join Virginia and Maryland in taking the measures necessary to ensure that these resources are adequately managed and protected.” Nonetheless, Maryland asserted that “whatever approach West Virginia decided to take, Maryland is prepared to cease reviewing and issuing water appropriation and use permits for West Virginia users on the Potomac.”
In a statement issued by West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, the Attorney General “welcomed Maryland’s intent to cease a permitting process that restricted West Virginia’s use of the Potomac River, an unlawful procedure that hinders economic growth in the Eastern Panhandle.” Attorney General Morrisey further stated that:
Given Maryland’s admission of West Virginia’s rights, we no longer believe litigation is necessary at this time.
While this latest Potomac River legal dispute appears to be resolved for the time being, as we have chronicled in the past, there are likely to be further disputes regarding the water rights, user rights, and border clarifications of the Potomac River.
Adam Van Grack has been quoted by the Wall Street Journal and Baltimore Sun regarding his legal opinions on Potomac River legal disputes. Adam Van Grack and other attorneys at Longman & Van Grack have represented many parties on appeals, property/river disputes, litigation, and recreation law matters in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, DC. Call (301) 291-5027 to speak with with Adam Van Grack or one of our other attorneys at our Longman & Van Grack’s Maryland (Bethesda and Rockville), Virginia, or Washington, DC offices.
