Nebraska Agricultural and Water Law Seminar
March 21, 2019
Visit https://go.unl.edu/jdxg to register. Walk-ins are also welcome. If you cannot attend in person, you may register and tune in remotely via Zoom. To access the Zoom feed, follow the instructions here and send an email to Professor Schutz at anthony@unl.edu to let him know you are attending via Zoom. The program has been approved for 9 hours (including 1 hour of ethics credit) of CLE distance education credits.
Below, you will find the agenda with hyperlinks to speaker biographies, any materials the speakers have provided for distribution before the conference, and recordings oftheir presentations.
If you prefer one .pdf to print, the materials are available in a single packet at the link above, which is updated as materials are submitted.
Water Law
8:00 - 9:00 - Nebraska Water Law and Administration
A brief introduction to the regulation of water use in Nebraska, spanning the common-law, statutes, regulations, local-government approaches, and associated litigation.
9:00 - 10:00 - Recent Developments in Nebraska Water Law and Future Directions
This panel will provide an overview of significant judicial, statutory, and regulatory changes that have occurred in this area over approximately the last year and discuss the future of water law and policy based on the speakers' experience, involvement in pending matters, and knowledge of the policymaking climate.
10:00 - 11:00 - Waters of the United States under the Clean Water Act
A discussion of the history and current status of the enigmatic "waters of the United States" definition under the case law and regulations that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Environmental Protection Agency have struggled to issue for three decades.
11:00 - 12:00 - Discharges under the Clean Water Act
A discussion of the most recent cases and rulemaking inquiry related to what constitutes a "discharge" for purposes of the Clean Water Act. Cases concerning coal-ash lagoons are emerging, as is a Circuit split, which could be very relevant to Nebraska's livestock industry. These cases involve pollutants moving from some discrete conveyance to waters of the United States through hydrologically connected groundwater.
Ethics
12:15 - 1:15 - Ethics and Lunch - Cannabis Clients and the Model Rules
Jesse Richardson Powerpoint Outline
Can one ethically advise clients about how to comply with the State law when that compliance would be illegal under Federal law? With a bill in the legislature this year to legalize some cannabis for some purposes, this question may face Nebraska lawyers soon.
Agricultural Law
1:30 - 2:30 - Nebraska Real Estate Taxes: What Can You Do About It?
A discussion of the inequities of Nebraska farm and ranch real estate taxes amongst different Nebraska parcels, and also contrasting taxes on Nebraska ag land vs. neighboring states. Numerous strategies will be discussed to assist clients looking to improve rates of return on their ag real estate, including monetized deferred payment transactions.
2:30 - 3:30 - Rights to Farm & Regulating Production Facilities
Anthony Schutz Powerpoint Links
Chicken production is ramping up in the eastern part of the state and a backlash against nuisance suits is making its way to the state legislature. So it is worth taking stock of how animal production facilities are regulated at the local level and through nuisance actions in Nebraska.
3:30 - 4:30 - Farm Succession Planning: Tips, Tricks and Traps
With aging farmers and farmland owners, Ms. Piskorski and Ms. Lovegrove will give general practitioners an overview of current estate planning trends for farm clients, including planning options, entities, life estates and gifting.
4:30 - 5:30 - Industrial Hemp - the Farm Bill and the Road Ahead
The 2018 farm bill legalizes industrial hemp production. However, there are significant regulatory aspects of producing this commodity. The speaker will discuss the current state of affairs facing the regulated industry and the road ahead.
Many thanks to our sponsors:
