The Nevada Supreme Court recently created the Commission to Study the Adjudication of Water Law Cases, and Chief Justice James Hardesty announced that the following members have been appointed to the commission, effective immediately:
Chief Justice James W. Hardesty, Commission Chair
Associate Chief Justice Ron Parraguirre, Supreme Court
Micheline Fairbank, Nevada Division of Water Resources
Jason King, Practicing Water Rights Engineer/Hydrologist
Rick Felling, Practicing Water Rights Engineer/Hydrologist
John Entsminger, Urban Municipal Water Purveyor
John R. Zimmerman, Esq., Rural Municipal Water Purveyor
Laura Schroeder, Esq., Rural Water Interests/Water District
Bevan Lister, Agricultural
Tom Baker, Agricultural
Rusty Jardine, Esp., Irrigation Districts
Bert Bryan, Irrigation Districts
Ross de Lipkau, Esp., Mining
Allen Biaggi, Mining
Kyle Roerink, Environmental/NGOs
Karen Peterson, Esq., Practicing Water Rights Attorney/Rural Counties
Oscar (Oz) Wichman, Rural Counites
Christopher W. Mixson, Esq., Practicing Water Law Attorney
Paul G. Taggart Esq., Practicing Water Rights Attorney/Domestic Wells
Gordon H. DePaoli, Esq., Practicing Water Law Attorney
Judge Kathleen Drakulich, Washoe County
Judge John P. Schlegelmilch, Lyon County
Judge Gary Fairman, White Pine County
Judge Elizabeth Gonzales, Clark County
On February 8, 2021, Chief Justice Hardesty filed a petition seeking to create the commission in an effort to improve the education, training, specialization, timeliness, and efficiency of Nevada's district court in the judicial review process. After considering the information in the petition and public comment, the court concluded that the commission should be appointed on March 3.
The first Commission to Study Water Adjudication Law Cases meeting with the new members is scheduled for April 16.
View more information about the Commission to Study Water Adjudication Law Cases on the Nevada Supreme Court's website at: https://nvcourts.gov/aoc/committees_and_commissions/water_law/overview