Setting Water Permit Durations: The Long and Short of It

01 July 2022
Kevin Counsell

In the third installment of the Industry Economics White Paper Series, NERA Associate Director Kevin Counsell discusses factors that should be considered in setting water permit durations. Mr. Counsell discusses the trade-offs between setting longer and shorter durations and offers comments on how the appropriate balance for water permit durations might be assessed. Additionally, he suggests that the optimal duration is likely best assessed on a case-by-case basis and would include an analysis of the factors discussed in the paper and their applicability to the water resource and water permits in question. With a rigorous assessment of the considerations raised in Mr. Counsell’s paper, water permitting regimes improve their chances of mitigating much of the contentiousness in setting permit durations, allowing for an appropriate balance to be struck.