The State of the States in Environmental Dispute Resolution:
IDAHO

Status:
Idaho does not have a formal EDR program. However, the Attorney General’s office encourages and supports the use of EDR, specifically mediation, in environmental disputes on an ad hoc basis. Approximately two to three disputes per year utilize mediation. Additionally, EDR may be used to settle disputes within the Snake River Basin Adjudication.

Legal Authority:
IDAHO CODE §§ 7-901 to -922 (1998) (codifying the Idaho Uniform Arbitration Act, which authorizes the use of arbitration agreements and establishes law governing the validity of and procedure used in arbitrations); Idaho St. Bd. Land Comm’rs Admin. R. Prac. & P. 20.01.01-000 to -860; Idaho Dep’t Water Resources Admin. R.P. 37.01.01-000 to -791.

Contact Information:
     Clive Strong, Chief
     Natural Resources Division
     Office of the Attorney General
     P.O. Box 83720
     Boise, ID 83720
     Phone: (208) 334-2400
     Fax: (208) 334-2690

The Idaho legislature has encouraged the use of EDR through the Idaho Uniform Arbitration Act. Regulations of the State Board of Land Commissioners and the Department of Water Resources allow the agencies to use EDR as they deem appropriate. Also, the Attorney General encourages mediation. Currently only two to three environmental cases per year are mediated. The mediators are selected from the Idaho State Bar Association’s list of environmental mediators. Due to this small volume, there is no perceived need for separate programs in each environmental or natural resource agency. There is no requirement that Idaho agencies use EDR.

Snake River Basin Adjudication:
The Snake River Basin Adjudication is a cooperative federal-state project made necessary by the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.¹¹  This case is, perhaps, one of the largest adjudications ever in the history of the United States. There are over 187,000 stakeholders, many of them located in Idaho, who will have their water rights adjudicated in the action. This ongoing adjudication has lasted more than ten years¹² and is estimated to last another eight to ten years. The Department of Water Resources is acting as a technical expert on behalf of the courts in this process. A status conference was held recently, which included a discussion of the use of mediation in further proceedings concerning rights and disputes over rights. EDR has not yet been used in the adjudication.

Martin Institute, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83844-3229.

11   16 U.S.C. §§ 1271–1287 (1994).

12   The adjudication is authorized by Idaho Code § 42-1406A (1996) (uncodified in 1994), which was enacted in 1985. See State of Idaho v. United Sates (In re Snake River Basin Water System), 764 P.2d 78, 80 (Idaho 1988); see also Idaho Dep’t of Water Resources v. United States (In re Snake River Basin Water System), 832 P.2d 289, 290–291 (Idaho 1992).

Indiana Conflict Resolution Institute
Last updated: June 1999
Comments: ICRI Administrator
Copyright 1999 - Indiana University, Bloomington