Williams, Turner, & Holmes, P.C., Grand Junction, Colorado

Water Rights and Environmental Law

A Long History of Water Law Practice

Williams, Turner & Holmes, P.C. has always had an extensive and active water law practice, and our attorneys are experienced in all areas of water law, including adjudication, administration, sales and purchases of water rights, and water quality. Our clients include various water and irrigation districts and organizations, large corporations, and numerous farmers, ranchers and individual landowners.

We regularly assist clients in developing, adjudicating, maintaining and protecting their water rights. When engineering or other expert assistance is needed in a particular case, we can help the client locate and retain an appropriate engineer, and we will work with the engineer to achieve the desired result for the client.

The firm also helps clients in matters regarding underground water rights, wells and gravel pits, and in developing augmentation plans. Our attorneys have extensive experience in dealing with state officials responsible for the administration of water rights and will work with those officials to resolve our clients' water administration problems. We also help clients in settling controversies with other water rights owners regarding such matters as ownership of ditch easements and the allocation of water between owners of a ditch.

Williams, Turner & Holmes, P.C. has been involved since 1955 with the Blue River litigation in the United States District Court out of which Dillon Reservoir, Roberts Tunnel and Green Mountain Reservoir evolved. Mr. Williams served as the chief negotiator in resolving differences with East Slope entities which allowed construction of Wolford Mountain Reservoir. On the Gunnison River, the firm was responsible for the litigation that resulted in the award of a refill right for Taylor Park Reservoir thereby protecting irrigation uses and environmental concerns on the Taylor and Gunnison Rivers.

Environmental Law

Environmental concerns have become prominent in recent years, and we regularly assist and advise clients on environmental matters. We advise buyers, sellers and lenders regarding environmental liabilities in real estate transactions. We have also represented clients on various other matters such as air and water quality, Superfund clean up issues, and leaking storage tanks.

Representative clients of the firm in the area of water interests are Grand Mesa Water Conservancy District; Grand Valley Water Users Association; Ute Water Conservancy District; Colorado River Water Conservation District; Getty Oil Exploration Company; Shell Frontier Oil & Gas; and Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District.

Public Lands Law

Federal public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service and other federal agencies comprise in excess of 60 percent of the total acres of land in Colorado and Utah. The firm advises clients on an array of issues involving these lands, ranging from disputes over access to the permitting of projects requiring the approval of the federal land management agencies. The firm also routinely prepares drilling and division title order opinions for oil and gas leases covering BLM and Forest Service lands.

Attorneys handling water, environmental law, and public lands law are Anthony W. Williams, Mark A. Hermundstad, and Kirsten M. Kurath.

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