(123) 456-7890 email@domain.com

Don Blankenau

don@bwjlawgroup.com
Admissions
  • Nebraska, 1987
  • U.S. Supreme Court, 1999
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit, 2003
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit, 2002
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit, 2001
  • U.S. District Court, District of Columbia, 2007
  • U.S. District Court, District of Nebraska, 1987
  • U.S. District Court, District of North Dakota, 2003
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of Florida, 2006
Education
  • Juris Doctorate, 1987
    University of Nebraska – Lincoln
  • Bachelor of Science, 1983
    Water Resources Management – University of Nebraska – Lincoln
  • Adjunct Professor at Creighton University, College of Law teaching Water Law
Interstate Water Conflict Experience

  • Provided legal counsel to the State of Nebraska concerning the management of the North Platte River in a case before the United States Supreme Court, Nebraska v. Wyoming, No. 108 Original

  • Provided legal counsel to the State of Florida regarding the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River litigation, Florida v. Georgia, No. 142 Original

  • Assists City of Memphis, Tennessee regarding Mississippi v. Tennessee and the City of Memphis, No. 143 Original

  • Provides legal counsel regarding the Republican River Compact litigation involving the States of Colorado and Kansas to the State of Nebraska

  • Provided legal counsel to the State of Nebraska and Nebraska Public Power District concerning the management of the Missouri River in multiple jurisdictions. See South Dakota v. Ubbelohde, 330 F.3d 1014 (8th Cir. 2003), In re Operation of Missouri River System, 421 F.3d 618 (8th Cir. 2005), cert. denied 547 U.S. 1097 (2006)

  • Assisted the State of Florida in drafting an interstate water sharing formula pursuant to the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint Rivers Compact

  • Provided legal counsel regarding the Blue River Compact to the State of Nebraska

  • Presently provides legal counsel to Natural Resource Districts relative to water management issues in the Platte, Little Blue, and Niobrara Rivers Basins.

  • Presently provides legal counsel to various Municipalities regarding water management issues.

  • Presently assists environmental organizations in assessing flow needs.

  • Presently assists various individuals with conflicts concerning competing users.

  • Served as administrative law judge in over 100 hearings concerning water use.

  • Provided legal counsel to Canadian corporation in Arizona general stream adjudication.

Publications
  • Florida v. Georgia: The Long River to Nowhere, The Water Report, Issue #207, May 2021
  • Mississippi v. Tennessee and Memphis: Special Master’s Report, The Water Report, Issue #202, December 2020
  • War and Peace Over the Niobrara River, The Water Report, Issue #142, December 2015
  • Republican River Litigation: Clearing the Waters, The Nebraska Lawyer, Vol. 13, No. 7, July/August 2010
  • Water and Water Rights, Volume 6, Nebraska Water Law, The Michie Company, 2009
  • Ecosystem Protection Versus Immigration: The Coming Conflict, Great Plains Natural Resources Journal, Fall 2007
  • Water and Water Rights, Volume 6, Nebraska Water Law, The Michie Company, 2007
  • Spear T Ranch v. Knaub: The Reincarnation of Riparianism in Nebraska Water Law, 38 Creighton L. Rev. 1203, 2005
Speaking Engagements

  • Interstate Water Disputes: Mississippi v. Tennessee and Memphis Light, Gas & Water Division. American Bar Association, Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources in Orlando, Florida, April 19, 2018

  • Western South Dakota Hydrology Conference, 2016

  • Nebraska’s Changing Water Law, NSBA Annual Meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, October 2015.

  • University of Nebraska Water Law Conference, 2012-2020.

  • Spring 2012 Water Seminar Series. April 2012 in Lincoln, Nebraska.

  • Greater Platte River Basin Symposium. October 2010, Lincoln, Nebraska.

  • Nebraska Water Law. June 2009 in Lincoln, Nebraska.

  • Water Rights, Allocation and Resource Management in Nebraska. June 2004 in Omaha, Nebraska.

  • Eastern Water Resources: Law, Policy and Technology. May 2004 in Hollywood, Florida.

  • Nebraska Water Law. September 2010 in Lincoln, Nebraska.

  • Nebraska Water Laws and Regulations. July 2010 in Omaha, Nebraska.

  • Nebraska Water Law. May 2008 in Lincoln, Nebraska.

  • Renewable Energy. May 2010 in Lincoln, Nebraska.

  • Western Water Law. September 2004 in Denver, Colorado.

  • Water Law – Water Regulation, Quality and Use in the Midwest. November 2002 in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Related Activities
  • General Counsel to the Nebraska Department of Water Resources (“NDWR”) from 1991 to 1993. 
  • Assistant Director and General Counsel to NDWR from 1993 to 1999. Duties included supervision of all NDWR staff, management of NDWR budget, and development and implementation of state water policies and laws. 
  • Planning chairman for the 2004 American Bar Association Water Law Conference held in San Diego, California. 
  • Former Chairman of the Nebraska Bar Association’s Natural Resources and Environmental Law Section. 
  • Frequent lector at water policy conferences and at universities.