Water Resource Management and Water Quality

 

We are involved in several projects in California that involve the intersection between water supply needs and endangered species requirements.  These projects pose substantial challenges and present cutting-edge regulatory and policy issues.  We also handle projects that involve compliance with state and federal water quality laws.  

 

• We currently serve as lead counsel for the State of California, namely the California Natural Resources Agency and the Department of Water Resources, in the Bay Delta Conservation Planning process, an historic effort to develop an HCP for the Bay Delta for numerous aquatic and terrestrial species.  The planning process, which involves a range of stakeholders including the primary state and federal water agencies, is intended to provide a long-term, reliable solution to conflicts arising out of the delivery of Delta water to 23 million Californians and the needs of highly sensitive fish and other species that occupy the Delta ecosystem.

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• We are currently in the process of preparing an HCP for a central California city to provide coverage for the City’s water supply and delivery system.  The plan will result in permits under both the federal and state Endangered Species Acts that authorize take of Coho salmon and steelhead.