Best Best & Krieger News Feed

SGMA, GSA Setup & GSP Preparation

09 Jan 2017 00:00:00 -0800

Join Best Best & Krieger LLP for an Advanced Two-Day Conference on SGMA, GSA Setup & GSP Preparation in Los Angeles. presented by Law Seminars International. The program will also be webcast live.

Deborah Wordham:
"Introduction and Overview"
Monday, Jan. 9, 8:30 - 8:45 a.m.

Program Co-Chair: "Practical Tips for Working through the Technical Concerns in Developing GSPs"
Tuesday, Jan. 10, 8:30 - 10:15 a.m.

Alisha Winterswyk:
Panelist: "The Interplay between the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)"
Monday, Jan. 9, 10:45 a.m. - Noon

Steve Anderson:
Panelist: "Development of Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSPs): Settled and Still Pending Legal Issues"
Monday, Jan. 9, 3:15 - 5 p.m.

When
Monday, Jan. 9 - Tuesday, Jan. 10

Where
DoubleTree by Hilton Los Angeles Downtown
120 S. Los Angeles St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012

For more information or to register, click here.

Hillsborough Residents File Suit Over Water Rates

02 Dec 2016 00:00:00 -0800

Best Best & Krieger LLP Partner Kelly Salt, who represents the City of Hillsborough, Calif., discussed with reporters a lawsuit filed over water rates. A group of wealthy residents claim the rates and laws intended to encourage water conservation are illegal. In interviews, Kelly said the rates comply with state law.

“The rates are structured to recover the costs of providing more water to those who demand more water,” she told the East Bay Times. “Do they incidentally encourage people to conserve? Yes. They send a price signal.”

Read the entire story, originally posted Nov. 30, 2016 in the East Bay Times, by clicking here.

Draft Plan Released to Establish Permanent Water Conservation Requirements Throughout California

02 Dec 2016 00:00:00 -0800

Urban water agencies would face an increasingly expansive set of water conservation laws and regulations under a new draft plan released Wednesday. The plan, which also addresses water use in agriculture and other sectors, was developed jointly by five state agencies, including the State Water Resources Control Board and the Department of Water Resources. Public comments on the plan are due Dec. 19.

The draft plan was developed in response to Executive Order B-37-16, which Gov. Jerry Brown issued May 9 to address drought preparedness and long-term water conservation. While a number of the draft plan’s provisions would be implemented under already existing authorities, other elements would require either rulemaking by state agencies or new legislation.

During the past two years, water supply agencies have had to deal with challenging emergency water conservation regulations adopted by the State Water Board in the face of a lingering and serious statewide drought. The draft plan moves away from the piecemeal emergency regulatory approach by calling for a new permanent water conservation regime for the State.

A key element involves a requirement that the state’s 410 urban water suppliers meet new water use targets, which would be set locally based on state standards applied to unique local conditions. The proposed new approach is designed to take into account the unique climatic, demographic, geographic and land-use characteristics of each urban water agency’s service area. The Executive Order requires that the new water use targets build on existing statutory requirements that the State achieve a 20 percent reduction in urban water usage by 2020. Under the proposed regime, DWR and the State Water Board would develop new standards by 2020 to address four sectors:

Indoor residential per capita water use
Outdoor irrigation
Water lost through leaks
Commercial, industrial and institutional water use

Local urban water suppliers would calculate their own unique water use targets based on the state standards, and would be required to achieve compliance by 2025. The targets would change each year because, although the standards would be permanent, the targets would be based on variable metrics including population, landscape area and evapotranspiration. The draft plan calls for suppliers to submit annual progress reports to the State, as well as monthly and annual water use data. Suppliers failing to meet their targets could face enforcement actions by the State Water Board.

The draft plan implementing the Executive Order contains a number of other elements, including:

Potential extension of the Board’s current emergency water conservation regulations, which are in effect through February 2017, for an additional 270 days, depending on ongoing drought conditions.
Establishment of permanent monthly urban water use reporting requirements and permanent prohibitions on wasteful water practices, such as hosing down sidewalks, through State Water Board rulemaking.
New measures achieved through rulemaking by several agencies to reduce water lost through leaks.
New legislation requiring urban water suppliers to submit “Water Shortage Contingency Plans” to the State, to conduct a “Five-Year Drought Risk Assessment” every five years, and to submit a water budget forecast annually to the State.
New actions to improve drought preparation among small water suppliers and rural communities.
New legislation placing water use efficiency and drought planning requirements, such as water budgets and water management plans, on suppliers of water to agricultural users.

Comments on the draft plan should be submitted to wue@water.ca.gov no later than Dec. 19, 2016. More information can be found here.

Best Best & Krieger’s attorneys can assist public agency clients in responding to the draft plan. If you have any questions about this draft plan or how it may impact your agency, please contact the attorney authors of this Legal Alert listed to the right in the firm’s Special Districts practice group, or your BB&K attorney.

Please feel free to share this Legal Alert or subscribe by clicking here. Follow us on Twitter @BBKlaw.

Disclaimer: BB&K Legal Alerts are not intended as legal advice. Additional facts or future developments may affect subjects contained herein. Seek the advice of an attorney before acting or relying upon any information in this communiqué.

Bringing Water Together

29 Nov 2016 00:00:00 -0800

Join Best Best & Krieger LLP at the ACWA 2016 Fall Conference & Exhibition in Anaheim, Calif.

BB&K Speakers:

Kelly Salt
“Groundwater Sustainability Agency Funding Options”
A discussion of possible groundwater sustainability agency funding options, including Proposition 26, Proposition 218 and other tools being used by those currently forming GSAs. Hear about what the drafters intended possible funding options to be when writing the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. Get the latest update on how courts interpret the use of Proposition 218 and Proposition 26 for imposing fees and charges. Finally, learn about what current GSAs are contemplating to raise money to form GSAs and prepare groundwater sustainability plans.
Wednesday, Nov. 30
10 - 11:30 a.m.

John Freshman
“ACWA’s Hans Doe Past Presidents’ Breakfast in Partnership with ACWA/JPIA”
After the Elections: What Now? As the dust settles on the 2016 elections, come hear what political insiders have to say about the results. What does it all mean, who are the new players on the scene, and how can you navigate the results?
Friday, Dec. 2
8:30 - 10 a.m.

When
Tuesday, Nov. 29 - Friday, Dec. 2

Where
Anaheim Marriott Hotel
700 West Convention Way
Anaheim, CA 92802

For more information or to register, click here.

Drought Policies, Price of Water Lands in Court

17 Nov 2016 00:00:00 -0800

A group of Hillsborough residents is suing the town over water rate hikes during the drought. Best Best & Krieger LLP attorney Kimberley Hood, representing the town, told the San Mateo Daily Journal: “I think agencies are trying to do the best they can to recoup their costs of service while complying with Prop. 218 and also trying to deal with an unprecedented period of drought.”

“The goal is just to make sure that you’re covering your cost of service and it’s always been clear since Prop. 218 that you can’t be making a profit,” she said. “But the courts have allowed some flexibility in how they [cover costs].”

Click here to read the entire article, which originally appeared in the San Mateo Daily Journal on Nov. 16, 2016.

25th Annual Oregon Water Law Conference

16 Nov 2016 00:00:00 -0800

Best Best & Krieger LLP Partner Paeter Garcia will serve as a panelist on the "What’s on the Horizon? Water Law and Oregon’s Neighbors" session at the 25th Annual Oregon Water Law Conference.

When
Wednesday, Nov. 16 - Thursday, Nov. 17

Where
Embassy Suites Portland - Downtown
319 SW Pine Street
Portland, OR 97204-2726

For more information or to register, click here.

Urban and Rural: Tying the Partnership Together

16 Nov 2016 00:00:00 -0800

Join Best Best & Krieger LLP at the 2016 California Association of Resource Conservation Districts' 71st Annual Conference in Ontario, Calif.

BB&K Speakers:

Steve Martin and Nancy Stubbs: "The California Public Records Act - What your District Needs to Know Now"
Jordan Ferguson: "New Horizons: Drones and Regulatory Challenges for the 21st Century"
Thursday, Nov. 17
1:45 - 3 p.m.

Roger Crawford: "The Legal Options and Pitfalls to Avoid when Sharing Employees among Districts"
Friday, Nov. 18
9:45 - 10:45 a.m.

Steve Anderson: "How RCDs can Participate in the Implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act"
Friday, Nov. 18
3:20 - 4:30 p.m.

When
Wednesday, Nov. 16 - Saturday, Nov. 19

Where
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Ontario Airport
222 North Vineyard Ave.
Ontario, CA 91764

For more information or to register, click here.

The Future of U.S. Infrastructure and Local Control Amid Post-Election Uncertainty

15 Nov 2016 00:00:00 -0800

Last week, the nation experienced an election unlike any other in history. A major party candidate broke with his party’s governing philosophies, yet led that party to the presidency as well as preserving control of both chambers of the Congress. This week, Congress returns for a lame duck session in which few major votes are expected until December. This may be a good thing as House and Senate leaders are not sure what, if anything, the rank and file are willing to support. We do know that they must fund government beyond a Dec. 9 deadline. It is also highly likely that a major water funding bill will be enacted and signed before the end of the year.

In the next six months, the federal government will remake itself in the Donald Trump promise of economic populism, proactive deregulation and America-first nationalism. The challenge for local governments and special districts will be to align their advocacy messages with these themes for successful outcomes.

Funding for Infrastructure and Job Creation
Both presidential candidates, and their respective parties, agreed that the nation needs a major investment in infrastructure and the domestic jobs such an infusion could create. Both parties also seemed to agree that the way to fund this is to change our tax code such that corporate America would repatriate billions of tax dollars currently sitting offshore. These infrastructure investments are anticipated to fund water, power, communications, and transportation (air and ground) improvements — the life blood of every community!

Opportunity to Advance Local Control
There will also be opportunities for local governments to demonstrate that some current and proposed federal regulations are exercises in preemptive overreach and should be withdrawn or repealed. But local government will have to be vigilant of efforts by corporate America to ride this deregulation wave to preempt local governments’ ability to manage their own communities.

BB&K’s Government Relations Team is Ready to Assist
Best Best & Krieger government relations professionals are well-positioned to help clients identify advocacy and funding opportunities in the year to come, frame their messages to be relevant in this new government environment, and arrange productive meetings with the new policymakers in both Washington, D.C. and Sacramento. Note that visits to D.C. should be scheduled in late-March or later to allow time for the new team to be in place.

For more information on BB&K government advocacy services, please contact the authors of this Legal Alert listed to the right in the firm’s Municipal Law and Government Relations Services practice groups, or your BB&K attorney.

Please feel free to share this Legal Alert or subscribe by clicking here. Follow us on Twitter @BBKlaw.

Disclaimer: BB&K legal alerts are not intended as legal advice. Additional facts or future developments may affect subjects contained herein. Seek the advice of an attorney before acting or relying upon any information in this communiqué.

All Hands on Deck! Collaborative Approaches to Water Sustainability and Resiliency

15 Nov 2016 00:00:00 -0800

Best Best & Krieger LLP Managing Partner Eric Garner will serve as a panelist at Coro's 2016 Innovate x Water Conference. The topic will be "All Hands on Deck! Collaborative Approaches to Water Sustainability and Resiliency."

When
Tuesday, Nov. 15
8 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Where
LA CIeantech Incubator (LACI)
525 S. Hewitt Street
Los Angeles, CA 90013

For more information and to register, click here.

Evaluating a Project’s “Exacerbation” on Existing Environmental Hazards

10 Nov 2016 00:00:00 -0800

A significant decision interpreting the scope of the California Supreme Court’s ruling in California Building Industry Association v. Bay Area Air Quality Management District was handed down earlier this week by a state appellate court. While the Third District Court of Appeal set aside an environmental impact report for a residential project on grounds that it lacked an appropriate significance threshold for evaluating traffic impacts, it also rejected a claim that the EIR failed to consider the “exacerbation” of existing environmental hazards.

In CBIA v. BAAQMD, the Supreme Court held that the California Environmental Quality Act does not generally require an agency to consider the effects of existing environmental conditions on a proposed project’s future users and residents. But, the Court also opined that lead agencies should consider whether a project could exacerbate existing environmental conditions.

The Court of Appeal has now applied the Supreme Court’s reasoning in considering whether an EIR for a 328-unit residential development adequately analyzed the alleged “exacerbation” of environmental impacts associated with a nearby freeway, a former landfill and railroad tracks. In East Sacramento Partnership for a Livable City v. City of Sacramento, challengers asserted that the EIR failed to analyze the increased cancer risk to the project’s future residents associated with the airborne pollutants from the freeway and railroad tracks. They also claimed it did not consider the risk of methane gas migration from the former landfill. They alleged that the additional vehicles, residents and visitors coming to the project site would “undeniably” exacerbate the health risks already associated with the existing environmental conditions. The court rejected this argument on grounds that the project opponents pointed to no substantial evidence to support their claim, and instead asserted mere conclusions and unsupported opinions.

While the court directed the lead agency to correct the EIR’s threshold for traffic impacts, it upheld the EIR in all other respects. Indeed, this case can be viewed as a victory for lead agencies and project proponents throughout the State. Prior to this decision, many lead agencies questioned when they must analyze a project’s potential to exacerbate existing environmental conditions. As shown here, the mere existence of multiple hazards near a project site is insufficient to require an EIR to consider the question of “exacerbation;” instead there must first be substantial evidence showing that a project could exacerbate existing hazards.

If you have any questions about this opinion or how it may impact your agency, please contact the attorney authors of this Legal Alert listed to the right in the firm’s Environmental Law & Natural Resources practice group, or your BB&K attorney.

Please feel free to share this Legal Alert or subscribe by clicking here. Follow us on Twitter @BBKlaw.

Disclaimer: BB&K Legal Alerts are not intended as legal advice. Additional facts or future developments may affect subjects contained herein. Seek the advice of an attorney before acting or relying upon any information in this communiqué.