Experience
Chair of Downey Brand's Energy,
Land Use and Minerals Practice Management Group.
CEQA and NEPA
Represent public lead agencies and private proponents
of residential, commercial, pipeline, terminal, natural gas electric
generation, mining, recreational resort, hydro-electric, water supply,
and flood control projects on CEQA and NEPA compliance:
Identify appropriate lead agencies
Identify activities exempt or excluded from CEQA or NEPA review
Define project objectives and purpose and need
Determine scope of project and alternatives
Select baseline for identifying impacts
Evaluate cumulative impacts
Choose appropriate CEQA and NEPA documents for compliance
Identify thresholds of significance
Tier from existing CEQA and NEPA documents
Draft Findings, Mitigation and Monitoring Programs, Statement of
Overriding Considerations, Notices of Determination, and Records of
Decision
Develop and implement compliance strategies integrating CEQA and
NEPA compliance through joint documents and with other regulatory
requirements including the Clean Water Act, the Rivers & Harbors
Act, the federal Endangered Species Act, the National Historic Preservation
Act, the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Act, the California Fish &
Game Code, the California Endangered Species Act, state law for fully
protected species, state land use planning law, and analogous local
requirements
Representative Projects:
Oil and gas pipeline and terminal facilities
Natural gas electricity generation
12,000 acre residential, commercial,
and industrial development in southern California
Construction and operation of automotive facilities
Extension of time periods for vesting water rights
Shipping port's entry into lease for, and construction and operation
of. facility for cement importation and distribution
Creation of new aggregate mines and expansion of existing mines
Update on ski-resort master plan
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission relicensing and modification of
existing hydroelectric project
Installation and operation of positive barrier fish screen at water
intake pumps used to irrigate 50,000 acres of agriculture
Maintenance of flood control and irrigation structures
Wetland Regulation, Water Quality, and Water Supply
Represent commercial, industrial, and public proponents
of projects located in or using water, in application for and implementation
of:
Individual permits, Nationwide permits, and Letters of Permission
under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act
Certification under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act
Permits under Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act
Waste Discharge Requirements under the Porter-Cologne Water Quality
Act
Defend permittees in enforcement actions brought by local and state
permitting agencies
Advise commercial, industrial, and public water users regarding the
impacts of CEQA, NEPA and other land use and environmental laws, including
the state and federal Endangered Species Acts, upon water rights
Advise commercial, industrial, and public water users regarding strategies
for analysis of water supply within CEQA documents
Endangered Species
Represent commercial, industrial, and public entities
in developing compliance strategies under Sections 7 and 10 of the federal
Endangered Species Act and under Sections 2081 and 2080.1 of the state
Endangered Species Act:
Review and comment on Biological Assessments, draft Biological Opinions,
and Habitat Conservation Plans
Review and comment on proposed critical habitat designations
Identify baselines for evaluating potential take of listed species
Identify potential take under state and federal Endangered Species
Act
Evaluate likelihood of adversely affecting listed species or critical
habitat
Evaluate cumulative impacts
Negotiate mitigation packages
Negotiate and draft conservation easements
Negotiate and draft mitigation bank for sale of credits to third
parties impacting species listed under the federal Endangered Species
Act
Land Use
Represent residential, commercial, industrial, and public
project proponents through General Plan, Specific Plan, sphere of influence
and annexation approvals
Represent private landowner in federal eminent domain disputes
Draft and negotiate conservation and other easements and right-of-ways
Mining
Represent mining companies in permitting of new aggregate
mines and expansion of existing aggregate mines under the Surface Mining
and Reclamation Act
Represent mining companies in vested rights disputes
Negotiate and implement federal mineral sales contracts
Due diligence prior to potential purchase of existing gold mine
Ninth Circuit Amicus Brief regarding federal preemption of local permitting
of aggregate mine
Litigation
Represent lead agencies in litigation regarding the approval
of industrial uses and flood control projects
Ninth Circuit Amicus Brief representing industry trade group
Represent private project proponents in litigation regarding CEQA compliance
and design review
Represent permittees through administrative enforcement actions
MEMBERSHIPS
State Bar of California, Environmental Law Section, Member
Sacramento County Bar Association, Environmental Law Section, Member
Construction Materials Association of California, Member
California Mining Association, Member
Association of Environmental Professionals, Environmental Law Chapter,
Member
North
State Building Industry Association, Member
Sacramento Area Regional
Technology Alliance (SARTA), Member
Rocky Mountain Mineral
Law Foundation, Member
EDUCATION
University of California,
Berkeley, School of Law (Boalt Hall) (J.D., 1998)
University of California, Berkeley (B.A., 1990)
PUBLICATIONS
Climate
Change Law & Policy Reporter, Editorial Board
California
Land Use Law and Policy Reporter, “Greenhouse
Gas Emissions and Climate Change: CEQA Catches Up with Science, Celebrities,
and Product Placement," Vol. 16, No. 9 (2007), Author
Western Water Law & Policy Reporter, “Rapanos v.
United States and Carabell v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: A Regulatory
Scheme, A Splintered Decision and a Court in Flux,” Vol. 10, No.
10 (2006), Author
California Land
Use Law & Policy Reporter, "The New World of State and
Federal Wetlands Regulation,” Vol. 14, No. 6 (2005), Author
California Land Use Law & Policy Reporter, "A Case
Study in Approving a General Plan by Initiative: A Closer Look at El
Dorado County 's 2004 Ballot Measure G," Vol. 13, No. 7 (2004),
Author
Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Institute, “Aggregate Mining: Acquisition
of Minerals, Mineral Reservations, and Other Mysteries,” Vol. 47, §12
(2002), Co-Author
Six guides to assist consumers in obtaining health care in the Sacramento
region, Author
PRESENTATIONS
CLE
International California Water Law Conference, “How the Effects of Climate
Change Are Affecting Laws Concerning Our Surface Waters,” San Francisco,
2008, Speaker
California
Water Law & Policy Conference, “Climate Change and Water,” San Francisco,
2008, Speaker
California
Water Law and Policy Conference, "Addressing Global Warming in
CEQA Compliance: Strategies for Addressing the Issue," San Francisco,
2007, Speaker
Construction Materials
Association of California, Annual Conference, "Successfully Permitting
Mines on Lands Subject to the Williamson Act: Practical Responses to
the Department of Conservation," 2006, Speaker
Developing
Within Through and Around Wetlands, 2005, Instructor
Legally Defensible
Environmental Review Under CEQA, 2004, Instructor
California
Mining Association, “What's Up With Water?” 2001, Speaker
CHARITABLE
Environmental Law Research Institute, Member Board of Directors
Sacramento Housing Alliance, Former Member Board of Directors
Health Care Law Society, Boalt Hall School of Law, Founder
Legal Aid Association of California, Former Summer Fellow
California State Bar Public Service Scholarship, Past Recipient
Berkeley Community Media, Former Member Board of Directors
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