2025 California Water Law Symposium I February 15 at University of California, Berkeley School of Law I Water and Innovation
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CALIFORNIA'S BAY DELTA:
​
​UNDERSTANDING WHAT'S AT STAKE FOR THE REGION'S FUTURE
​

University of San Francisco School of Law | Saturday, January 21, 2017 (All day)

The California Bay-Delta—made up of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Rivers Delta and San Francisco Bay—has, for the past 150 years, been inundated with man-made alterations causing a steep decline in the region’s health. To date, certain species' populations have dropped to the lowest numbers on record and natural flows have been diverted, leading to a decline in water quality and availability to communities and farms across California. 

Local, state, and federal policymakers have been struggling to address the Delta’s woes for decades. This year’s California Water
​Law Symposium will focus on the current state of the region, the litigation and initiatives presently underway, and proposals for the Delta's future.

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Agenda


7:30 am – 9:00 am
​Registration and Continental Breakfast

8:15 am – 9:00 am ​
Introductory Lecture:
Overview of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta: Governance, Ecosystem, and Water Supply

David Sandino- Senior Staff Counsel at the California Department of Water Resources 

9:00 am – 9:15 am
​
Introductory Remarks

9:15 am – 10:30 am
The Future of Delta Management UC Davis School of Law

10:30 am - 11:45 am
​Metropolitan's Proposed Purchase of Delta Islands and The Future of Land Use in the Delta

11:45 am – 1:00 pm
​
​Lunch and Keynote
Chuck Bonham, Director of California Department of Fish and Wildlife 

1:00 pm – 2:15 pm
​Delta and the Drought

UC Berkeley School of Law

2:30 pm - 3:45 pm ​
Cal WaterFix Change Petition

University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law

3:45 pm – 5:00 pm ​
Environmental Justice and the California WaterFix: Fishermen, Tribes, and In-Delta Diverters

Golden Gate University School of Law

3:45 pm – 5:00 pm ​
Reception
 



Panel Description

Introductory Lecture:
​Overview of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta: Governance, Ecosystem, and Water Supply

David Sandino
Senior Staff Counsel at the California Department of Water Resources

The Future of Delta Management

UC Davis School of Law
The 2009 Delta Reform Act requires the state to manage the Delta for the coequal goals of providing a reliable water supply for California, and improving the health of the Delta ecosystem while maintaining it as a cultural, recreational, natural and agricultural resource. In May 2003, the Delta Stewardship Council adopted the Bay Delta Conservation Plan pursuant to the Delta Reform Act of 2009, but the Plan was promptly challenged by a slew of public and private stakeholders’ claiming that it failed to adequately meet the Act’s coequal goals.

Last year, the California Superior Court agreed, holding that the 2003 Delta Plan lacked measurable targets and failed to promote water conveyance and storage systems as required by the Act. While the Delta Plan has drastically changed since the litigation began, the panel will explore the ramifications of this decision moving forward and the measures that can be taken to ensure that the current and future Bay Delta Conservation Plans achieve the Delta Reform Act’s coequal goals.

Moderator

Jay Lund (moderator)
​Professor, UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences

Panelists

Ellen Hannak
Director of the Public Policy Institute Water Policy Center
Phil Isenberg
Former Chair of Delta Stewardship Council 
Erik Vink
Executive Director at Delta Protection Commission 
MCLE Material
  • Delta and Statewide Planning Processes
  • PPIC Delta Brief
  • Coequal Goals
  • Media Coverage - Grand Compromise
  • PPIC Water Management Challenges
  • Delta Plan
  • Vision 2030

Metropolitan's Proposed Purchase of Delta Islands and The Future of Land Use in the Delta

UC Hastings College of the Law
For decades now, plans to purchase select Delta islands to help meet Southern California's increasing water demands have been met with staunch resistance from communities in the Delta. With the Metropolitan Water District's recent purchase of five agricultural Delta islands, Met has breathed new life into this plan and has become the latest player in the Delta's long and litigious history. The panel will discuss the wide-ranging consequences of Met's endeavor, including: impacts to the Delta's environment, implications for the tunnels project, and how the purchase could affect the availability of water supplies for Delta communities.
The panel will also explore the broader question raised by the Met case--how should land in the Delta be managed to balance competing human and ecological uses? The panel will review the latest research on restored and naturalized landscapes and consider a science-based adaptive management and ecosystem reconciliation approach. 

Moderator

David Owen 
Professor, UC Hastings College of the Law 

Panelists

Antonio Rossmann
Rossmann and Moore, LLP 
Randall Neudeck
Project Director, Metropolitan Water District 
Brett Milligan
Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture and Sustainable Environmental Design, UC Davis
Alejo Kraus-Polk
 PhD Geography Candidate, UC Davis 
MCLE Materials
  • Human Use Report (1 of 2)
  • Human Use Report (2 of 2)
  • Executive Summary
  • Presentation 1
  • Presentation 2
  • Article
  • Delta Package Comment
  • Owens River Restoration
  • ​Public Trust

Delta and the Drought

UC Berkeley School of Law
​
The Delta and Drought panel will focus on the recent (and ongoing) drought's effects in the Delta on water supply availability and implications for drought response in the future. The panel will discuss the impact of the current drought on the Delta’s environment, resources, and water apportionment schemes. The panel will also examine the statewide response to drought in the Delta, and will look to potential ways to improve drought planning for affected stakeholders. The panel will delve into the implications of the public trust doctrine for Delta water conservation and rights, and it will feature a discussion on data collection and monitoring in Delta waterways.

Moderator

Holly Doremus 
Professor, UC Berkeley School of Law 

Panelists

Tina Cannon Leahy
State Water Resources Control Board 
Samantha Olsen
Senior Staff Counsel, State Water Resources Control Board
Richard Roos Collins
Principal, Water and Power Law Group, PC​
Jennifer Spaletta
Owner, Spaletta Law, PC
MCLE Materials
  • Delta and the Drought

Cal WaterFix Change Petition 

University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law
​
To implement Cal WaterFix, the Bureau of Reclamation and Department of Water Resources must obtain the State Water Board’s approval of petitions to change certain elements of the Central Valley Project (CVP) and State Water Project (SWP) water right permits and licenses, including most notably adding new points of diversion. The WaterFix hearing process is predicted to be the largest and most complex in State Water Board history, involving hundreds of water users, environmental interests, disadvantaged communities, and others.
The panel will describe the current operation of the CVP and SWP, and how those operations would change under the Cal WaterFix diversion change, explain the legal framework for the change petition analysis, present the arguments of key parties, and, finally, assess the potential conclusions the State Water Board could reach.

Moderator

Stuart Somach 
Somach Simmons & Dunn

Panelists

James Mizell
California Department of Water Resources  
Doug Obegi
Senior Attorney, Natural Resources Defense Counsel 
Stefanie Morris
General Counsel, State Water Contractors 
Kevin O'Brien
Downey Brand, LLP 
MCLE Materials
  •  Waterfix
  • NDRC Cal Waterfix
  • DWR Cal Waterfix
  • Downey Brand Cal Waterfix
  • OSHA Meserve Cal Waterfix
  • OSHA Meserve Map 1
  • ​OSHA Meserve Map 2
​

Environmental Justice and the California WaterFix: Fishermen, Tribes, and In-Delta Diverters

Golden Gate University School of Law​
In response to an aging infrastructure, the California WaterFix aims to preserve the freshwater supply to California citizens and reduce harm to endangered species.  It also seeks to prevent impending job loss, and  increased prices of food and water. But how does this costly plan affect the local communities it intends to serve? Does the WaterFix guarantee additional flows into the Delta, or will it in fact increase diversions resulting in warmer in-stream water temperatures and increased salinity? How will these risks affect existing in-Delta diverters and local commercial fishermen? Additionally, with the Trinity and Lower Klamath Rivers being drained into the Sacramento River, how will the WaterFix affect tribal interests in preserving local salmon populations? With a view to environmental justice, are there perhaps better options available to California while still achieving the goals of the WaterFix?

Moderator

Paul Kibel (moderator)
Professor, Golden Gate University School of Law ​

Panelists

Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla
Executive Director and co-founder, Restore the Delta 
Colin Bailey
Executive Director, Environmental Justice Coalition for Water
Don Hankins
California Indian Water Commission
Mike Hudson
Hudson Fish Company 
MCLE Materials
  •  Waterfix
  • NDRC Cal Waterfix
  • DWR Cal Waterfix
  • Downey Brand Cal Waterfix
  • OSHA Meserve Cal Waterfix
  • OSHA Meserve Map 1
  • ​OSHA Meserve Map 2
​

Symposium Organization

Symposium Chair

  • Heather Rogers
  • Julie Kantor

Panel Chairs

UC Davis School of Law
  • Mack Carlson
  • Chris Moskal
  • Ellen Simmons
Golden Gate University School of Law
  • Shireen Seif
  • Khaleelah Ahmad
UC Berkeley School of Law
  • Jacob Finkle
  • Emma Hamilton
  • Mitchell Duncombe
UC Hasting College of the Law
  • Claire Wilkens
  • Kaitlin Toyama

​
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Thank You to Our Sponsors

Host Sponsor
  • University of San Francisco
Participant Schools
  • UC Berkeley School of Law
    ​Golden Gate University
  • University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law
  • UC Davis School of Law
  • UC Hasting College of Law
Advertising Sponsor
  • Maven's Notebook
  • The Bar Association of San Francisco
  • McCarthy Center For Public Service and the
    ​Common Good
  • University of San Francisco
Keynote Sponsors
  • ​Briscoe Ivester & Bazel LLP
Symposium Sponsors
  • Stoel Rives LLP
  • Water and Power Law Group PC
Panel Sponsors
  • Hanson Bridgett
  • Schneider & Harris LLP
  • RMM
  • Somach Simmons & Dunn
  • Downey Brand LLP Ellison
  • Kronick Moskovitz Tiedemann & Girard
Contributing Sponsors
  • University of San Francisco Master of Science
    ​in Environmental Management
  • Rossmann and Moore
  • Cline Family Cellars
  • Fort Point Beer Co.
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  • Home
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