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Duane Morris Navigates Legal Channels for the Santa Clara Valley Water District
Tom Berliner has assisted Santa Clara County's primary water resources agency for years
Digital information isn't the only driver of business in the Silicon Valley. The nation's high tech capital depends on the more elemental resources of water and energy as well.
The Santa Clara Valley Water District provides the high-quality water required by the exacting manufacturing needs of some of the most innovative companies in the world. For years, Duane Morris' Energy and Natural Resources Practice Group has represented the Santa Clara Valley Water District and addressed the many challenges of supplying water in California, the state with the most complex water resource management system in the country.
Water Contracts
Duane Morris is assisting the District with the negotiations of long-term water supply contracts with the United States Bureau of Reclamation for the supply of water from the Central Valley Project. Through intensive multiparty negotiations over hundreds of hours, Duane Morris is helping the District reach a contract agreement with the Bureau of Reclamation. In addition, Duane Morris is providing ongoing assistance to the District in developing contracts for the transfer of water supplies from distant locations within the State of California. These water transfers involve the release of water from the wetter northern part of California for transmission through California's river systems and diversion in the southern San Francisco Bay-Delta estuary to the District's storage reservoirs.
Duane Morris also routinely addresses issues related to the District's contract with the State Water Project, which provides 100,000 acre feet of water to the District.
Environmental Concerns
CALFED, the nation's largest water management and ecosystem restoration program, is leading a multibillion dollar effort to improve the Bay-Delta ecosystem and to enhance the reliability of California's water supply. The Santa Clara Valley Water District is a key player in this massive federal and state effort to protect California's Bay-Delta estuary. Duane Morris assists the District in addressing administrative and legislative issues related to the implementation of the CALFED program. Duane Morris works with the District to draft legislation, influence state and federal legislation, work with other water agencies and develop a package of assurances that will provide water users with reasonable expectations for the benefits of improving the Bay-Delta ecosystem.
Litigation
California's history is intertwined with conflict over water and water rights. Duane Morris has represented the Santa Clara Valley Water District in various litigation matters including a recently resolved major action against the Bureau of Reclamation regarding the accounting practices used by the federal government concerning the District's federal water contract. Additionally, Duane Morris represented the District in other litigation concerning the California Environmental Quality Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, as well as litigation challenging the District's priority to water under its federal water contract. Duane Morris is currently working to resolve water rights issues associated with the District's federal water contract.
Energy
California ranks second in the nation in hydropower generation, a clean and renewable energy source. In addition to supplying water to the Santa Clara Valley, the District also operates a FERC-licensed hydropower facility. Duane Morris assists the District with issues stemming from its contract with the Pacific Gas and Electric Company for the sale of hydropower.
Duane Morris is also currently representing the State Water Contractors (SWC), a consortium of public agencies, including the Santa Clara Valley Water District, that have contracts with the state of California for the receipt of water from the State Water Project. The firm is representing the SWC as legal counsel and is the lead negotiator for the District in this hydropower relicensing effort, which involves the largest earth-filled dam in the United States. FERC is expected to issue a new license by January 2007, drawing to a close our seven-year effort that involved addressing all FERC-related requirements, negotiations and assistance with government relations.
With a dedicated Water & Natural Resources practice, and the legal resources of a full-service firm, Duane Morris has enjoyed a long and continuing relationship with the Santa Clara Valley Water District. Duane Morris is proud to provide the behind-the-scenes legal services that allow the Santa Clara Valley Water District to focus on keeping the resources - and innovation - flowing for one of the most dynamic technology centers in the world.