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"SGMA Fees: GSA Implementation, GSP Projects and Prop 218 Pitfalls"
Presented By:
Jena S, Acos
Mack Carlson
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Shreck, LLP
INTRODUCTION:
This presentation will discuss different funding options for implementing Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) requirements. It will cover funding options for the development and implementation of Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSPs), including a Groundwater Sustainability Agency’s (GSA) authority to impose fees, and the purpose and types of fess. It will also cover the intricacies of fee setting and the benefits and disadvantages of different fee structures. Case studies will be presented to illustrate SGMA fees in action. The presentation will be followed by a facilitated discussion and Q&A opportunity.
SPEAKER BIO:
Jena S. Acos
Jena brings her natural resources experience to clients at the junction of water and public law. She works with both public and private sector clients in the water industry and utilizes her public law experience when working with water districts. Her current experience includes representing the City of Carpinteria as the “acting” City Attorney, representing a member of the governing body charged with implementing a stipulated groundwater management plan in the Los Osos Basin, and acting as assistant general counsel to various water-related public agencies throughout California. As a result of these experiences, Jena has significant experience in public meeting settings and has developed an expertise in advising public agency clients on a broad range of California water, environmental, and public law, regulatory compliance, and litigation issues. On a daily basis, Jena is busy drafting ordinances for complex regulatory issues, negotiating with other local and state public agencies and regulatory bodies, and counseling public agencies on legal strategy.
With the recent passage of the SGMA, Jena also has experience helping clients comply with this landmark act including drafting and negotiating joint powers agreements, forming GSAs, assisting with fee adoptions, and drafting and implementing GSPs.
Mack Carlson
With a background in environmental geology and the analytical skills that come with it, Mack Carlson is a member of the firm’s Natural Resources Department. At Brownstein, Mack works with various partners across the natural resources practice area on a variety of topics, including water law, land use, environmental law and public law.
Before attending law school, Mack was a hydrogeologist in California and Utah, where he worked for an international mining company and an investor-owned water utility. While in law school, he was a judicial extern for U.S. District Court Judge Miranda Du in Nevada and a legal extern with the Office of the California Attorney General’s Office in the Land, Environment and Natural Resources Section. He also was a panel co-chair of the California Water Law Symposium, served as president of the Water Association of Law & Policy and participated in the inaugural class of the Aoki Water Justice Clinic.
Moderator BIO:
Mark Hildebrand