Groundwater Management

Hatch & Parent has extensive experience in helping our public and private sector clients optimize their groundwater rights and manage their groundwater resources. Our experience covers all aspects of groundwater management and litigation, including the crafting of legislatively mandated groundwater management plans, operation within managed and unmanaged groundwater basins, and litigation of groundwater rights, among other things. Additionally, Hatch & Parent also has unique experience with regard to groundwater adjudications. We are involved in every groundwater adjudication that is currently underway in the State, and represent parties in most of California’s eighteen adjudicated basins. We also act as general counsel for a court-appointed watermaster. Our experience in handling groundwater management issues is truly full spectrum.

Because water quality issues are such an important part of successful water management strategies, we also provide a full range of services regarding groundwater and surface water contamination, underground storage tanks, pipelines, and well field contamination from the operational, legal and political prospective. This broad prospective allows our clients to avoid the legal, financial and operational problems often resulting from contamination of a groundwater basin.

Indeed, we are one of the few law firms in California skilled in handling issues of emerging chemical contamination including perchlorate, NDMA, 1-4, Dioxane, and Hexavalent Chromium, Hatch & Parent has negotiated, prosecuted and defended numerous other claims under CERCLA and related environmental laws. Our attorneys assist clients with the acquisition, sale and remediation of contaminated property, involving groundwater contamination, RCRA, the HSAA (state Superfund), the Porter-Cologne Act, the California Hazardous Waste Control Law, and other federal, state and local environmental statutes.