Michele Staples

Education:

• University of San Diego School of Law, J.D., 1989

Community:

• Meals-on-Wheels, San Diego County

Recognition:

• AV Preeminent Peer Review Rating, Martindale Hubbell
• Recipient, National Water Supply Improvement Association’s Best Paper Award for Most Outstanding Preparation and Presentation of a Technical Paper

Classes & Seminars:

• Adjunct Professor, Water Law, Chapman University School of Law, 2006-2012
• Panelist, “SGMA Updates:  SGMA and Proposition 218, the East Kaweah GSA Litigation and Examples of Other SGMA GSP Legal Challenges”, 35th Annual California Water Law & Policy Conference, April 19 & 21, 2021
• Speaker, “Borrego Valley SGMA Alternative, An Example of Negotiated Resolution Under SGMA”, Groundwater Resources Association of California Third Annual Virtual Western Groundwater Congress, September 14-17, 2020
• Speaker, “Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, Effectiveness Beyond Compliance:  Strategies for Negotiated Resolution Under SGMA”, California Irrigation Institute 2020 Annual Conference, Sacramento, CA, January 27-28, 2020
• Panelist, “Seeking Resolution in Critically Overdrafted Basins”,  Argent Communications Water Law & Policy Conference, San Francisco, CA, June 20-21, 2019
• Panelist, “Affordable Housing/Affordability of Housing”, Argent Communications California Land Use Law & Policy Conference, Los Angeles, CA, March 18, 2019
• Panelist, “Implementing the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act:  How Can Private Pumpers Be Involved in the SGMA Process?”,  Argent Communications Water Law & Policy Conference, San Francisco, CA, June 11-12, 2018
• Speaker, National Business Institute Conferences on Water Rights in California, “Ethics and Water Law”, Pasadena and Ventura, January 11-12, 2016
• Co-Chair, “Finding ‘New’ Water Conference”, Law Seminars International, Anaheim, CA, October 5-6, 2015
• Speaker, Half Moon Education Seminar on California Water Laws and Regulations, “State and Regional Water Management and Planning” and “Ethical Issues in the Regulation, Supply and Use of Water”, August 4, 2015
• Speaker, “Reusing Wastewater”, webinar presented by American Bar Association, Section of Environment, Energy and Resources and Center for Professional Development, February 25, 2015
• Panelist, “Groundwater Reliance and Regulation: Public and Private Restrictions on Exercising Groundwater Rights,” Argent Communications Water Law & Policy Conference, San Francisco, CA, June 19-20, 2014
• Panelist, “Expanded Notice Requirements for Water Use and SWRCB Enforcement,” San Francisco, CA, April 22-23, 2013
• Instructor, Watershed Certificate Program, Chapman University, July 2009
• Speaker, “Agriculture – A Critical Part of the Water Equation,” Riverside County Water Symposium, May 28, 2009
• Moderator, Economic Development Panel, Riverside County Water Symposium, April 7, 2008
• Speaker, “How to Show the Well’s Not Dry: The Relationship Between Water Supply and Land Use Planning,” RBF Consulting, Irvine, CA, March 10, 2008
• Panelist, “Stormwater Discharge Regulation: The Regulatory Scheme, Players, Tools and Stepped-Up Enforcement Efforts,” Argent Communications Water Law & Policy Conference, San Francisco, CA, June 12, 2006 – June 13, 2006
• Speaker, “Singing in the Rain – Coping with Storm Water Regulation”, Greater Inland Empire Municipal Law Association, May 11, 2006
• Panelist, “Insights into the Day-to-Day Practicalities of Controlling Urban Runoff and Coping with Regulation,” Chapman Law Review Symposium, January 27, 2006
• Program Co-Chair, Conference on California Water Law & Policy, San Diego, 2005
• Panelist, “Proving Sufficient Water Supplies for Development: The Role of Urban Water Management Plans,” California Water Law & Policy SuperConference, San Francisco, CA, April 11, 2005 – April 12, 2005
• Speaker, Urban Water Institute Conference, Riverside, 2005
• Panelist, “Private Water Companies as an Alternative to Public Water Suppliers,” Conference on California Water Law & Policy, San Diego, October 28, 2004 – October 29, 2004
• Panel Moderator, Riverside County Water Symposium, June 23, 2004
• Panelist, “Regulation And Use Of Groundwater As Supply For Development Projects,” Conference on California Water Law & Policy, San Francisco, April 1, 2004 – April 2, 2004
• Panelist, “Efficiency, Reasonable and Beneficial Use and Waste Discharge Waiver Developments,” Conference on California Water Law & Policy, San Francisco, CA, April 10, 2003 – April 11, 2003
• Speaker, “Odd Man Out: California’s Increasing Reliance on Agricultural Water Supplies for Municipal and Environmental Uses, Wet Growth: Should Water Law Control Land Use?,” Chapman University School of Law, Orange, CA, February 7, 2003
• Panelist, “Urban Development vs. Agricultural Uses: Can Both Needs be Met?,” Conference on California Water Law & Policy, Irvine, October 17, 2002
• Panelist, “Endangered Species Versus Endangered Water Supplies,” Conference on California Water Law & Policy, San Francisco, April 5, 2001 – April 6, 2001
• Speaker, County Water District Caucus MiniConference: “Reducing and Repealing Water Rates by Initiative,” Association of California Water Agencies, October 3, 1998
• Panelist, “Legal Classification of Groundwater in the SWRCB’s Water Right Permitting Authority,” Conference on California Water Law & Policy, San Francisco, April 3, 1998
• Panelist, “Do Habitat Conservation Plans Work? The Case Study of Stephens Kangaroo Rat,” University of California, Riverside, 1997
• Speaker, “Introduction to the Federal Endangered Species Act, Basic Legal Structure, Elements, and Practical Information on theEndangered Species Act,” Western Council of Arid States (WESTCAS) Annual Meeting, Endangered Species Act Workshop,
• San Diego, July 16, 1997
• Panelist, “ESA and Private Property Rights,” Conference on California Water Law & Policy on Endangered Species Act Compliance, San Francisco, December 11, 1997
• Panelist, “The Feasibility of North-to-South Water Transfers/Banking: Dealing with Adverse Effects of Water Transfers on Local Water Users,” Conference on California Water Law & Policy, Los Angeles, April 10, 1997 – April 11, 1997
• Panelist, “Using Groundwater Transfers to Shore Up Water Supplies,” Conference on California Water Law & Policy, San Francisco, March 28, 1996 – March 29, 1996
• Panelist, “AB 3030 Developments and Transferring Groundwater Rights,” Conference on California Water Law & Policy, San Francisco, July 27, 1995 – July 28, 1995
• Panelist, “Impact of ESA and Wetlands Regulation: The Takings Questions of the 90s, Conference on California Water Law & Policy on Regulatory Takings,” San Francisco, February 3, 1995
• Panelist, “Endangered Species”, West-Northwest Symposium on Environmental Law, San Francisco, February 4, 1995
• Panelist, “AB 3030 from the Landowner’s Perspective: The Water Rights Dilemma,” Conference on California Water Law & Policy, San Diego, October 28, 1994
• Panelist, “Desalting and Water Reuse: Reclaimed Wastewater Ownership Disputes,” Conference on California Water Law & Policy, San Francisco, April 14, 1994 – April 15, 1994

Published Cases & Works: 

• Environmental Justice in General Plans:  Strategic Considerations for Planning and Land Use Professionals, California Land Use Law & Policy Reporter, January 2021
• Attainable Housing and the Missing Middle – The Struggle to Achieve the American Dream of Homeownership is Real (Co-Author), California Land Use Law & Policy Reporter, January 2019
• New Groundwater Laws Impact Agricultural Wells and Land Uses, Riverside County Farm Bureau Ag Alert, October, 2014
• California Transforms Groundwater Management Law and Policy — Five Key Changes and Opportunities to Shape Their Implementation, California Water Law and Policy Reporter, October, 2014
• JDTP Alert: New Groundwater Laws Impact Land Use and Development, September 29, 2014
• California’s ‘New Human Right to Water’ Legislation Advances the Sustainability Revolution, but at Whose Expense? (Co-Author), California Water Law and Policy Reporter, November, 2012
• How Developers Can Avoid Pitfalls In Today’s Regulatory and Market Environment (Co-Author),
• Smart Business Magazine, December 2011
• Congressional Field Hearing Highlights Challenges and Opportunities in Managing California’s Water Supplies, 20 Cal. Water L. & Policy Rptr. 163, March, 2010
• Odd Man Out: California’s Increasing Reliance on Agricultural Water Supplies for Municipal and Environmental Uses, Wet Growth: Should Water Law Control Land Use? (Co-Author), Environmental Law Institute, Washington DC, 2005
• Recent Court Decisions and Publications Provide Guidance in Piecing Together Water Supply Analyses for Development Projects (Co-Author), 15 Cal. Water Law & Policy Rptr. 3, October, 2004
• Riverside County Conservation Plan is Largest Multiple-Species Prototype (Co-Author), Los Angeles Daily Journal, Focus Section, July 14, 2003
• The New Age Land Grab: Habitat Protection as the Politically Correct (and Cheap) Taking of Private Property (Co-Author), California Water Law and Policy Reporter, August, 1994
• Safe Drinking Water Act Reauthorization: In the Eye of the Storm (Co-Author),
• ABA Natural Resources & Environment Magazine, Summer, 1994
• CEQA Mitigation Measures: Can They Be Relied on By Themselves-as Protection from Adverse Impacts? (Co-Author), California Environmental Law & Regulation Reporter, October, 1993
• Water, Water Everywhere But…Species Protection Regulations as Water Rights Takings After Nollan and Lucas (Co-Author), California Water Law and Policy Reporter, November, 1992
• How to Promote Water Reclamation and Reuse through the California Water Rights System, National Water Supply Improvement Association, 1992 Biennial Conference on Water Desalting and Reuse, 88 Desalination 189, 1992 (Awarded National Water Supply Improvement Association’s Best Paper for Most Outstanding Preparation and Presentation of a Technical Paper)