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Overview
Jeremy Jungreis is an accomplished water and environmental attorney with extensive experience guiding public and private clients through complex matters. Jeremy’s practice includes environmental compliance and litigation, land use/natural resource strategies, water rights—permitting and protection—water supply and water right development, public agency law, utility law, strategic planning/coalition building, and governmental relations. He has advised public and private clients on compliance with all of the major federal and California specific environmental and land use statutes with particular emphasis on water supply, water quality, air quality and sustainable groundwater management.
Jeremy currently serves as General Counsel for the Orange County Water District, Serrano Water District, Yuima Municipal Water District and Sewer Authority Mid-Coastside on the public agency side, and as General Counsel for T-Y Nurseries and KP Environmental in the private water/wastewater and environmental services space. He previously served as General Counsel for the Pauma Valley Community Services District and the Rancho Pauma Mutual Water Company where he led successful groundwater litigation over a water rights judgment that culminated in a reported appellate water rights decision, and where he remains one of the principal negotiators of a groundwater sustainability framework in the contentious San Luis Rey Groundwater Basin. He regularly provides special counsel services pertaining to water resource management, water and wastewater litigation, air quality, stormwater compliance, water quality regulation, water/recycled water supply development and regulation, and federal procurement advice to public and private clients throughout California.
His special counsel/regulatory affairs clients for environmental and water resource matters include the Cities of San Diego, Irvine, Laguna Beach, Dana Point, Laguna Woods, Menifee and Claremont, and his water district clients for special counsel services include the Casitas Municipal Water District, Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District, Olivenhain Municipal Water District, and the Santa Clara Valley Water District. Jeremy is an expert in the development and protection of local water supplies with particular expertise in groundwater projects/governance, water quality, recycled water and federal reserved water rights.
He is also an experienced litigator, with lead litigation and expert witness experience in complex water rights, infrastructure, and water quality disputes throughout California including:
Ventura River Adjudication, Santa Barbara Channelkeeper v. State Water Resources Control Board, et al., Case No. 19STCP01176 (2021 to Present) (lead litigation counsel for Casitas Municipal Water District in basin-wide adjudication of Ventura River Watershed)
Las Posas Adjudication, Las Posas Valley Water Rights Coalition v. Fox Canyon Groundwater Management Agency, Case No. VENCI00509700 (2021 to Present) (expert witness on the legal and water rights of mutual water companies and their shareholders in adjudication of Las Posas Groundwater Basin)
Irvine Ranch Water District v. Orange County Water District, Case No. BS168278 (2018-Present) (lead litigation counsel for Orange County Water District in complex multiphase litigation over groundwater assessments and water rights)
Carlsbad Alkaline Water LLC, et al. v. Davidson, Case No. 37-2020-00038604 CU-BC-NC (2020 to Present) (lead litigation counsel in dispute between water bottling company and adjacent property owner regarding access to and ownership of three groundwater wells)
South Orange County Wastewater Authority et. al v. Moulton Niguel Water District, Case No. RIC 1721240 (2017-2019) (Co-lead trial counsel in trial resulting in full payment of disputed amounts and 2.7 million dollars in attorneys’ fees for wastewater agency clients in dispute over funding of wastewater infrastructure)
Kinney v. Three Arch Bay Community Service District, Case No. 8:17-cv-01693-RGK-JC (2018 C. D. CA) (obtaining dismissal with prejudice of Clean Water Act lawsuit)
Rancho Pauma Mutual Water Company v. Yuima Municipal Water District, (2015) 239 Cal. App. 4th 109 (successfully enforced terms of 1953 water rights judgment on behalf of mutual water company)
U.S. v. Eastern Municipal Water District, Case No. CV 04-8182 CBM (RNBx 2008) (successful prosecution of case through discovery and successful summary judgment defense)
Prior to joining Rutan, Jeremy directed the Department of Defense’s (DoD) most complex water system at Camp Pendleton, California, with responsibility for conjunctively managing ground and surface water from four different watersheds and implementing complex recycled water and conservation programs. During this time, he also negotiated a physical solution and water rights settlement to one of California’s most long standing pieces of water litigation in the case of U.S. v. Fallbrook.
Prior to entering private practice, Jeremy served for three years as Regional Environmental Counsel for Marine Corps installations in the Western United States and for four years as Regional Environmental Counsel for Marine Corps installations in the Eastern United States. He has also served as a Special Attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) from 2005-2007, for which he received the Richard W. Eddy Award for excellence in environmental litigation. Jeremy retired in 2018 from the United States Marine Corps Reserve as a Lieutenant Colonel. Given his many years advising military commanders and other federal land managers throughout the Southwestern U.S., he is intimately familiar with legal issues on federal lands in California, particularly in the areas of water, utilities, federal contracting, federal reserved water rights, and natural resource management.
Jeremy is the past Chairman of the City of Oceanside’s Utilities Commission, and from 2009 to 2012 served on the Board of Directors of the San Diego County Water Authority. He is also a past Chair of the Orange County Bar Association Environmental Law Section, and he currently serves as Chair of the Clean Water Sub-Committee of the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) and on ACWA’s Legal Affairs Committee. Additionally, he is a frequent lecturer on environmental and water law topics throughout the U.S. and abroad.
News & Insights
Publications
- Co-Author, ‘Dark Waters’ Come to Orange County, ORANGE COUNTY LAWYER, May 2020
- SB 231: Stormwater fees and property taxes, LOS ANGELES DAILY JOURNAL, January 10, 2018
- Co-Author, “Federal Facilities,” Chapter 14, CLEAN WATER ACT HANDBOOK (Mark A. Ryan Ed., 4th edition 2018)
- Co-Author, “Finding ‘New Water’ in California,” THE WATER REPORT, February 2016
- Co-Author, Will Emergency Water Rules Remain?, LOS ANGELES DAILY JOURNAL, September 18, 2015
- Awash in Controversy: The Developing Saga of the EPA Water Transfers Rule, ABA TRENDS MAGAZINE, Sept. 2008 at 6
- Troubled Waters: The EPA Water Transfers Rule, LOS ANGELES DAILY JOURNAL, July 22, 2008
- Designation of Impaired Waters Under CWA Takes on New Significance – No Permits for New Discharges Until Attainment Shown, THE NATURAL LAWYER, Jan. 2008 at 4
- Impaired Waters & Permitting: Implications of the Pinto Creek Decision, THE WATER REPORT, Dec. 2007 at 17
- Nutrient Numeric Endpoint Development—On a More Prudent Path? A Brief Reply to the Response of Dr. Jonathan Butcher and Ms. Cynthia Gorham-Test, THE WATER REPORT, Nov. 2007 at 27 (co-authored with Dr. Scott Thomas)
- Nutrient Numeric Endpoints: Not Quite Ready for Prime Time? THE WATER REPORT, Aug. 2007 at 12 (co-authored with Dr. Scott Thomas)
- ‘Permit’ Me Another Drink: A Proposal for Safeguarding the Water Rights of Federal Lands in the Regulated Riparian East, 29 HARV. ENVTL. L. REV. 369 (2005)
- A Formal Affair: Land Use Decision Making, and Obstacles Thereto, in the Post Snyder Era, FLA. B.J. Dec. 1996, at 52
- Drawing Lines in the Shifting Sands of Cape Canaveral: Why Common Beach Erosion Should Not Yield a Compensable Taking Under the Fifth Amendment, 11 J. LAND USE & ENVTL. L. 375 (1996)
- Holding the Line at VMI and the Citadel: The Preservation of a State’s Right to Offer a Single-Gender Military Education, 23 FLA. ST. U. L. REV. 795 (1996)
Speeches and Presentations
- Moderator, “Proactive Water Quality and Watershed Management—Case Studies and Success Stories,” ACWA 2022 Spring Conference & Exhibition, May 5, 2022
- Speaker, “Making the Most of the Upcoming ‘Once-in-a-Generation’ Infrastructure Funding,” P3 Water Summit, April 22, 2021
- Speaker, “Navigating the Legal Landscape for PFAS in 2021,” AWWA Virtual Conference, February 11, 2021
- Speaker, “Think Before You Delete: Electronic Records Under The California Public Records Act,” California Lawyers’ Association 2020 Virtual Open Meetings and Open Records Conference, May 12, 2020
- Speaker, “Stakeholder Outreach Processes for GSP Development: Applying Theory to Practice,” Law Seminars International, Sustainable Groundwater Planning in California, February 6, 2018
- Speaker, “Go Big or Go Home, Developing Recycled Water Projects in California,” ACWA 2017 Fall Conference & Exhibition, November 29, 2017
- Speaker, “Development of GSAs and GSPs: Effective Participation in SGMA and Groundwater Management,” SGMA, GSA Setup & GSP Conference, January 8, 2017
- Speaker, “Development of GSAs and GSPs: Effective Tribal Participation in SGMA and Groundwater Management,” Tribal Water Law in California Conference, October 28, 2016
- Moderator, “Air Quality Regulation in Orange County: What Does the Future Hold?” Orange County Bar Association Environment Law Section, October 19, 2016
- Speaker, “Perspectives on Water Rights in Orange County,” Orange County Bar Association, Environmental Law Section. June 2016
- Speaker, “Hitting a Few Bumps Along the Way: Establishing Groundwater Sustainability Agencies and Developing Groundwater Sustainability Plans,” Sustainable Groundwater in California Conference, Sacramento, CA, June 2016
- Speaker, “Water Rights & Water Supply Development in Captured Stormwater,” ACWA Spring Conference, Monterey, CA, May 2016
- Moderator, “Where Once There Was ‘Waste’, Now There Is Water,” Multi State Salinity Coalition Annual Summit, Las Vegas, Nevada, January 2016
- Speaker, “Managing the ‘New’ Recycled Water—Opportunities Abound,” Industrial Environmental Association Conference, San Diego, CA October 2015
- Speaker, “’Taking the Leap,’ ‘Establishing Groundwater Sustainability Agencies in California’”, Groundwater Regulation in California Conference Los Angeles, CA, October, 2015
- Speaker, “Silver Lining on the Dark Clouds of MS4 Compliance? Water Rights & Water Supply Development in Captured Stormwater,” CASQA Conference, Monterey CA, October 2015
- Conference Co-Chair, Moderator and Speaker, “Finding ‘New’ Water: Evaluating “New” Water Options for Overcoming Drought and Diversifying Water Portfolios,” Law Seminars International Conference, Anaheim, CA, October 5-6, 2015
- Speaker, “New Frontiers in California Groundwater Management: Legal Issues in Implementation of the SGMA,” American Ground Water Trust Drought and Water Law Conference, San Francisco, May 2015
- Moderator, “Steelhead Recovery in Southern California: Noble Pursuit or Mission Impossible?” Association of California Water Agencies Fall Conference, San Diego, December 3, 2014
- Moderator, “Getting Serious About Drought: New Groundwater and Drought Rules Come to the Golden State,” presented to Orange County Bar Association, November 6, 2014
- Speaker, “Sustainable Groundwater Management and Mutual Water Companies: Walking the Tightrope Without A Safety Net,” California Association of Mutual Water Companies Quarterly Meeting, October 24, 2014
- Speaker, “The Cadiz Project Redux–a Fine Work of American Fiction: Defining What Is (and Isn’t) Sustainable Groundwater Management in California,” 2013 Colorado River Law Conference, Los Angeles, CA, January 24, 2013
- Speaker, “The Commercial, Industrial & Institutional (CII) Water Use Task Force: What You Can Expect to See,” 9th Annual Water Conservation Showcase, San Francisco, CA, March 20, 2012
- Speaker, “LID Stormwater Capture: A Developing Case Study in the Law of Unintended Consequences,” Water Environment Foundation (WEF) 2010 Water Quality and Regulatory Conference, Ontario, CA, November 4, 2010
- Moderator, “Filthy Water Cannot Be Washed: Emerging Constituents and Their Effect on Water Quality and Supply,” 2010 ABA Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources Law Summit, New Orleans, LA, September 30, 2010
- Speaker, “Emerging and New Balances in Tribal and Federal Water Rights,” ABA 27th Annual Water Law Conference, San Diego, CA, Feb. 19, 2009
- Speaker, “Law and Policy Panel: Challenges to Water Recycling in an Era of Drought and Climate Change,” ACWA 2008 Fall Conference, Long Beach, CA, Dec. 4, 2008
Awards & Affiliations
Awards & Honors
- Best Lawyers in America (Environmental Law, Municipal Law, Utilities Law and Water Law), 2020-2023
Memberships & Associations
- Chairman, Oceanside Utilities Commission (2012-2018)
- Chair, Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) Clean Water Subcommittee (2017-Present)
- Member, ACWA Legal Affairs Committee (2016-2022)
- Member, California Association of Sanitation Agencies Legal Affairs Committee (2019-Present)
