Lawyers

Susan M. Trager has more than thirty years of experience in matters involving water law, public agency law, municipal law, right of way acquisitions, environmental law, and eminent domain law, including valuation of water rights.

Prior to opening her own practice, Ms. Trager founded Nevada Indian Legal Services and served as a Deputy Attorney General for the State of Nevada on right of way and eminent domain matters. She later joined the water law practice of the late Donald D. Stark, where she represented the City of Los Angeles in the Owens Valley and Mono Lakes water disputes and planning for water acquisition and distribution to The Irvine Company.

Ms. Trager’s practice specializes in all aspects of water law and related issues, including land use and development as well as complex disputes involving groundwater contamination.

Representative Matters

Water Rights

• Represented Water Advisory Committee of Orange County in Bay-Delta proceedings before State Water Resources Control Board.
• Represented various municipal and private entities before State Water Resources Control Board, including owners of golf courses, ranchers, special districts and cities.
• Represented a major alfalfa grower in judicial appeal from administrative proceedings before Nevada State Engineer to confirm vested water rights.
• Represented municipal appropriator in proceedings to enjoin uncontrolled overdraft of Elsinore Valley Groundwater Basin.
• Undertook quantification and conservation proceedings to transfer 140 year old water rights of a Plumas County property owner.
• Prosecuted motion on behalf of Cities of Chino, and Norco and San Bernardino County Water Works No. 8 to enforce Chino Basin Watermaster Judgment.
• Represented water users in Upper Los Angeles River Area in proceedings brought by the San Fernando Judgment Watermaster to terminate water use.
• Reviewed all of the water rights acquisitions and conveyances dating back to the 1860s in the Sweetwater River in San Diego County on behalf of the owner of a golf course.
• Identified and analyzed a city’s water resources development opportunities and constraints pursuant to the Judgment entered in the Raymond Basin adjudication.
• Provided special counsel services to an Orange County public agency in its litigation challenging OCWD's annexation moratorium. The case involved the rights and obligations of municipal appropriators to share water with all other producers overlying a carefully managed and replenished groundwater basin.

Water Quality/ Contamination Issues

• Special counsel to the City of Rialto for water issues, assisted City in managing law firms and technical consultants and engaged to resolve perchlorate contamination in the City’s groundwater and analysis of the City’s water rights in relation to remediation options.
• Representation of defendant in massive multi-party complex dispute involving alleged groundwater contamination in Orange County.
• Special counsel to Lincoln Avenue Water Company for water issues, including contamination of its groundwater supply by NASA, CalTech and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Drainage/Flood Issues

• Assisted the developer of a 1000+ dwelling unit mixed-use project impacted by a large regional flood control facility to obtain necessary approvals from the City of Upland and the Regional Water Quality Control Board, Santa Ana Region.
• Advised and represented homeowner association on how to meet requirements of U.S. EPA to remove fill material from Serrano Creek, including permits and agreements with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Orange County Flood Control District, California Department of Fish and Game, U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, Regional Water Quality Control Board, Santa Ana Region
• Advised and represented a rock quarrying operation to meet requirements of U.S. EPA to remove fill material from Lucas Canyon Creek

Mutual Water Companies

• Served as General Counsel to Santa Ana Heights Water Company, a mutual water company, until its acquisition by the Irvine Ranch Water District.
• Conducted water rights investigations of several century - old mutual water companies; frequent water rights analyses and due diligences of mutual water companies on behalf of the companies, shareholder groups, those seeking service, or those seeking to acquire a company.

Public Agency Practice

• Served as General Counsel to San Luis Rey Municipal Water District (San Diego County).
• Served as General Counsel to Bighorn Desert View Water Agency (San Bernardino County).

Groundwater Management

• Ongoing practice before the Watermasters of the Upper Los Angeles River Area, Chino Basin, Main San Gabriel Basin, West Basin, Central Basin, and Orange County Water District, and Mojave Water Agency.
• Represented cities in a post-Judgment Motion to modify and interpret Central Basin Judgment.
• Represented a city in its efforts to intervene in the West Basin Judgment.

Environmental Law

• Defended a $1 billion general obligation bond authorization challenged by citizens' group for failure to prepare EIR prior to landowner bond authorization vote.
• Represented cities, major landowners and a water agency in CEQA proceedings for roadway extensions, jail expansions, sewage processing plants and municipal landfills in state trial and appellate courts.
• Represented 4,000 homeowners in successfully negotiating the relocation of a planned 25 m.g.d. sewage treatment facility.
• Advised Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority on federal and state environmental reporting requirements for the Stringfellow hazardous waste site Superfund cleanup; prepared and presented testimony to overcome Orange County's resistance to the proposed interim cleanup measure.
• Represented the City of Orange in CEQA proceedings to prevent the County from locating a 6,000 inmate jail facility within the City’s sphere of influence, and to postpone expansion of existing County jail facility.

Eminent Domain

• Represented owner of a 3,000 acre ranch in Riverside County condemned by Metropolitan Water District of Southern California for construction of the Diamond Valley Reservoir; jury verdict of $43.2 million; actual settlement in the amount of $50 million.
• Negotiated with MWDOC on the valuation of a 10-mile long right of way for major water transmission pipeline including relocation of citrus groves.
• Represented landowners in numerous valuations of well sites and water rights condemned for freeway or other purposes.
• Represented owner of Bay-Delta land in condemnation for wastewater treatment plant.

Municipal / Administrative Law

• Represented parties in challenges to irregularities in municipal bond proceedings.
• Represented public agencies in challenges of special district changes of organization proceedings before Local Agency Formation Commission.
• Challenged sewer and water moratoria.
• Undertook quo warranto proceedings to test a director's right to continue to hold office.
• Undertook writ proceedings to compel issuance of a will-serve letter from a water district.
• Practiced before Nevada State engineer, California State Water Resources Control Board, California Department of Health Services, California Regional Water Quality Control Boards, special districts, and government agencies including cities, county boards of supervisors, and local agency formation commissions, and before legislative committees.

Constitutional Law and Legislation

• Defended landowner voting procedures of a California Water District against one-person, one-vote challenge.
• Drafted legislation to amend enabling act for a water replenishment agency to curb financial abuses.
• Drafted legislation in connection with environmental reporting requirements; special procedures for the imposition of stand-by fees.
• Drafted Cortese-Knox Act amendments regarding local agency change of organization procedures to compel adoption of a mitigation agreement to protect downstream pumpers in connection with construction and operation of an 800,000 AF reservoir.