500 Capitol Mall
Suite 1000
Sacramento, CA 95814
Tel: 916.446.7979
Fax: 916.446.8199
sdunn@somachlaw.com
Sandra K. Dunn
Of Counsel

Profile

Ms. Dunn's background includes the Attorney General's Office of the State of Wyoming, the U.S. Senate, the U.S. Department of the Interior, and the U.S. Department of Justice. She entered private practice in 1990. Ms. Dunn practices in the area of water, federal reclamation law, federal and state environmental law, including NEPA, CEQA, and the Endangered Species Act, and all phases of litigation in federal and state courts. She received her J.D. from the University of Wyoming in 1979, and is admitted to the State Bars of Wyoming and California. Ms. Dunn was the Democratic candidate for the Third Congressional District of California in the 1998 election.

Areas of Practice Emphasis

Water law, natural resources law, Administrative Procedure Act (APA), California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), federal reclamation law, Clean Water Act, contract disputes, quiet title, California and federal Endangered Species Acts, litigation in federal and state courts, Marine Mammal Protection Act, Migratory Bird Treaty Act, Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, public agency law.

Prior Positions

Associate Attorney: McDonough, Holland & Allen, Sacramento, CA, 1990-1991; Water & Power Section.

Trial Attorney and Attorney-in-Charge of Sacramento Field Office: Land and Natural Resources Division, U.S. Department of Justice, Sacramento, CA, 1984-1990.

Attorney: U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of the Regional Solicitor, Pacific Southwest Region, Sacramento, CA, 1982-1984.

Legislative Aide: U.S. Senator Malcolm Wallop (Wyoming), Washington, D.C., 1980-1982.

Attorney: Attorney General's Office, Natural Resources Division, State of Wyoming, Cheyenne, WY, 1979-1980.

Education

School of Law, University of Wyoming (J.D., 1979).
University of Wyoming (B.A., 1975).

Bar Admissions

State Bar of California, 1985.
State Bar of Wyoming, 1979.

Publications

  • Dunn, Endangered Species Act Versus Water Resources Development: The California Experience (25 Pacific Law Journal 1107, 1994).

  • Dunn, Cooperative Federalism in the Acquisition of Water Rights: A Federal Practitioner's Point of View (Pacific Law Journal 1323, 1988).

    • Presentations

    • Speaker, California Water Law Conference, San Francisco, CA, State Filings, Water Right Priorities and Area of Origin Laws, El Dorado Irrigation District v. SWRCB and Beyond, April 13, 2007.
    • Speaker, San Diego Golf Course Superintendents, The Day the Tap Ran Dry Seminar, San Diego, California, The ABC's of California Water Rights, May 23, 2005.
    • Speaker, Dividing the Waters: A Dialog for Judges, Masters, and Referees, Seattle, Washington, Water Quality - Introduction to Legal Issues, October 7-9, 2004.
    • Panelist, NCWA Board and Managers' Meeting, Yuba City, California, Term 91, August 18, 2004.
    • Speaker, CLE International, California Water Law & Policy Conference, San Francisco, California, The Napa Proposition and the CVP/SWP OCAP Process - Developments and Implications Update and Water Users Perspective, April 2, 2004.
    • Speaker, Sacramento County Groundwater Forum, Sacramento, California, Governance Mechanisms for Managing Groundwater, Sacramento County Water Agency Act, April 24, 2003.
    • Speaker, American Society of Sports Medicine, Seattle, Washington, Communicating Effectively with Policy Makers, June 2-5, 1999.
    • Speaker, CLE International, California Water Law Conference, San Diego, California, U.S. Supreme Court: Water Quality and Water Rights Are Inseparable. Here's Where the Court Got It Wrong, October 27-28, 1994.

    Reported Cases

    Vineyard Citizens for Responsible Growth v. Rancho Cordova, 40 Cal.4th 412 (2007); El Dorado Irrigation Dist. v. State Water Resources Control Bd., 142 Cal.App.4th 937 (2006); State of Cal. ex rel. State Lands Com. v. Superior Court, 11 Cal.4th 50 (1995); Beck v. United States Dept of Commerce, 982 F.2d 1332 (1992); Didrickson v. United States Dept of Interior, 796 F.Supp. 1281 (1991); In re Water of Hallett Creek Stream System, 44 Cal.3d 448 (1988); United States v. State Water Resources Control Board, 182 Cal.App.3d 82 (1986).