Sean G. Herman

Sean G. Herman advises and litigates on behalf of clients in natural resource and land use matters. His clients include public agencies like water agencies, sanitation districts, reclamation districts, cities, and counties, as well as residential and commercial developers, private sector manufacturers, and agricultural companies. Sean’s experience includes environmental laws at the Federal, State, and local levels, with a concentration on water quality, water use, water rights, endangered species, property contamination, and environmental review compliance.

Given this focus, Sean regularly advises clients on permitting and litigation under sections 401, 402, and 404 of the Clean Water Act and requirements under the State-equivalent Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act; implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA); compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the State-equivalent California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA); sections 7 and 10 of the Endangered Species Act and requirements under the State-equivalent California Endangered Species Act; hazardous waste management and site investigation, remediation, and cost recovery allocation under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), and the State-equivalent Hazardous Substance Account Act; and supply chain compliance under Proposition 65.

Sean often speaks and writes on environmental law matters, and sits on the Environmental Law Section’s executive committee for the Bar Association of San Francisco. Sean also is an adjunct professor at Golden Gate University School of Law, where he teaches administrative law and coaches its environmental law moot court team.