Education:
B.A University of California Santa Barbara, 1988
J.D. University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, 1992
Biography:
Karna Harrigfeld's practice is dedicated primarily to water law,
land use, environmental and regulatory actions before governmental
agencies and the courts throughout Northern California. She has
extensive experience in advising and representing major residential
developers and private and public institutions, particularly in
water development issues. This representation involves all aspects
of the governmental approval process. Ms. Harrigfeld has practiced
real estate and natural resource law in San Joaquin and Stanislaus
Counties for nearly 10 years, and provides clients with a pragmatic
legal perspective based upon years in those communities.
Ms.
Harrigfeld is retained to find solutions to complex infrastructure
controversies threatening the successful developing and siting of
proposed public facilities and private projects. For example, Ms.
Harrigfeld was instrumental in negotiating for and creating the
public agency structure to govern the massive Mountain House Community,
the first new town community in Northern California. This effort
resulted in Ms. Harrigfeld drafting legislation authorizing the
Mountain House Community Services District, a unique community services
district having many of the governmental powers traditional exercised
by cities. In addition, Ms. Harrigfeld has led the development team
in resolving water acquisition and waste water infrastructure questions
for the new community.
Ms.
Harrigfeld represents clients before many administrative agencies,
including the Public Utilities Commission, the State Water Resources
Control Board and the Regional Water Quality Control Boards on water
quality matters. She has been extensively involved in working with
the Central Valley Region in establishing a salinity and boron standard
for the San Joaquin River. Ms. Harrigfeld has also obtained Reports
of Waste Discharges for clients, including processing facilities
and agricultural operations, including dairies and hog farms. The
Regional Water Quality Control Board also enforces clean-up requirements
in California, and Ms. Harrigfeld represents clients facing enforcement
action, and negotiates revised waste water discharge programs with
the regulators.
The
Bay-Delta Hearings are a major administrative process before the
State Water Resources Control Board, and Ms. Harrigfeld has used
her expertise in water law to represent the interests of numerous
clients before the board in these hearings. Ms. Harrigfeld works
with private and public sector client to obtain water sources for
agricultural and development purposes. Specifically, she prepared
the documentation for the proposed transfer of all lands in the
Widren Water District to a major northern California developer in
order to secure the water rights from that district. Ms. Harrigfeld
was counsel in the first decision of the State Water Resources Control
Board under Water Code Section 1211, which allows the recapture
of reclaimed wastewater previously discharged into natural watercourses.
Ms.
Harrigfeld has developed an expertise in the application of Proposition
218. Adopted by California voters in November 1996, this law made
numerous changes to local government finance law. Ms. Harrigfeld
is on the Board of the Modesto Chamber of Commerce, where she has
chaired the Leadership Modesto Program and is currently serves on
the Leadership Modesto Steering Committee. Ms. Harrigfeld serving
on the Board of Directors for both Habitat for Humanity, Stanislaus
County and United Cerebral Palsy Association of San Joaquin, Calaveras
& Amador Counties. She is a member of both the San Joaquin and
Stanislaus County Bar Associations, and the California Bar Association,
where she is active in the Environmental Law Section.
In
an attempt to share her expertise with other lawyers, Ms. Harrigfeld
has written an article in the California Water Law and Policy Reporter
and lectures frequently in San Joaquin County educating attorneys
and business on methods of compliance with environmental laws.
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