BOARD MEETING DATE: November 5, 2010
AGENDA NO. 15

PROPOSAL:

Appropriate Funds from Designation for Litigation and Enforcement and Authorize Amending/Initiating Contracts with Outside Counsel

SYNOPSIS:

AQMD District Counsel is currently being assisted in several environmental lawsuits by outside law firms and in other matters requiring specialized legal counsel. This action is to appropriate $425,000 from the Designation for Litigation and Enforcement to the Legal Budget, Professional and Special Services account, and to authorize the Chairman or the Executive Officer, as appropriate, to amend or initiate contracts to expend these funds with prequalified counsel approved by the Board as well as specialized legal counsel with monies to be appropriated as the need arises.

COMMITTEE:

Administrative, October 8, 2010, Recommended for Approval

RECOMMENDED ACTIONS:

1. Appropriate $425,000 from the Designation for Litigation and Enforcement to Legal’s FY 2010-11 Budget, Professional and Special Services account.
   
   
2. Authorize the Chairman or the Executive Officer, depending on whether the amount exceeds $75,000, to amend or initiate contracts with prequalified counsel approved by the Board as well as specialized legal counsel in a total amount not to exceed $685,000 in FY 2010-11, as the need arises.
    

Barry R. Wallerstein, D.Env.
Executive Officer

Background

The FY 2010-11 Budget for Legal included $260,000 for litigation expenses in environmental law cases and specialized legal counsel. Several firms, principally Woodruff Spradlin & Smart and Shute Mihaly & Weinberger, have been assisting District Counsel with environmental litigation and special litigation matters. The monies for these matters have been and will be expended on lawsuits, including those involving the Architectural Coatings Rules, the recently adopted rule for consumer paint thinners – Rule 1143, the lawsuit seeking to overturn Rule 433 – Natural Gas Quality, the appeal of the federal lawsuit challenging the District’s internal offset accounts, and Communities for a Better Environment’s request for attorneys’ fees in the challenge to a ConocoPhillips permit. Although District Counsel has put cost-containment measures in place, it is expected that expenses in these matters, and the other matters handled by specialized legal counsel, will require an additional amount up to $425,000. Accordingly, District Counsel is requesting the appropriation of additional funds in the amount of $425,000, for a total expected expenditure of $685,000 this fiscal year.

Proposal

In order to defend ongoing and threatened litigation, it is necessary to appropriate additional funds for expenditure by outside counsel. It is expected that ongoing lawsuits, and new litigation that is possible, as well as matters requiring specialized legal counsel will require an additional $425,000 to be appropriated to prequalified counsel approved by the Board, as well as specialized legal counsel, as the need arises.

Resource Impacts

Sufficient funds will be available in Legal’s FY 2010-11 Budget following the transfer of funds from the Designation for Litigation and Enforcement.