Paul Singarella is a partner in the Orange County office of Latham & Watkins where he is the local chair of the Environment, Land and Resources Department. Mr. Singarella is also co-chair of the Department's strategic committee. He has practiced in the environmental field for 18 years, representing clients in numerous federal and state court litigations, administrative enforcement proceedings, administrative rulemakings and rulemaking appeals, project entitlements, environmental reviews and business transactions (including numerous Brownfields and water supply deals). He has parlayed his considerable science background into a cross-cutting, multi-disciplinary legal practice, the hallmark of which is complex, high-profile matters where technical issues such as natural resources, water and contamination are inextricably bound to administrative agency action and litigation outcomes. Mr. Singarella was named among the "Top 100 Lawyers in California" for 2009 by the Daily Journal, which cited his work on "approvals to build what will be the largest seawater desalination facility in the Western Hemisphere," and is listed in the 2010 Best Lawyers in America survey in the water law category.
Mr. Singarella's project experience includes power plants and transmission lines in the Western United States, as well as the Northeast; desalination, reclamation and desalter projects in Southern California; dredging in Newport Bay including mitigation for sensitive resources such as sea grass; the Irvine Ranch Water District's Natural Treatment System; numerous village EIRs on the Irvine Ranch; the Playa Vista development in West Los Angeles including the Freshwater Wetland System; the proposed new championship golf course at, and other expansion of, Pebble Beach; the Universal Studios expansion and various industrial sites such as refineries, pesticide plants and recycling facilities (e.g., used oil, scrap metal and electrical equipment). He has helped secure and defend permits for various facilities, including new development, industrial and retail facilities, Brownfield projects, racetracks and fairgrounds, etc. His practice before the California Water Boards, the Department of Toxic Substances Control, the California Coastal Commission, US EPA and US Army Corps is widely recognized, and consists of a wide array of clients including utilities, developers, industry, oil and gas, agriculture, silviculture and municipal.
Mr. Singarella has worked on numerous watershed-scale matters involving important natural resources throughout California, and also Louisiana (Calcasieau River/Estuary Complex), New Jersey (Passaic River and Newark Bay), Boston Harbor, Tennessee (Ocoee River watershed) and Tampa Bay, under federal (e.g., Superfund, Clean Water Act, CZMA) and state (e.g., Porter-Cologne Act, Coastal Act, Health & Safety Code) authorities. His groundwater quality and water rights practice has included basin adjudications, permitting and related activity before the California State Board and various Superfund-related actions at state and federal Superfund sites (e.g., Montrose NPL site, Pearl Harbor NPL site, the Southland Oil site).
In recent years, Mr. Singarella has represented: The Irvine Company; Southern California Edison; Playa Vista; General Electric; the Carlyle Company; Pebble Beach Company; Poseidon Resources Corp.; Montrose Chemical Corporation; World Oil; Pardee Homes; Pulte Homes; and the cities of Carmel, San Marcos and Fullerton.
Mr. Singarella is a registered Professional Engineer (retired) with six years of experience as a water resources and environmental consultant for power plant cooling water systems (intake and discharges); fish guidance systems and ladders; water supply and reservoir planning; stormwater management; wastewater projects; underground storage tank cleanups and monitoring; and environmental impact reports for transportation authorities. He has been a frequent lecturer and author on various topics including the lead article in the Spring 2008 UC Davis School of Law environmental journal, calling for practical regulation of stormwater and protection of sensitive coastal areas. Recently, he has lectured on climate change and sustainability policies in Germany, India, and the new University of California, Irvine School of Law.