Professional Staff Albert I. Herson, Of Counsel   Al Herson is an environmental attorney and planner with over 30 years experience. He is a recognized authority on the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and natural resources law. Mr. Herson serves as the firm's Sacramento presence, and advises public agencies on complex environmental and land use law matters, including water resources and supply, climate change, SB 375, the Endangered Species Act, and the Clean Water Act (including 404 permitting), as well as CEQA and NEPA.   Mr. Herson's extensive experience with several major environmental consulting firms gives him unique insights into the complex legal issues that arise when preparing environmental documents. He has prepared and reviewed hundreds of CEQA and NEPA documents on land use, water resources, energy, infrastructure, public lands, and other projects.   Mr. Herson has also provided CEQA and NEPA advice for some of California's most critical water resources projects, including Kesterson Reservoir cleanup, Central Valley Project water contract renewals, the Lower Colorado River Quantification Settlement Agreement and MSCP, the CALFED program, the Salton Sea restoration plan, Oroville Dam relicensing, SWRCB water rights EIRs, and through-Delta water transfers. He has overseen SB 610 Water Supply Assessments (WSAs) for complex land use projects, and integrated WSAs into environmental impact reports (EIRs).   Mr. Herson has extensive experience in climate change analysis. He has prepared climate change sections of EIRs and environmental impact statements (EISs); developed planning professional association positions on the AB 32 Scoping Plan, SB 375, and the SB 97 CEQA Guidelines on greenhouse gases; and authored lead articles on SB 375 and climate change adaptation for the California Environmental Law Reporter.   Mr. Herson is co-author of California Environmental Law and Policy: A Practical Guide, the CEQA Deskbook (2nd edition), and The NEPA Book, as well as CEQA and wetlands chapters in Matthew Bender's California Environmental Law and Land Use Practice treatise. He has taught numerous courses on NEPA, CEQA, environmental permitting, and climate change, and is co-chair of CLE International's Annual CEQA Update conferences. Mr. Herson has served on the State Bar Environmental Law Section Executive Committee, as President of the California Planning Roundtable, and as President of the American Planning Association California Chapter. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners (FAICP).   Education BA, Psychology, University of Illinois, 1972; summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa MA, Urban Planning, UCLA, 1976 JD, McGeorge School of Law, 1984; Valedictorian, Order of the Coif