Austin C. Cho
Counsel
When facing complex water rights issues, clients look to Austin Cho for his shrewd analysis and creative solutions.
Austin assists public agencies and private clients in a variety of matters, including surface and groundwater rights concerns, environmental permitting, and project development and financing. Austin regularly advises on Proposition 218 compliance, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Utilizing his expertise and resourcefulness, Austin helps clients successfully navigate the regulatory world to achieve their goals.
Professional, Community And Pro Bono Involvement
- Water Education Foundation Water Leaders Fellowship, Class of 2022
- California Special Districts Association, 2021-present
- Sacramento County Bar Association, Environmental Law Section
- California Lawyers Association, Environmental Law Section
- California Water Law & Policy Reporter, Contributing Author
Honors & Rankings
- Best Lawyers in America©, Ones to Watch, Natural Resources Law, 2024-2025
- Order of the Coif
- Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society
- Jun Aoki Book Award, 2015
- Finalist, CEB Annual Award for Excellence in Legal Research and Writing, 2013
- Witkin Award for Academic Excellence in Legal Research and Writing, 2013
- Provides water rights advice and other assistance to public and private entities, including the assessment of claimed groundwater, riparian, appropriative, and pre-1914 water rights.
- Counsels public agencies regarding compliance with transparency requirements of the Brown Act, and conflict of interest considerations under the Political Reform Act and Government Code section 1090.
- Covers board meetings and assists with the preparation and review of ordinances, resolutions, financing vehicles, and election materials in a general counsel capacity for local agency clients.
- Manages evidentiary records in complex administrative and legal proceedings.
- Provides guidance on the complexities of developing common law including the California Public Trust and Area of Origin doctrines.
- Facilitates project approvals with state and federal permitting bodies and ensures compliance with environmental laws including CEQA, NEPA, and the Endangered Species Act.
- Advised on the formation of Groundwater Sustainability Agencies and assists with the development of Groundwater Sustainability Plans and Alternative Plans in compliance with SGMA.
- Drafted and submitted legal briefs to appellate courts and the California Supreme Court.
- Conducted discovery, prepared motions, and assisted with briefing in complex groundwater rights litigation.
- Achieved beneficial outcomes before the SWRCB, including temporary urgency permits to appropriate water outside of the permitted season, a small domestic use registration for a pond with capacity greater than 10 acre-feet, and a workable settlement of an administrative enforcement action.
- Facilitated the necessary covenants and agreements for the construction and operation of flood control facilities in the Delta.
- Prepared testimony, exhibits, and descriptions of the appropriative and riparian water rights of dozens of clients in the California WaterFix change petition hearing before the SWRCB.
- Produced a comprehensive primer on the permitting and licensing standards for the distribution of drinking water from a private spring.
- Counseled a public agency client on strategy relating to an upstream diverter’s petition for assignment of high-priority state-filed applications; drafted request to the State Water Board for Release from priority in favor of client’s license.
Announcements
5 related items-
August 15, 2024Best Lawyers® 2025 Recognizes 44 Downey Brand Lawyers with Four Receiving Prestigious “Lawyer of the Year” Honors
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January 8, 2024Downey Brand Promotes Natural Resources Attorney Austin Cho to Counsel
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August 17, 2023Best Lawyers® 2024 Recognizes 46 Downey Brand Lawyers with Four Receiving Prestigious “Lawyer of the Year” Honors
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February 4, 2022Austin Cho Selected to Water Leaders Class of 2022
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December 9, 2015Downey Brand Welcomes Four New Associates
In the News
1 related items-
October 19, 2018California Leans Heavily on its Groundwater, But Will a Court Decision Tip the Scales Against More Pumping?
Western Water
Speaking Engagements / Events
11 related items-
December 1, 2023SGMA and Groundwater Comprehensive Update: Basin Boundaries, Sustainability Agencies and Plans, and Streamlined AdjudicationsCounty Counsels' Association of California Fall 2023 Land Use Study Section Meeting
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November 2-3, 20232023 Water Law InstituteThe Foundation for Natural Resources and Energy Law
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May 11, 2023Ethics Training (AB 1234)Presenter, ACWA Spring Conference
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May 5, 2022Ethics Training (AB 1234)Speakers, 2022 ACWA Spring Conference & Exhibition
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December 2, 2021AB 1234 Ethics TrainingPresenter, ACWA 2021 Fall Conference
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May 5, 2021Riverflow and Instream Rights: Professor Paul Kibel in Conversation with Professor Karrigan BorkSacramento County Bar Association, Environmental Law Section
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March 8, 2021Ethics of Water Law for PractitionersLorman Education Services Live Webinar
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October 15, 2020Take Me to the River: Evolving Frameworks for Environmental Flows29th Annual 2020 Environmental Law Conference at Yosemite®
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December 5, 2019Conduct and Ethics Training for Water Agency Officials: A Primer on AB 1234Co-presenter, ACWA 2019 Fall Conference
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May 10, 2018Ethics Training: Conduct and Ethics Training for Water Agency Officials: A Primer on AB 1234Co-Presenter, ACWA 2018 Spring Conference & Exhibition
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December 13, 2017AB 1234 Ethics Training for Local Agency Officials
Blogs
2 related items-
September 2, 2020California Supreme Court Throws the Barn Doors Open, Finding That Groundwater Well Permits Aren’t Necessarily Ministerial
CEQA Chronicles -
July 25, 2017DWR Certifies EIR for WaterFix, Triggering 30-Day Deadline for Opponents to File Suit
CEQA Chronicles
Legal Alerts
8 related items-
March 22, 2024Sacramento County Superior Court Rules in Favor of the State Water Board’s Substitute Environmental Document for Phase I of the Bay-Delta Plan
Water Law -
June 9, 2022State Water Board Issues Sweeping Water Right Curtailment Order in 2022 for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Watershed
Water Law -
April 8, 2020Sacramento County Health Officer Extends Stay at Home Order through May 1, 2020; Additional Clarifications for Essential Businesses
Downey Brand COVID-19 News and UpdatesPublic Agency -
February 13, 2019New Law Mandates That Special Districts Maintain Public Websites by January 2020; Limited Exemptions Available
Public Agency -
September 13, 2018AB 2257: New Brown Act Requirements for Meeting Agendas on Local Agency Websites Effective for Meetings Held on and after January 1, 2019
Public Agency -
September 7, 2018Third Appellate District Extends Public Trust Doctrine to Groundwater, Finding That Counties Have a Duty to Administer the Trust in Issuing Ministerial Well Permits
Water Law -
July 24, 2017WaterFix EIR Certification and NOD Client Alert
Water Law -
July 22, 2016SB 272: A New Disclosure Requirement Under the Public Records Act, Effective July 1, 2016
Public Agency
Publications
24 related items-
August/September 2024State Water Board Adopts Water Conservation Regulations for Urban Retail Water Suppliers
California Water Law & Policy Reporter, Volume 34, Number 11 -
August/September 2024U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Proposes to List Long Valley Speckled Dace as an Endangered Species
California Water Law & Policy Reporter, Volume 34, Number 11 -
July 2024Yuba Water Agency Seeks Extension for the Lower Yuba River Accord Water Transfer Program
California Water Law & Policy Reporter, Volume 34, Number 10 -
July 2024Yolo County Court Upholds Environmental Impact Report for Sites Reservoir Project
California Water Law & Policy Reporter, Volume 34, Number 10 -
June 2024U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and California Regional Water Board Sue San Francisco Over Discharges in the Bay
California Land Use Law & Policy Reporter, Volume 33, Number 9 -
May 2024State Water Board Extends Deadline to Protest Change Petition for DWR’s Delta Tunnel Project
California Water Law & Policy Reporter, Volume 34, Number 8 -
May 2024Sacramento County Superior Court Rules in Favor of the State Water Board’s Substitute Environmental Document for Phase I of the San Francisco Bay-Delta Plan
California Water Law & Policy Reporter, Volume 33, Number 8 -
March 2024Sacramento Superior Court Rules Department of Water Resources Lacked Authority to Issue Bonds for Delta Tunnel
California Water Law and Policy Reporter, Volume 34, Number 6 -
January 2024Sacramento County Sues City of Sacramento for Public Nuisance and Water Pollution Associated with Unhoused Encampments
California Land Use Law & Policy Reporter, Volume 33, Number 4 -
October 2023U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Receives Scoping Comments on Post-2026 Colorado River Operations
California Water Law & Policy Reporter, Volume 34, Number 1 -
June 2023California Department of Water Resources Approves 12 Groundwater Sustainability Plans for Non-Critically Overdrafted Basins
Environmental, Energy & Climate Change Law and Regulation Reporter, Volume 3, Number 9 -
June 1, 2023Litigation is Taking California’s Public Trust Doctrine From the Waterfront to the Forefront
Western City Magazine -
December 2022California State Water Resources Control Board Adopts Water Conservation Standards for Urban Suppliers
Environmental, Energy & Climate Change Law and Regulation Reporter, Volume 3, Number 3 -
September 2022California Assembly Bill Would Require Groundwater Sustainability Agency Involvement in Local Agency Well Approval Process
California Water Law & Policy Reporter, Volume 32, Number 11 -
May 2022State Water Resources Control Board Approves Temporary Urgency Change Petition for State Water Project and Central Valley Project
California Water Law & Policy Reporter, Volume 32, Number 8 -
September 2021The California State Water Resources Control Board Approves Emergency Regulations for Water Right Curtailment Orders in Scott and Shasta Rivers
California Water Law & Policy Reporter, Volume 31, Number 11 -
June 2021California Department of Water Resources Releases Final Drought Planning Report for Small and Rural Water Suppliers
Environmental, Energy & Climate Change Law and Regulation Reporter, Volume 1, Number 9 -
March 2021Congress Introduces Bill to Coordinate River Restoration Efforts Between the United States and Mexico and to Protect the Salton Sea
Environmental, Energy & Climate Change Law and Regulation Reporter, Volume 1, Number 6 -
September 7, 2020FERC Order Requires PacifiCorp to Remain on for Klamath Dam Removals
Argent Communications Group -
May 2020James Irrigation District Sues Westlands Water District Over Mendota Pool Group 20-Year Exchange Program
California Water Law & Policy Reporter, Volume 30, Number 8 -
January 2020District Court Holds U.S. Army Corps is Not Obligated Under the Clean Water Act or Other Laws to Dredge Channels on Annual Basis
California Water Law & Policy Reporter, Volume 30, Number 4 -
October 1, 2018Federal Government and Center For Biological Diversity Reach Settlement over ‘Wild And Scenic’ Rivers
Argent Communications Group -
Spring 2017California WaterFix: A Snapshot of the SWRCB Water Rights Change Hearings
Environmental Law News, Vol. 26, No. 1 -
February 2017Let’s Get Physical—Water Rights, Takings, and the Endangered Species Act
California Water Law & Policy Reporter, Volume 27, Number 5
Prior to becoming the first lawyer in his family, Austin was an illustrator and graphic designer. That artistic vision carries through Austin’s legal work, often manifesting in the creative solutions he offers his clients. Austin enjoys spending his free time outdoors or around the house with his wife Amy and their two sons, Sullivan and Cormac.
Professional, Community And Pro Bono Involvement
- Water Education Foundation Water Leaders Fellowship, Class of 2022
- California Special Districts Association, 2021-present
- Sacramento County Bar Association, Environmental Law Section
- California Lawyers Association, Environmental Law Section
- California Water Law & Policy Reporter, Contributing Author
Honors & Rankings
- Best Lawyers in America©, Ones to Watch, Natural Resources Law, 2024-2025
- Order of the Coif
- Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society
- Jun Aoki Book Award, 2015
- Finalist, CEB Annual Award for Excellence in Legal Research and Writing, 2013
- Witkin Award for Academic Excellence in Legal Research and Writing, 2013