Farallon Principals Steve Figgins and Gary Hokkanen will bring their expertise to the Emerging and Environmental Claims Managers Association (EECMA) Conference April 29 - May 1, 2015 in Orlando, Florida.
Water science expert Steve Figgins of Farallon’s Irvine, California office will join Bassi Edlin Huie & Blum attorneys Noel Edlin and Erin K. Poppler in presenting how California’s increasingly limited water supply creates friction between the agriculture and oil industries. Because climate change and drought have lowered water tables to historic depths, Central Valley farmers no longer have sufficient access to water from underground aquifers and surface water. Farmers and ranchers also are concerned that oil companies are causing well-water contamination. Figgins, Edlin, and Poppler will explore these complicated issues and discuss whether the current situation points to a permanent rift between "Big Ag" and "Big Oil."
Hydrogeologist Gary Hokkanen of Farallon’s Oakland office and Sedgwick attorney Earl Hagström will discuss the relationship between municipal sewer systems and releases of the dry cleaning solvent PCE (tetrachloroethene) from dry cleaning facilities, and examine strategies for determining liability and defending municipalities in PCE-release lawsuits. Gary currently is serving as an Expert in two California dry cleaning litigation cases. He has been a Testifying Expert for numerous cases involving transport and leakage of PCE from dry cleaning facilities to soil, groundwater, and municipal sewers.
The annual EECMA conference is a forum covering the latest topics and trends in environmental litigation affecting insurance companies and their clients.