Headshot of Brian E. Gray

Brian E. Gray

Emeritus Professor of Law

Bio

Professor Brian E. Gray graduated from Pomona College, B.A. (1976) and UC Berkeley Law, J.D. (1979). He is the author of numerous books and articles in the fields of environmental law, water resources, public lands and natural resources, property rights and the constitution, and related subjects. He also has argued environmental and water resources cases before the California Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and other courts. Professor Gray is a recipient of the William Rutter Award for Excellence in Teaching, the UC Law SF Outstanding Teacher Award, and the Nature Conservancy’s Volunteer Service Award.

Professor Gray retired from UC Law SF in 2015 and now serves as a Senior Fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California’s Water Policy Center. For the past decade, he has worked on a series of interdisciplinary studies of California water policy with scientists, engineers, economists, and public policy specialists from the University of California, Stanford, and PPIC. The publications in this series include California Water Myths (2009), Managing California’s Water: From Conflict to Reconciliation (2011), Water and the California Economy (2012), and Where the Wild Things Aren’t: Making the Delta a Better Place for Native Species (2012), Stress Relief: Prescriptions for a Healthier Delta Ecosystem (2013), Integrated Management of Delta Stressors: Institutional and Legal Options (2013), Paying for California’s Water (2014), Paying for California’s Water: The Legal Framework (2014), Allocating California’s Water: Directions for Reform (2015), Improving the Federal Response to Western Drought (2016), Water Stress and a Chaning San Joaquin Valley (2017), Improving the Health of California’s Headwaters Forests (2016), A New Approach to Accounting for Environmental Water (2017), Managing California’s Freshwater Ecosystems: Lessons from the 2012-16 Drought (2017), and Managing Drought in a Changing Climate (2018). He is currently working on a history of water development and water resources policy in the San Joaquin Valley.

Professor Gray also has worked with the UC Law SF Haiti Justice Initiative and New York University’s Center for Human Rights & Global Justice to protect environmental and community interests that are at risk from proposed gold mining in Haiti. He and his colleagues published a report on the topic in 2015: Byen Konte, Mal Kalkile? Human Rights and Environmental Risks of Gold Mining in Haiti.

Scholarship

Books


Byen Konte, Mal Kalkile? Human Rights and Environmental Risks of Gold Mining in Haiti (New York University 2015).

Water and the California Economy (Public Policy Institute of California 2012) (with Ellen Hanak et al.).

Where the Wild Things Aren’t: Making the Delta a Better Place for Native Species (Public Policy Institute of California 2012) (with Peter Moyle, et al.).

Managing California’s Water: From Conflict to Reconciliation (Public Policy Inst. of California 2011) (with Ellen Hanak, Jay Lund, Ariel Dinar, Richard Howitt, Jeffrey Mount, Peter Moyle & Barton “Buzz” Thompson).

California Water Myths (Public Policy Institute of California 2009) (with Ellen Hanak, Jay Lund, Ariel Dinar, Richard Howitt, Jeffrey Mount Peter Moyle, & Barton Thompson).

West’s Selected California Environmental Statutes (West Publishing Co. 1986 – 2000) (editor).

Journal Articles


California’s Drought and the Environment: An Introduction, 23 Hastings W.–Nw. J. Envtl. L. & Pol’y 51 (2017) (with Leon F. Szeptycki). FULLTEXT

The Draft Bay-Delta Conservation Plan: Assessment of Environmental Performance and Governance, 20 Hastings W.–Nw. J. Envtl. L. & Pol’y 245 (2014) (with Jeff Mount, William Fleenor, Bruce Herbold & Wim Kimmerer). FULLTEXT

Fragmented Regulation of Multiple Stressors: A Cautionary Tale for Takings Law, 19 Hastings W.–Nw. J. Envtl. L. & Pol’y 341 (2013). FULLTEXT

Ensuring the Public Trust, 45 U.C. Davis L. Rev. 973 (2012). FULLTEXT

Luke Cole, 16 Hastings W.–Nw. J. Envtl. L. & Pol’y 246 (2010). FULLTEXT

Myths of California Water–Implications and Reality, 16 Hastings W.–Nw. J. Envtl. L. & Pol’y 3 (2010) (with Ellen Hanak,Jay Lund, Ariel Dinar, Richard Howitt, Jeffrey Mount, Peter Moyle & Barton “Buzz” Thompson). FULLTEXT

Dedication, 14 Hastings W.–Nw. J. Envtl. L. & Pol’y 29 (2008). FULLTEXT

Global Climate Change: Water Supply Risks and Water Management Opportunities, 14 Hastings W.–Nw. J. Envtl. L. & Pol’y 1453 (2008). FULLTEXT

Hetch Hetchy and the Paradoxes of Restoration, 13 Hastings W.–Nw. J. Envtl. L. & Pol’y 211 (2007). FULLTEXT

The Endangered Species Act: Reform or Refutation?, 13 Hastings W.–Nw. J. Envtl. L. & Pol’y 1 (2007). FULLTEXT

Hetch Hetchy: To Drain or Not to Drain, 57 Hastings L.J. 1261 (2006) (panel moderator). FULLTEXT

Symposium: Introduction and Dedication, 57 Hastings L.J. 1237 (2006). FULLTEXT

The Uncertain Future of Water Rights in California: Reflections on the Governor’s Commission Report, 36 McGeorge L. Rev. 43 (2005). FULLTEXT

Dividing the Waters: The California Experience, 10 Hastings W.–Nw. J. Envtl. L. & Pol’y 141 (2004) (reprinted in 14 Hastings W.-N.W. J. Envtl. L. & Pol’y 1297 (2008)). FULLTEXT

Takings and Water Rights, 48 Rocky Mtn. Min. L. Inst. 23 (2002). WL

The Property Right in Water, 9 Hastings W.–Nw. J. Envtl. L. & Pol’y 1 (2002). FULLTEXT

The Battle for Hetch Hetchy Goes to Congress, 6 Hastings W.–Nw. J. Envtl. L. & Pol’y 199 (2000). FULLTEXT

A Model Water Transfer Act for California, 4 Hastings W.–Nw. J. Envtl. L. & Pol’y 3 (1996) (with Richard E. Howitt, Lawrence J. MacDonnell, Barton H. Thompson & Henry J. Vaux, Jr.). FULLTEXT

The Shape of Transfers to Come: A Model Water Transfer Act for California, 4 Hastings W.–Nw. J. Envtl. L. & Pol’y 23 (1996). FULLTEXT

Economic Incentives and Nonpoint Source Pollution: A Case Study of California’s Grasslands Region, 2 Hastings W.–Nw. J. Envtl. L. & Pol’y 185 (1995) (with Chelsea H. Congdon & Terry F. Young) (reprinted in 14 Hastings W.-N.W. J. Envtl. L. & Pol’y 215 (2008)). FULLTEXT

Introduction to the Water Rights Jungle: What Principles Should Guide the Assignment of Responsibility to Water Users for Meeting Improved Bay⁄Delta Protections?, 6 Bay on Trial 6 (1994).

The Market and the Community: Lessons from California’s Drought Water Bank, 1 Hastings W.–Nw. J. Envtl. L. & Pol’y 17 (1994) (reprinted in 14 Hastings W.-N.W. J. Envtl. L. & Pol’y 41 (2008)). FULLTEXT

The Modern Era in California Water Law, 45 Hastings L.J. 249 (1994). FULLTEXT

Promises from a Distant Past, 5 Const. 60 (Spring–Summer 1993).

Foreward: Some Thoughts on International Environmental Law from the Perspective of a Domestic Practitioner, 14 Hastings W.–Nw. J. Envtl. L. & Pol’y 749 (1991). FULLTEXT

Transfers of Federal Reclamation Water: A Case Study of California’s San Joaquin Valley, 21 Envtl. L. 911 (1991) (with Bruce C. Driver & Richard W. Wahl). FULLTEXT

“In Search of Bigfoot”: The Common Law Origins of Article X, Section 2 of the California Constitution, 17 Hastings Const. L.Q. 225 (1989). FULLTEXT

A Primer on California Water Transfer Law, 31 Ariz. L. Rev. 745 (1989). FULLTEXT

A Reconsideration of Instream Appropriative Water Rights in California, 16 Ecology L.Q. 667 (1989) (reprinted in Instream Flow Protection in the West 181 (Lawrence J. MacDonnell et al. eds., Natural Resources Law Center 1989), and revised and reprinted in Instream Flow Protection in the West 11-1 (Lawrence J. MacDonnell & Teresa A. Rice eds., 2d ed. 1993)). FULLTEXT

No Holier Temples: Protecting the National Parks Through Wild and Scenic River Designation, 58 U. Colo. L. Rev. 551 (1988) (reprinted in Our Common Lands: Defending the National Parks 331 (David J. Simon ed., 1988)). FULLTEXT

Chapters In Books


The Reasonable Use Doctrine in California Water Law and Policy, in Sustainable Water: Challenges and Solutions from California 83 (Allison Lassiter ed., University of California Press 2015). URL

Federal Power Acts, in 2 Major Acts of Congress 63 (Brian K. Landsberg ed., Macmillan Reference USA 2004). AMAZON

Mineral Leasing Act (1920), in 2 Major Acts of Congress 275 (Brian K. Landsberg ed., Macmillan Reference USA 2004). AMAZON

National Park Service Act (1916), in 3 Major Acts of Congress 42 (Brian K. Landsberg ed., Macmillan Reference USA 2004). AMAZON

Yellowstone National Park Act (1872), in 3 Major Acts of Congress 293 (Brian K. Landsberg ed., Macmillan Reference USA 2004). AMAZON

California Water Transfers: The System and the 1991 Drought Water Bank, in Sharing Scarcity: Gainers And Losers in Water Marketing 21 (Harold O. Carter et al. eds., University of California Agricultural Issues Center 1994) (with Ray Coppock & Edward McBean). CATALOG

The Role of Laws and Institutions in California’s 1991 Water Bank, in Sharing Scarcity: Gainers And Losers in Water Marketing 133 (Harold O. Carter et al. eds. 1994). CATALOG

The Transferability of Water Provided by the State Water Project and the Central Valley Project: A Report to the San Joaquin Valley Drainage Program, in Legal and Institutional Structures for Managing Agricultural Drainage in the San Joaquin Valley: Designing a Future (Natural Heritage Institute 1990) (with B. Driver & R. Wahl).

Water Transfers in California: 1981–1989, in 2 The Water Transfer Process as a Management Option for Meeting Changing Demand (Lawrence J. MacDonnell ed., Natural Resources Law Center 1990).

On Not Knowing Who Your Friends Are: Some Thoughts on the Role of Intervention in Natural Resources Litigation, in Western Natural Resource Litigation Digest: Commentary 8 (Spring 1985). CATALOG

Newspaper & Magazine Articles


Citizen CruzS.F. Chron., Apr. 9, 2015. CATALOG URL

Judicial SensibilitiesMorning News, Mar. 18, 2010. URL

An “Objective” Look at the Law School ExamS.F. Daily J., May 12, 2009 (reprinted in L.A. Daily J.).

Dispelling California’s Water MythsS.F. Chron, Dec. 14, 2009 (with Ellen Hanak & Jay Lund). URL

Venality BitesTruth Out, Mar. 18, 2009. URL

You Are Not CoolMorning News, Mar. 24, 2009. URL

A Federal Bailout for Prop. 8L.A. Times, Nov. 17, 2008.

An Endangered Species ActS.F. Daily J., Dec. 23, 2008 (reprinted in L.A. Daily J.).

Citizen McCain?S.F. Daily J., Mar. 12, 2008 (reprinted in L.A. Daily J.).

Citizen ObamaS.F. Daily J., Dec. 12, 2008 (reprinted in L.A. Daily J.).

Inconvenient FederalismL.A. Daily J., Jan. 7, 2008, at 6. CATALOG

Downsizing the Great WritL.A. Daily J., Dec. 31, 2007, at 6. CATALOG

Who Gets to Be Veep?L.A. Times, July 31, 2007.

Other Publications


Managing California’s Freshwater Ecosystems: Lessons from the 2012-16 DroughtPublic Policy Institute of California (Nov. 2017) (with Jeffrey Mount, Caitrin Chappelle, Greg Gartrell, Ted Grantham, Peter Moyle, Nathaniel Seavy, Leon Szeptycki, & Barton “Buzz” Thompson). URL

Improving the Federal Response to Drought: Five Areas for ReformPublic Policy Institute of California (2016) (with Jeffrey Mount, Ellen Hanak, Caitrin Chappelle, Bonnie Colby, Richard Frank, Greg Gartrell, Douglas Kenney, Jay Lund, Peter Moyle & Leon Szeptycki). URL

Allocating California’s Water: Directions for ReformPublic Policy Institute of California (2015) (with Ellen Hanak, Richard Frank, Richard Howitt, Jay Lund, Leon Szeptycki & Barton Thompson). URL

California’s Water: Managing DroughtPublic Policy Institute of California (2015) (with Ellen Hanak, Jay Lund, Richard Frank, Greg Gartrel, Peter Moyle, & Barton Thompson). URL

California’s Water: Paying for WaterPublic Policy Institute of California (2015) (with Ellen Hanak, Jay Lund, Caitrin Chappelle, Dean Misczynski, Katrina Jessoe, & David Mitchell). URL

California’s Water: The Sacramento-San Joaquin DeltaPublic Policy Institute of California (2015) (with Jeffrey Mount, Ellen Hanak, Jay Lund, James Cloern, William Fleenor, Wim Kimmerer, & Peter Moyle). URL

California’s Water: Water for the EnvironmentPublic Policy Institute of California (2015) (with Jeffrey Mount, Ellen Hanak, Jay Lund, John Eadie, Peter Moyle, Nathaniel Seavy, Leon Szeptycki, & Joshua Viers). URL

Policy Priorities for Managing DroughtPublic Policy Institute of California (2015) (with Jeffrey Mount, Ellen Hanak, Caitrin Chappelle, Jay Lund, Peter Moyle, & Barton). URL

Integrated Management of Delta Stressors: Institutional and Legal OptionsPublic Policy Institute of California (Apr. 2014) (with Barton “Buzz” Thompson et al.). URL

Paying for Water in CaliforniaPublic Policy Institute of California (Mar. 2014) (with Ellen Hanak et al.). URL

Paying for Water in California: The Legal FrameworkPublic Policy Institute of California (Mar. 2014) (with Dean Misczynski et al.). URL

Stress Relief: Prescriptions for a Healthier Delta EcosystemPublic Policy Institute of California (Apr. 2014) (with Ellen Hanak et al.). URL

Integrated Management of Delta Stressors: Institutional and Legal OptionsPublic Policy Institute of California (2013) (with Barton “Buzz” Thompson, Ellen Hanak, Jay Lund, & Jeffrey Mount). URL

Integrated Management of Delta Stressors: Institutional and Legal OptionsPublic Policy Institute of California (Apr. 2013) (with Barton Thompson et al.). URL

Stress Relief: Prescriptions for a Healthier Delta EcosystemPublic Policy Institute of California (April 2013) (with Ellen Hanak et al.). URL

A Model Water Transfer Act for California (California Business Roundtable 1996).

Institutional Arrangements for Conjunctive Water Management in California and Analysis of Legal Reform Alternatives (University of California Water Resources Center 1999) (with Ella Foley–Gannon).

Plowing New Ground: Using Economic Incentives to Control Water Pollution From Agriculture (Environmental Defense Fund 1994).

Water Trading: Free Market Benefits for Exporters and Importers, Rep. 058–A (California Assembly Office of Research 1985) (with P. Schifferle, T. Gossard, R. Howitt, & C. Moore).

Student Notes/Comments


Note, Herbert v. Lando: State of Mind Discovery and the New York Times v. Sullivan Libel Balance, 66 Cal. L. Rev. 1127 (1978).

Education

  • Pomona College
    B.A.
    1976

  • UC Berkeley
    J.D.
    1979

Courses

  • Environmental Law
  • California Water Resources
  • Federal and Interstate Water Resources
  • Property
  • Takings and the Environment Seminar
  • Environmental Law Seminar
  • American West Seminar