Water Policy Institute

The Water Policy Institute is a think tank project established in May 2008 by the law firm Hunton & Williams. It describes itself as "a nonpartisan consortium bringing together industry leaders, including water suppliers, water users and nongovernmental organizations, to develop initiatives to address water supply, quality and use issues."

The Institute is chaired by former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency chief turned PR consultant Christine Todd Whitman. Whitman also co-chairs the Nuclear Energy Institute's Clean and Safe Energy Coalition.

According to Congressional Quarterly, Whitman "is now helping to bring clients to the law firm of Hunton & Williams as chairwoman of its new Water Policy Institute. ... Whitman's firm will get an undisclosed fee for its work."

The Water Policy Institute's corporate members include BP, Central Arizona Project and GE Water.

Hunton & Williams "is extending membership invitations ... to about 15 other organizations, including local-government water agencies and multinational corporations," reported Congressional Quarterly in July 2008. "It will not charge membership dues" for the Institute, "but will ask each member to give something to support the institute, which plans to produce two white papers on water issues and hold monthly telephone conferences. The institute will also provide podcasts of conversations with people who are actively involved in water issues."

Michael Campana, of Oregon State University's Institute for Water and Watersheds, wrote that the Institute "is sponsored by a Park Avenue law firm, has corporate members, and has an advisory panel with attorneys for 6 of its 8 members. Ask me why I'm not expecting anything but the SOS."

Issues and publications
"Climate change is likely to be a major topic" of the Water Policy Institute, according to a profile in the Clean Water Report. "Other topics will include the intersection of water quality and quantity; desalination; new technology; agriculture; allocation of water; and infrastructure."

In March 2009, the Water Policy Institute released its first white paper, "Water Wars: Conflicts Over Shared Waters (pdf)." The paper "focuses on the long-running war over water among Georgia, Florida and Alabama in the wake of the Southeast drought and the challenges resulting from a growing water footprint and increased consumption." The paper recommends that Alabama, Florida and Georgia work with a federal mediator to develop an interstate compact on water use, while pending lawsuits are put on hold. It also suggests that further studies be conducted, on water use and ecological needs in the region.

The Water Policy Institute plans to publish its second white paper in spring 2009, on "the interplay of water and energy" issues.

Personnel
From the Hunton & Williams website:
 * Christine Todd Whitman, Chair
 * Kathy Robb, Director - also a Hunton & Williams Partner on Resources, Regulatory & Environmental Law

Advisory panel
From the Hunton & Williams website:
 * Leslie Carothers - president, Environmental Law Institute
 * Gabriel Eckstein - professor at Texas Tech University School of Law
 * Paul Faeth - executive director, Global Water Challenge
 * David Freestone - senior adviser, office of the general counsel of the World Bank
 * G. Tracy Mehan III - principal with The Cadmus Group, an environmental consulting firm
 * Hon. H. Craig Manson - lecturer in law at the University of the Pacific
 * Mark Van Putten - president, ConservationStrategy
 * David L. Sunding - professor of the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of California, Berkeley, and Co-Director of the Berkeley Water Center
 * Dr. Robert N. Stavins - director, Harvard Environmental Economics Program

Principals
From the Hunton & Williams website; all principals are Hunton & Williams employees:
 * Kathy Robb
 * Virginia S. Albrecht
 * Catherine D. Little
 * Chris M. Amantea
 * William H. McBride
 * Prof. Lucas Bergkamp
 * John C. McGranahan, Jr.
 * John J. Beardsworth, Jr.
 * Ann Marie Mortimer
 * Craig A. Bromby
 * Stuart A. Raphael
 * Kristy A. Niehaus Bulleit
 * Belynda Reck
 * Charles D. Case
 * John J. Rhodes III
 * James N. Christman
 * James W. Rubin
 * Deidre G. Duncan
 * Anju Sanehi
 * James D. Elliott
 * John A. Sheehan
 * Brent A. Fewell
 * Rita A. Sheffey
 * Kevin J. Finto
 * Brooks M. Smith
 * William M. Flynn
 * David J. van Hoogstraten
 * Timothy G. Hayes
 * Malcolm C. Weiss
 * Robert E. Hogfoss
 * Mark G. Weisshaar
 * John E. Holloway
 * Paul O. Wickes
 * Robert H. Huey
 * Andrea W. Wortzel
 * David C. Lashway

Contact details
Kathy Robb Director, Water Policy Institute Hunton & Williams LLP 200 Park Avenue New York, New York 10166-0091

Phone: (212) 309-1128

Kathleen Shea Administrative Manager Hunton & Williams LLP 200 Park Avenue New York, New York 10166-0091

Phone: (212) 309-1081 Email: kshea AT hunton.com

Web: http://www.hunton.com/Resources/Sites/general.aspx?id=527

Related SourceWatch articles

 * BP
 * Central Arizona Project
 * CEO Water Mandate
 * GE Water
 * Global Water Challenge
 * Global Water Futures
 * Hunton & Williams
 * Kathy Robb
 * Maude Barlow
 * Stockholm International Water Institute
 * Water and energy production
 * Whitman Strategy Group

External articles

 * Andy Peters, "New water plan floats no one's boat: Flurry of filings likely as Georgia, Florida and others call Lanier plan unfair," Daily Report (Georgia), June 17, 2008.
 * "Water Policy Institute Meeting: Opening Remarks by Christine Todd Whitman," Washington, DC, June 18, 2008.
 * Carlos David Mogollon, "An Interview with Water Policy Institute Co-Founder Kathy Robb," Industrial WaterWorld/Water & Wastewater International, September 2008.