Peter L. Candy

Peter Candy

Peter Candy joined Hollister & Brace in 1999. He is a partner in the firm’s land use, natural resource, and environmental law practice. His client base consists of land developers, oil and gas producers, agricultural landowners, and public agencies. Mr. Candy works extensively with all aspects of land use entitlement and natural resource development law, including subdivision permitting, energy production, wetlands, endangered species, and water law.

Mr. Candy has successfully entitled numerous residential subdivisions. He is well-versed in the Subdivision Map Act permitting process, and has structured the acquisition, financing and construction of several key pieces of regional public infrastructure currently serving the Orcutt community of northern Santa Barbara County. In addition, Mr. Candy works with state and local permitting authorities on the preparation and processing of environmental impact reports, negative declarations, and other environmental documents necessary to assure compliance with CEQA.

Mr. Candy handles complex ground and surface water right disputes. He represented several prominent landowners in the decade-long adjudication of the Santa Maria Groundwater Basin. The adjudication involved competing agricultural and municipal priorities to both native and developed groundwater. Mr. Candy was one of several attorneys responsible for crafting a long-term physical solution for the Basin which now governs allocation of groundwater among competing demands. See articles: “Allocating Safe-Yield in Overdrafted Groundwater Basins,” January 2016. See also “Summary of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act” updated August 2016, and “Comprehensive Groundwater Adjudications and the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014”, August 2016.

Mr. Candy serves as general counsel to the Ojai Basin Groundwater Management Agency. The Agency is one of fifteen special act districts created by statute to manage groundwater within its statutory boundaries. Pursuant to its enabling legislation, the Agency preserves the quantity and quality of groundwater in the Ojai Groundwater Basin for the long-term benefit of all basin water users. Mr. Candy advises the Agency on a broad range of government law issues, including exercise of its basin management powers and implementation of the requirements of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014.

Mr. Candy advises his oil and gas clients regarding their underground injection and resource extraction activities. He works extensively with the California Division of Oil, Gas & Geothermal Resources (“DOGGR”), as well as other federal, state and local regulators on permitting issues related to onshore and offshore oil and gas projects in California. Mr. Candy has published materials and lectured on the newly adopted regulatory requirements implementing Senate Bill 4 (Pavley, Chapter 313, Statutes of 2013, effective January 1, 2014) applicable to hydraulic fracturing and other forms of “well stimulation treatments” in California. On April 11, 2014, Mr. Candy testified as an oil and gas industry expert at a hearing held before the California State Assembly Select Committee on Coastal Protection discussing the status of state and federal regulatory requirements applicable to hydraulic fracturing off the California coast.

Mr. Candy is an avid ocean enthusiast and served on the Board of Trustees of the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum from 2007 through 2012. He served as President of the Board from 2010-2011.