PRACTICE

Steve Kosub is Of Counsel to Sprouse Shrader Smith PLLC. His practice focuses on the development and distribution of groundwater and other water resources. His work encompasses water planning, groundwater transactions, project negotiations, permitting activities, infrastructure agreements, intergovernmental agreements, and innovative water supply strategies.

PRACTICE AREAS

• Water
• Governmental relations
• Regulatory takings
• Administrative procedures
• Local government

CERTIFICATION/SPECIALIZATION

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

• Past chairman and current member of the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Section of the State Bar of Texas
• Texas Bar Foundation
• Past chairman and current member of the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Section of the San Antonio Bar Association

Additional State Bar of Texas section memberships:

• Administrative and Public Law
• Public Utility Law
• Government Law
• Real Estate, Probate & Trust Law

ADMISSIONS

• Texas State Courts, 1977

EDUCATION

• University of Texas School of Law, J.D., 1977
• Texas A&M University, 1974

PRESENTATIONS/PUBLICATIONS

• Water for a Public Purpose: Governmental Acquisition of Water Rights by Involuntary Means, Essentials of Texas Water Resources, Mary K. Sahs, ed., State Bar of Texas (Fifth Edition 2019 and previous editions)
• With Hal Ray, Inverse Condemnation, in Thomson Reuters Texas Practice Series: Texas Environmental Law, Civins, Hall and Sahs, eds. (2019 and previous editions)
• Aquifer Storage and Recovery, State Bar of Texas – Changing Face of Water Rights (San Antonio, TX, February 2020)
• Groundwater Law from the Municipal Utility Perspective, University of Texas Energy and Earth Resources Interdisciplinary Graduate Program (Austin, TX, 2014-2019)
• Governance, Texas Association of Groundwater Districts Texas Groundwater Summit (San Antonio. TX, 2018 and 2019)
• National Water Law Forum (2017-2019)
• Hear Me Now or Hear Me Later: A Review of Standing Before the Agency and Courts, University of Texas School of Law 13th Annual Advanced Administrative Law Seminar (Austin, TX, August 2018)
• Use or Abuse of Social Media by Texas Administrative Agencies, University of Texas School of Law 11^th Annual Advanced Texas Administrative Law Seminar (Austin, TX, August 2016)
• Population Growth and Groundwater Management (Panel Discussion), Texas Water Symposium: 2017 Legislative Outlook (Austin, TX, November 2016)
• Water Markets and Water Transfers in Texas, The Water Report (Issue #140, October 15, 2015)
• Water Markets and Water Transfers in Texas, American Bar Association’s 33^rd Annual Water Law Conference (Denver, CO, June 2015)
• Program Co-Chairman and Speaker, Texas Water Law, CLE Int. (San Antonio, TX)
  • Water Markets and Water Transfers, September 2016
  • Rethinking Water Management in Texas, April 2015
  • Regulatory Takings and the Edwards Aquifer Authority, March 2014
  • Rethinking Water Management in Texas, April 2013
  • The Long-Awaited Decision in Edwards Aquifer v. Day, March 2012
  • The Edwards Aquifer Recovery Implementation Program, March 2011
  • Regionalization of Water Supplies: The Challenge of Diversification, March 2010
• A Proposal for Regional Management of Groundwater, Texas Association of Groundwater Districts Annual Conference (San Marcos, TX, August 2015)
• Groundwater Regulation in Light of Recent Takings Litigation (Panel Moderator), University of Texas School of Law Texas Water Law Institute (Austin, TX, December 2015)
• Hybrid Administrative Practice: Groundwater Districts, University of Texas School of Law 9^th Annual Advanced Texas Administrative Law Seminar (Austin, TX, August 2014)
• Matters Triggered by Drought (Panel Discussion), State Bar of Texas – Changing Face of Water Rights (San Antonio, TX, February 2014)
• The Promise of Desalination, State Bar of Texas Webcast (Austin, TX, January 2014)
• Takings Issues, Texas Water Law, CLE Int. (Austin, TX, October 2013)
• Water Rights Overview, South Texas Chapter of the Appraisal Institute (San Antonio, TX, March 2013)
• Groundwater Management: Is it Working? University of Texas School of Law Texas Water Law Institute (Austin, TX, November 2012)
• The Science and the Law Behind Fresh Water (Panel), The Texas Lyceum, Liquid Gold: The Texas Water Crisis (Amarillo, TX, August 2012)
• Implementing State Water Plans, State Bar of Texas Changing Face of Water Rights Course (San Antonio, TX, February 2012)
• Balancing Water Demand at the Interface of Agriculture and Urban Growth (Panel), American Agricultural Law Association 32^nd Annual Agricultural law Symposium (Austin, TX, October 2011)
• Texas State and Regional Water Planning, Half Moon LLC, Texas Water Laws and Regulation (San Antonio, TX, March 2011)
• The Edwards Aquifer Recovery Implementation Program, Endangered Species Act, CLE Int. (Austin, TX, June 2010)
• What the Buyer Wants, Water Marketing, CLE Int. (San Antonio, TX, April 2008)
• Is Local Control of Groundwater Viable? University of Texas School of Law Texas Water Law Institute (Austin, TX, December 2007)
• Regulatory Takings, State Bar of Texas – Diving Into Texas Water Law (San Antonio, TX, February 1999)
• Current Litigation Regarding Texas Groundwater, American Bar Association Section of Natural Resources, Energy and Environmental Law – 17th Annual Water Law Conference (San Diego, CA, February 1999)
• The Texas Groundwater Experience, Environmental Regulation and Permitting, Vol. 8, Number 4 (Summer 1999, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.)