Regional Oral History Office University of California The Bancroft Library Berkeley, California Thomas J. Graff CALIFORNIA REGIONAL DIRECTOR OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND, 1971-2009: APPLYING ECONOMICS TO ENVIRONMENTAL POLICYMAKING, REFORMING CALIFORNIA WATER POLICY Interviews conducted by Ann Lage in 2009 Copyright © 2011 by The Regents of the University of California ii Since 1954 the Regional Oral History Office has been interviewing leading participants in or well-placed witnesses to major events in the development of Northern California, the West, and the nation. Oral History is a method of collecting historical information through tape-recorded interviews between a narrator with firsthand knowledge of historically significant events and a well-informed interviewer, with the goal of preserving substantive additions to the historical record. The tape recording is transcribed, lightly edited for continuity and clarity, and reviewed by the interviewee. The corrected manuscript is bound with photographs and illustrative materials and placed in The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley, and in other research collections for scholarly use. Because it is primary material, oral history is not intended to present the final, verified, or complete narrative of events. It is a spoken account, offered by the interviewee in response to questioning, and as such it is reflective, partisan, deeply involved, and irreplaceable. ********************************* All uses of this manuscript are covered by a legal agreement between The Regents of the University of California and Thomas J. Graff , dated July 14, 2009. The manuscript is thereby made available for research purposes. All literary rights in the manuscript, including the right to publish, are reserved to The Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley. Excerpts up to 1000 words from this interview may be quoted for publication without seeking permission as long as the use is non-commercial and properly cited. Requests for permission to quote for publication should be addressed to The Bancroft Library, Head of Public Services, Mail Code 6000, University of California, Berkeley, 94720-6000, and should follow instructions available online at http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/ROHO/collections/cite.html It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: Thomas J. Graff, “California Regional Director of the Environmental Defense Fund, 1971-2009: Applying Economics to Environmental Policymaking, Reforming California Water Policy” conducted by Ann Lage in 2009, Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 2011. iii Thomas J. Graff ca. 2007 iv v Table of Contents—Thomas J. Graff Interview History xiii Interview 1, July 7, 2009 Audiofile 1 1 Family background: parents’ escape from Hitler Germany, marriage in Honduras, his mother’s death when he was two and a half—Father’s remarriage, and family’s move to New York City in 1947—Father’s education, family, and life in Germany, attempts at leaving—Arrival in New York City, excelling in grammar school, relationship with stepmother—Move to Syracuse, importance of involvement in sports, juvenile brush with the law and family’s reaction—Trips to Japan, Syracuse, and Argentina and Honduras—Meeting parent’s benefactors in Honduras—Connecting with birth mother’s family—Story of stepmother’s family members’ escape from Nazi Germany, uncle’s assistance in getting reparations for father and stepmother from the German government. Audiofile 2 19 Learning the ways of middle America in Syracuse—Influence of father’s “live and let live” approach—To Phillips Exeter for final two years of high school, exposure to a “third world,” elite America—Importance of sports as “an in,” winning highest honors and playing basketball, getting along with everyone— Politics and religion in his family, no direct experience of anti-Semitism at school, Jewish identity but not religious—An evolving relationship with Judaism— Meeting and marrying first wife, Joan Messing Graff, 1967—A fellowship year in London, and clerking in Washington, DC—End of first marriage in 1975 and marriage to Sharona Barzilay, further immersion in Judaism. Interview 2, July 9, 2009 Audiofile 3 38 The aristocracy at Exeter—Major in history at Harvard [class of 1964], memorable professors, and absorbing a New Deal outlook—Excelling at Harvard Law School, Law Review, welcoming the competitive atmosphere but appreciation for less status-conscious California, initial difficulty with public speaking—Meeting and courting Sharona, her introduction to California and move to California in 1979, Sharona’s job at College Prep high school—Marriage in 1980, children, in-laws—Parents’ later life in Hawaii, stepmother’s old age and death, a difficult relationship—Impact of father’s unconventional life—Impact on life choices of the specter of the draft during Vietnam War. vi Audiofile 4 56 More on years in Washington DC: recalling the 1968 World Series, clerking for Judge Carl McGowan, on John Lindsay staff—Growing radicalization of lawyer friends, trajectory of fellow Law Review students at Harvard—Move to San Francisco, with Howard, Prim law firm, characterizing the law firm and his work there—Introduction to Henry Waxman, advising on reapportionment issues— Division between Howard Berman and Leo McCarthy and the Peripheral Canal debate—Later connection with Henry Waxman over acid rain and market incentives in Clean Air Act of 1990—Cases at Howard, Prim—Interviewing for the job with Environmental Defense Fund, the principals in EDF at the time, some history of founding of EDF—Taking the EDF job, an antiestablishment organization with ties to the establishment. Interview 3, July 14, 2009 Audiofile 5 73 Work in Washington DC with Judge McGowan, coclerk Bob Mnookin, later a force in alternative dispute resolution—Lindsay legislative office experience— Deborah Kolb and later funding from the Hewlett Foundation— First lawsuit brought for EDF in California, the Coastside County Water District case, 1971, helped determine scope of California Environmental Quality Act [CEQA], later skepticism about NEPA and CEQA cases—Minimal experience trying cases with Howard, Prim: the Liquid Carbonic Corporation case—Introduction to environmental interests through river-running and backpacking, feeding off the passion of Jerry Meral and Mark Dubois—Mark Dubois stories—Interest in the intellectual side of environmentalism, law and policy more than passion— Hearings before State Water Control Board, Jean Auer—Three legal cases in 1972: New Melones Dam, Auburn Dam, EBMUD plans for American River— Getting to know Jerry Brown on a river trip and at a two-day seminar on state issues—Prop 17, 1974, re New Melones Dam—On the Jerry Brown transition team, appointment of Claire Dedrick as resources secretary, observations of Rose Bird—Appointment of Ron Robie as director of water resources, and Jerry Meral as his deputy—An honest answer to Brown’s inquiry about PUC appointment for Len Ross and Graff, Ross’s subsequent role as PUC commissioner. Audiofile 6 94 Laid off from the Brown transition team, lack of funds—Involvement in anti- nuclear initiative 1976, warm-up act for Jacques Cousteau at Greek Theater in 1978, David Pesonen—More on the PUC and finding the crucial document— News leak after meeting with Ike Livermore—EDF as an opportunity to have a vii major impact on public policy, but some second thoughts about significance of his impact of water marketing in Central Valley—Water as a commodity v. water as a public trust, Graff’s approach criticized from the left, effect of recent turmoil in the markets—Influence of Alfred Kahn, deregulation guru—More on early litigation, second chair to EDF attorney Michael Palmer on the New Melones case, Judge Charlie Renfrew, and Water Board decision—Basketball and poker games—Auburn Dam trial, a Perry Mason moment, Judge McBride—Ruling by US Supreme Court upholding states rights on water cases in late 1970s, and California State Supreme Court response, Judge William Clark—Resolution of lengthy EBMUD case, becoming friendly with opponents. Interview 4, July 16, 2009 Audiofile 7 112 National EDF leadership: Executive directors Rob Cameron and his fundraising expertise, Arlie Schardt—West Coast funders—Competition with NRDC in funding and program—David Mastbaum, friction re equal pay—Janet Brown as executive director, confrontation over leaked memo re Allen-Warner Valley— Thrust for economic and market analysis comes out of California, 1981 story in Wall Street Journal—Key EDF staff people in other offices: Ernst “Hasty” Habicht starts comparable energy work, attracts Bill Vickery, later a Nobel laureate, to EDF cause; Leo Eisel, water expert, flood control; Phil Williams on flood control on American River—Compares EDF’s technical/scientific expertise to Sierra Club’s emphasis on grassroots—Graff’s involvement in Sierra Club on water committee, wrote club argument opposing peripheral canal in national referendum—EDF sometimes viewed with suspicion by grassroots and litigation organizations for working with traditional opponents—EDF’s evolution from Sue the Bastards to collaboration, criticized from the left—Other staffers: Michael Bean, Jim Tripp—Graff’s diverse portfolio in the early days: energy, water, pesticides, air—Opposing the attempt by Executive Director Janet Brown to move EDF headquarters to Washington DC in 1983—Getting to know energy executives: John Bryson, Mike Peevey and CCEEB trips to study cogeneration—