Andrea M. Bronson

Andrea Bronson is a partner at Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP, where her practice focuses on water, natural resources, and environmental law and litigation.

Andrea’s practice focuses on permitting and regulatory compliance, enforcement, water quality, site remediation, and environmental litigation for clients in numerous industries, including mining, oil and gas, manufacturing, and development. Andrea counsels clients in matters involving the Clean Water Act, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), and other federal and state environmental laws, and she has litigated cases in state and federal courts relating to these matters. She has also represented clients in administrative proceedings before the Colorado Water Quality Control Commission and the Colorado Energy & Carbon Management Commission.

She has also represented government entities, corporations, individuals, and other water users in water court and transactions, including water rights due diligence in property acquisitions. Her practice also involves advising clients and litigating eminent domain matters involving the taking of easements and other interests in land needed for water projects.

Andrea is the co-chair of Davis Graham’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee. She has served on the Board of Directors for the Colorado Women’s Bar Association since 2020. She is also a member of the ABA Section of Environment, Energy & Resources (SEER) and the Foundation for Natural Resources and Energy Law. Andrea is a member of the Colorado Bar Association, where she served as a member of the executive council for the Construction Law Section from 2013-2019. Additionally, she currently serves on the advisory board of the University of Denver College of Law Professional Mentoring Program. She is a participant in the 2023 Colorado General Counsel Mentorship Program. Andrea was named among the “Ones to Watch” in the area of Natural Resources Law (2021-2023) and Eminent Domain and Condemnation Law (2022-2023) by Best Lawyers®, an annual guide by publisher Woodward/White Inc.

Prior to joining Davis Graham, Andrea practiced at Denver-based firms where she focused on general civil and commercial litigation, water law, and environmental law. She also served as a law clerk to the Honorable Valerie P. Cooke of the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada. Andrea is admitted to practice in Colorado and before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.

Andrea graduated in the Order of St. Ives from the University of Denver College of Law, where she was managing editor of the Denver Journal of International Law and Policy. She earned her Bachelor of Arts from Colby College.

Recent Publications

• James Witwer and Andrea Bronson, “Process Ado: Constitutional Notice Requirements Under the Water Right Determination and Administration Act of 1969,” 22 U. Den. Water. L. Rev. 337 (Issue 2, 2019)
• Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation, Mineral Law Newsletter, Environmental Issues, Vol. XXXV, Nos. 1-4 (2018), Vol. XXXVI, Nos. 1, 3, 4 (2019)
• “EPA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Finalize Navigable Waters Protection Rule,” Davis Graham Legal Alert (2020)
• Kathleen Schroder, Almira Moronne, Andrea Bronson, and Kelsey Johnson, “Infrastructure Act takes an ‘all roads’ approach in attempt to build a cleaner future.” ABA Section of Environment Energy, and Resources, Trends (March/April 2022)
• Andrea Bronson, Environmental Law Update, 69 Nat. Resources & Energy L. Inst. (2023)

Recent Presentations

• “Energy & Environment: What’s Changed & What’s Coming Under the Biden Administration Seminar,” (April 7, 2022)
• “Environmental Law Update,” Foundation for Natural Resources and Energy Law Annual Institute, Salt Lake City, Utah, (July 21, 2023)
• “Clean Water Act Update, Sackett and WOTUS Rule Status,” Colorado Environmental Management Society, (August 8, 2023)

Representative Experience

• Represents defendants in Clean Water Act citizen suits in federal court in Montana, including successfully defending a public utility in a Clean Water Act citizen suit in one of the first cases to apply the Supreme Court’s “functional equivalence” test. The jury returned a complete defense verdict, which was affirmed by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
• Represents mining companies responsible for implementing CERCLA cleanups and negotiating administrative settlements and consent decrees.
• Represents clients in transactions involving water rights, including performing pre-acquisition due diligence and drafting all necessary transaction documents to transfer such water rights.
• Successfully condemned rights of way needed for water pipeline uses in eminent domain actions, including representing clients at valuation trials.