Luna E Phillips

Practice Areas

- Environmental & Land Use Law

- Real Estate Law

Career

Luna Phillips is a Florida Bar board certified Gunster shareholder who practices in the area of environmental, administrative and governmental law. She leads the firm’s Environmental practice.

Prior to joining the firm, Luna was a senior attorney for the South Florida Water Management District and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

Luna practices exclusively in the area of water and natural resources law before state and federal agencies. Her practice includes assisting large scale developers, agricultural entities, public and private companies, as well as individuals in a wide range of water related issues. Her experience ranges from water quality regulations such as TMDLs, to environmental resource permitting, to water use permitting, to sovereign state land and listed species approvals.

In addition, Luna actively works on Everglades related restoration issues in south Florida involving complex restoration agreements with governmental entities and water quality and supply regulations. Luna provides more than two decades of experience in administrative law and litigation before the Division of Administrative Hearings (DOAH), as well as in rulemaking, public records and Sunshine law.

Publications

-AWRA Florida – 2021 Annual Water Management District Update, moderator, December 17, 2021

-Latest Developments in Water Resources Management in Florida, AWRA Florida annual meeting, meeting chair, August 2019

-“Essentials of Obtaining an Environmental Resource Permit: The Nuts and Bolts of ERP Permitting,” Florida Chamber Foundation’s 33rd Annual Environmental Permitting Summer School, July 2019

-“Lake Okeechobee and the Estuaries: A Water Management Balancing Act,” Florida Chamber Foundation’s 33rd Annual Environmental Permitting Summer School, July 2019

-“Florida business community: Water issues to watch in 2019,” co-author, Daily Business Review, March 27, 2019

-“Advanced ERP topics: EPermitting and ESSA, Mitigation and UMAM, Alternative and Cumulative Impacts Analysis, Direct and Secondary Impacts,” co-presenter, Florida Engineering Society Winter Water Seminar, Feb. 25, 2019

-“Legislative updates and emerging issues,” co-presenter, 28th Annual Southwest Florida Water Resources Conference, Jan. 25, 2019

-“Florida’s water future: Where is it going? Where will it come from?,” contributor, Florida Trend, Nov. 28, 2018

-“The changing landscape of water: How to save on hotel water demands and expenses,” co-author, Hotel Executive, Nov. 25, 2018

-“River of Grass: A Confluence of Law, Policy, and Environmental Science in the Everglades,” panelist, American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources’ 47th Spring Conference, April 19, 2018

-“Public-Private Partnerships Can ‘Bridge the Gap’ to Resource Sustainability,” The Florida Bar Journal, Vol. 92, No. 2, February 2018

-South Florida U.S. Army Corps update, AWRA Florida annual meeting, August 2017

-“Lake Okeechobee and the estuaries: A water management balancing act,” and “The essentials of obtaining an environmental resource permit: The nuts and bolts of ERP permitting,” Florida Environmental Network’s Environmental Permitting Summer School, July 2017

-“Lake Okeechobee and the Estuaries: A Water Management Balancing Act – Latest Developments & Near Term Predictions,” moderator, 30th annual Environmental Permitting School, Florida Chamber Foundation, July 2016

-“Wetlands Permitting and Mitigation: The Essentials of Obtaining an Environmental Resource Permit – The Nuts & Bolts of ERP Permitting,” 30th annual Environmental Permitting School, Florida Chamber Foundation, July 2016

-“Update on Rules and Regulations,” South Florida Aquatic Plant Management Society, June 30, 2016

-“Water Management in South Florida,” American Water Resources Association (AWRA), Florida Section, Florida Institute of Consulting Engineers (FICE), May 15, 2015

-“The Essentials of Obtaining an Environmental Resource Permit (ERP),” 26th Annual Environmental Permitting School, Florida Chapter, July 2011-14

-“Northern Everglades and Lake Okeechobee” panel discussion- 26th Annual Environmental Permitting School, Florida Chamber, July 2014

-“Implementing Florida Numeric Nutrient Criteria,” 26th Annual Environmental Permitting School, Florida Chamber, July 2012

-“Planning for Sustainability 101,” 26th Annual Environmental Permitting School, Florida Chamber, July 2012, February 2011

-“Permit Challenges — Everything a Consultant Needs to Know,” Broward Chapter of the American Society of Engineers, Keynote Speaker, March 2011

-“Florida’s Water Resources,” Senior Executive Orientation, Broward Leadership Foundation, February 2011

-Water Choices I & II Forums, Florida Earth Foundation, Chair, October 2010, February 2011

-American Water Resources Association (AWRA) Florida Section meeting chair, September 2010

-“Practice Before the D.O.A.H.,” The Florida Bar Conference, Administrative & Environmental & Land Use Law Sections, October 30, 2009

-“WMD Planning, Regulatory and Alternative Water Supply Update,” Florida Chamber, Environmental Permitting Summer School, July 2009

-“Florida’s Environmental Challenges,” Florida Power & Light, June 2009

-“Water Quality Rules and New Development,” Florida Bar’s Hot Topics in Environmental and Land Use Law, April 2009

-“Everglades: Current Obstacles and Opportunities Facing the River of Grass,” CLE International, Program co-chair and guest speaker, October 30-31, 2008

-“Recent Developments and Issues in the ERP Permitting Program,” Florida Bar’s Hot Topics in Environmental and Land Use Law, April 2008

-“Administrative Practice before the Division of Administrative Hearings, An ERP Permit Challenge,” Florida Bar, program co-chair and guest speaker, November 2007

-“Northern and Southern Everglades,” CLE International Florida Wetlands Seminar, November 2007

-“Everglades Restoration and Development: ERP Developments within Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Program Footprints,” Florida Bar’s Environmental Hot Topics Conference, March 2006

-“Environmental Resource Permits and Everglades Restoration,” CLE International Mitigation Banking and Wetlands Conference, November 2005

-FAU Guest Lecturer, Administrative Law Class, Administrative Adjudication, March 2004

-“Environmental Resource Permitting Update,” Florida Bar’s Annual Environmental Law and Land Use Conference, August 2003

-“Overview of the South Florida Water Management District’s Environmental Resource Permitting Program,” Palm Beach Bar CLE Environmental Permitting, January 2002

-“Water Management District Enforcement,” Florida Chamber, Environmental Permitting Summer School, July 1998