Bennett bearden
geological survey of alabama

Bennett Bearden’s legal, political, and negotiating experiences have placed him squarely in the center of one of Alabama’s most important natural resources issues: water policy. Bennett currently serves as Deputy Attorney General and General Counsel, Chief of Staff, and Assistant State Geologist at the Geological Survey of Alabama. In April 2012, the Governor of the State of Alabama appointed Bennett Chair of the Alabama Water Agencies Working Group (AWAWG), the task force charged with developing policy options and recommendations for a comprehensive state water management plan. As chair from 2012 to 2014, he provided the AWAWG with constructive resolution of emerging challenges at the intersection of water policy and law, emphasizing data-driven policy making, strategic counseling, water diplomacy, water conflict mediation, crisis management, creative dispute resolution, and enhanced relations with stakeholders and community groups. He served as Special Counsel to the Governor on Water Law and Policy from 2013 to 2017. He is a lawyer licensed in Alabama and Washington, D.C., a Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales (currently inactive) and is admitted to the Bar of the United States District Court-Northern District of Alabama, United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, and Supreme Court of the United States. He is a Fellow in the American Bar Foundation and was the Founding Director (2013-2018) of the Water Policy and Law Institute at The University of Alabama in the Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development. Bennett is a Licensed Professional Geologist in Alabama, Registered Professional Geologist in Mississippi, and a Certified Professional Geologist in The American Institute of Professional Geologists. Bennett serves as the Senior Water Policy Advisor (Affiliate) to the Alabama Water Institute on the Interstate Council on Water Policy and serves as Adjunct Professor of Water Policy and Law at The University of Alabama.