Environmental Committees
Agricultural Management
The Agricultural Management Committee was founded in 1996 to address cutting-edge issues in managing the environmental impacts of agriculture. The Committee focuses on developments in federal and state legislation, regulation, litigation and policy related to the agricultural environment, from agricultural biotechnology, livestock, pollution, sustainability, and food safety, to zoology/biodiversity.
Air Quality
The Air Quality Committee provides a valuable forum and practical resources for lawyers interested in air-related issues to: (1) keep current on new developments, through communications such as newsletters, teleconferences, social media, and seminars; (2) exchange ideas and best practices with other practitioners around the country; and (3) stay involved with the legal community by contributing to various Section publications and participating in Section events.
Endangered Species
This Committee focuses on Endangered Species Act (ESA) law, policy and practice, providing alerts, expert analyses and forum discussions for a broad range of members from industry, government, and nonprofits. Frequent topics: ESA Sections 7 and 9 requirements, Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) development/use, integrating ESA compliance with other environmental requirements, and effects of major listing decisions on species, habitat, and development. Join us!
Environmental Disclosure
The Environmental Disclosures Committee provides a forum for the discussion of corporate environmental disclosure in light of the requirements recently imposed by Sarbanes-Oxley and the increasing number of environmental “transparency” initiatives. The Committee focuses on legally mandated SEC and financial statement disclosure of environmental matters and the relationship between such disclosures and voluntary corporate sustainability and social responsibility disclosures of environmental matters to stakeholders. It also treats issues arising from product-related environmental disclosures in the commercial marketplace.
Environmental Enforcement and Crimes
The Environmental Enforcement and Crimes Committee monitors and communicates developments and trends of interest to its members and their clients, focusing on practical issues arising in civil and criminal environmental enforcement. Current topics include the government’s worker endangerment initiative, RIN fraud (renewable energy credits), Lacey Act violations (unlawful trade in animals and plants), vessel pollution prosecutions, Clean Air and Water Act enforcement, and emerging issues in sentencing and penalty assessment, including a jury instruction library.
Environmental Litigation and Toxic Torts
The Environmental Litigation and Toxic Torts Committee covers all aspects of environmental litigation, but focuses on tort actions involving potential exposure to toxic substances. The Committee's goal is to provide a forum for practitioners to learn and communicate about the latest developments and trends in this rapidly changing field.
Environmental Transactions and Brownfields
The ETAB Committee works on environmental issues that arise in business, energy or real estate transactions, including M&A deals, asset-based transactions, fossil and renewable energy projects, and remediation and redevelopment of brownfields. Substantive areas include: liability protection, transfer and apportionment; parent/successor liability; lender liability; insurance; incentive programs (e.g., VCPs, BCPs, S-RECs, TIFs); deal structure and finance.
Pesticides, Chemical Regulation, and Right-to-Know
The Pesticides, Chemical Regulation, and Right-to-Know Committee addresses a diversity of federal, state, and international regulatory matters with a distinct product focus. Products of interest include chemical and biological pesticides, industrial and consumer chemicals, and plant and microbial products of biotechnology.
Superfund and Natural Resource Damages Litigation
The Superfund and Natural Resource Damages (NRD) Litigation Committee focuses on federal and state law, cases and policy related to Superfund sites and NRD. Issues include assignment of liability, cost allocation, enforcement, and interactions between agencies, trustees and potentially responsible parties. The Committee provides updates on settlement options, litigation techniques, and technical issues of interest to environmental practitioners.
Waste and Resource Recovery
The Waste and Resource Recovery Committee (formerly Waste Management Committee) is broadening its focus from the traditional “cradle to grave” management of solid and hazardous waste to encompass a more sustainable view of waste as a resource through recycling, beneficial use, reduction, and conservation. The W&RR Committee will track and communicate statutory, regulatory, and judicial developments in emerging areas such as new definitions of solid and hazardous waste, recycling, permitting, flow control, waste bans, waste conversion technologies, and environmental justice. We will encourage member-to-member dialogue through the use of traditional and innovative means to exchange ideas, share success stories, and identify opportunities for meaningful contributions to the field. Our members include a rich mixture of lawyers in private practice, in-house counsel, trade association counsel, non-profit lawyers, and government attorneys.
Water Quality and Wetlands
The Water Quality and Wetlands Committee's goal is to keep water quality and wetlands issues in focus for our members as they move into the next century. This will be accomplished by identifying emerging issues such as recent cases on federal jurisdiction, Water Quality and TMCL Regulations and Citizen Suit litigation among others.