WASHINGTON, March 29, 2022 — Jeffrey M. Prieto, general counsel at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and John E. Putnam, deputy general counsel at the U.S. Department of Transportation, will deliver the keynote address during the 51st Spring Conference on Environmental Law hosted by the ABA Section of Environment, Energy and Resources April 6-8 at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco. It is the section’s first in-person conference in two years.
In the joint keynote address at 9 a.m. on April 7, Prieto and Putnam will share insights on the Biden administration’s environmental and climate change regulatory agenda, pressing legal issues and challenges to achieve the clean energy transition, and approaches to environmental law leadership and stakeholder outreach.
Panel discussions feature a broad range of topics, including the future of PFAS regulation, citizen suits after 50 years of the Clean Water Act, and management of sovereign lands in the era of climate change.
What: 51st Spring Conference on Environmental Law
Sponsored by the ABA Section of Environment, Energy and Resources
When: Wednesday-Friday, April 6-8
Where: Hyatt Regency San Francisco
5 Embarcadero Center
San Francisco, CA 94111
Program highlights include (all times are PDT):
“The Evolving City: How Cities Respond to Climate Change” – Climate change is increasingly being attributed to natural disasters that impact cities around the world –– more powerful hurricanes, increased wildfires, bigger river floods and hotter city streets. This panel will discuss the response of cities to climate change and natural disasters and present novel approaches to managing explosive urban redevelopment through a lens of environmental justice. Panelists include LaToya Cantrell, mayor of New Orleans; Jennifer Hernandez of Holland & Knight, San Francisco; moderator Christine Jochim of Brownstein Hyatt Farber, Denver; and Tomi Vest, general counsel in New York City Mayor’s Office of Climate & Sustainability, New York.
Thursday, 9:45-11:15 a.m. PDT
“Beyond the Transition: The Future of Not-Yet-Mainstream Energy Technologies and Solutions” – Many energy law discussions revolve around exploring the “transition” to a clean energy future, asking questions such as “What is needed to get us there?” This panel will describe the opportunities and challenges to meet the demands of a post-carbon grid, and the legal frameworks that govern deployment and regulation. Panelists include Stephen Burns of Third Way, Washington, D.C.; Michael Colvin of the Environmental Defense Fund, San Francisco; Daniel Farber (moderator), of Berkeley Center for Law, Energy & the Environment, Berkeley, California; and Loretta Lynch, former president of California Public Utilities Commission, San Francisco.
Thursday, 2:15-3:45 p.m. PDT
“Infrastructure Bill –– Transformational Change, or More of the Same? Intending to facilitate the rebuilding of our nation’s roads, bridges and new climate resilience and broadband initiatives, the much-anticipated infrastructure bill passed in November. This action has the power to transform, modernize and reinvent all aspects of our energy, environmental and natural resources landscape. Panelists include Ted Boling of Perkins Coie LLP, Alexandria, Virginia; Melissa Figueroa, chief of strategic communications at California High-Speed Rail Authority, Sacramento, California; and Alice Koethe, staff member at U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C.
Friday, 9-10:30 a.m. PDT
A complete agenda can be found online.
For media credentialing and registration, please contact Jennifer Kildee at 202-662-1732 or [email protected]. Note: Attendees are required to provide, prior to the meeting, either proof of full vaccination as defined by the CDC or proof of a negative viral COVID test administered by a health care professional taken within three days of arrival at the meeting.
Visit the conference website for the complete in-person meeting policy.
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