Environment, Energy and Natural Resources Section Annual Report 2012

Introduction
Substantive Programs
Brown Bag Lunches With Leaders
Community Outreach and Pro Bono

Introduction
Since our last report in November 2011, the Environment, Energy and Natural Resources (EENR) Section has sponsored a number of successful programs and engaged in community outreach and pro bono activities as detailed below. The EENR Steering Committee strives to hold, on average, at least eight events throughout the year. In addition, through its relations with the District of Columbia Department of the Environment, the EENR Steering Committee has in the past, and will again this year, supplement and prepare revisions to select parts of the D.C. Practice Manual on the District of Columbia’s environmental laws.
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Programs
Over the past year, the EENR Section has sponsored, or cosponsored, a number of substantive programs of interest to our members. We also periodically sponsor programs with other organizations including the Environmental Law Institute (ELI), the American Bar Association (ABA) and the Energy Bar Association. Many EENR Section members belong to these groups and our involvement helps strengthen the relationships between complementary organizations.

Examples of substantive programs conducted over the past year include:

A Brown Bag to Discuss Rio+20: Observations and the Future of Sustainability
On September 27, 2012, we organized a brown bag program to discuss Rio+20 – the U.N. Conference on Sustainable Development. A distinguished panelist discussed their observations of the Conference and the future of sustainability, including the role for NGOs, governments and the private sector, as well as how sustainability fits into our legal system.
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Environmental Justice and Federal Environmental Policy – A Conversation
On May 15, 2012, we sponsored a panel comprised of EPA’s General Counsel, the Managing Partner of Beveridge & Diamond PC, the Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, and the Sierra Club’s National Environmental Justice Director to address the renewed significance of environmental justice in the current environmental policy landscape.
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RMS Titanic: 100th Anniversary of its Sinking
On April 4, 2012, we sponsored a program that featured two pre-eminent speakers in the field of maritime heritage and underwater archaeology to discuss the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, with a particular focus on its legal implications for international oceans law.
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A Debrief on the D.C. Circuits Oral Argument in on EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Rulemaking
On March 1, 2012, we co-sponsored a teleconference with the Environmental Law Institute, the ABA, the Georgetown Climate Center and the International Emissions Trading Association that afforded the opportunity for a robust discussion of EPA’s Clean Air Act greenhouse gas emissions rule, litigation in Massachusetts v. EPA, and the future of federal greenhouse gas regulation.
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After Durban/Approaching Rio: Legal, Conservation and Market Prospects for Avoided Deforestation
On January 26, 2012, we sponsored a program that featured a panel of distinguished lawyers who addressed REDD – reducing emissions from deforestation in developing countries. REDD is among the critical elements of efforts to address climate change. The panel discussion explored the status of REDD in climate change negotiations and national policy and touched upon carbon markets, donor support, and certifying mechanisms for REDD projects and programs.
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Clean Water Act Developments: Rapanos and Beyond
On November 10, 2011, we sponsored a panel discussion on Clean Water Act developments since the Supreme Court’s decision in Rapanaos v. United States, in particular developments relevant to the definition of “waters of the United States.” Panelists included the Assistant Section Chief of the Justice Department’s Environment Defense Section, EPA’s Associate General Counsel for Water Law, and a partner from Venable, LLP.
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Brown Bag Lunches With Leaders
The EENR Section continued sponsoring brown bag lunches with preeminent speakers in the environmental, energy and natural resources community. These speakers include General Counsel and other senior federal officials.

A Brown Bag Program with Jim Watson, Director, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), U.S. Department of the Interior
On May 8, 2012, Jim Watson, Director of DOI’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, spoke off-the-record in a conversation about the mission and objectives of BSEE, one of the two agencies to succeed the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, which itself succeeded the Mineral Management Service in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

A Brown Bag Program with Mike Pool, Deputy Director, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Department of the Interior.
On April 12, 2012, Mike Pool, Deputy Director of DOI’s Bureau of Land Management, discussed implementation of Secretary of the Interior Salazar’s Wild Lands Policy, permitting of expanded oil and gas development in the Rocky Mountains, challenges to coal leasing in the western U.S., and efforts to increase renewable energy development on public lands.

A Brown Bag Program with Fred Wagner, Chief Counsel, Federal Highway Administration
On March 27, 2012, Fred Wagner, Chief Counsel of the Federal Highway Administration, discussed environmental aspects of the Federal-aid highway program, including the application of environmental laws to Federal-aid programs for planning, land acquisition and construction of highways.
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Community Outreach and Pro Bono
The EENR Section community outreach efforts continue to focus on law students and young lawyers with an interest in environment, energy and natural resources law. On November 1, 2011, we sponsored a well-attended career panel with the George Washington University Law School’s Environmental Law Association. On March 29, we co-sponsored a networking event with ELI. We held our traditional annual reception with summer associates and interns on July 12, 2012. This informal event is our most popular section activity and includes not only aspiring environmental lawyers but also environmental, energy and natural resource practitioners from academia, government agencies, private firms and non-profits. We also continued to co-sponsor with ELI a summer school composed of a complimentary seminar series that serves as an introduction to the legal and policy foundations of environmental protection in the United States.

To mark Earth Day, we linked up with the Anacostia Watershed Society on April 21, 2012, to provide a volunteer opportunity to clean up the Anacostia Watershed at locations throughout D.C. and Maryland. On May 12, 2012, we sponsored a “painless” pro bono voluntary opportunity at the D.C. Bar’s Advice and Referral Clinic.
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