2014 Environmental Law Conference

Date: Mar 06, 2014
Timing: 8:45am to 4:45pm

March 6, 2014 – March 7, 2014
Thurs: 8:45 am – 4:45 pm; Fri: 8:30 am – 1:30 pm
11.25 MCLE hours, including 2.00 approved Professional Responsibility MCLE credit hours
Presented by Environmental Law
Co-sponsored by Illinois State Bar Association

This premier conference features annual updates on agency activities and priorities in Illinois and the Region presented by top representatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, the Illinois Attorney General’s Office, and other state agencies. In addition, you won’t want to miss the lively two-hour professional ethics session on “Identifying and Resolving Ethical Issues Arising in Environmental Law” and a new plenary session during lunch on “President Obama’s Climate Action Plan: Goals and Implementation.” Also learn about the latest hot topics in environmental law from leading practitioners, including:

  • State and Federal Environmental Case Law and Statutory Update
  • Recent Developments in Vapor Intrusion Guidance and Regulation
  • Illinois’ Renewable and Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standards
  • Hydraulic Fracturing in Illinois – A New Regulatory Regime
  • Key Principles of Administrative Law for Environmental Practitioners
  • Clean Air Act – Recent Decisions in New Source Review Enforcement Case
  • Site Remediation Updates
  • Who Owns the Beach? – History, Common Law, and the Great Lakes

Program Coordinator:
Patricia F. Sharkey, Environmental Law Counsel, P.C., Chicago

Program Moderator:
Alison Hayden Kehrer, United Airlines, Chicago

Agenda

Thursday, March 6, 2014

8:45 – 9:00 a.m.  Welcome & Overview
Alison Hayden Kehrer, United Airlines, Chicago
Patricia F. Sharkey, Environmental Law Counsel, P.C., Chicago

9:00 – 10:30 a.m.  Annual Update on Agency Activities and Priorities: Illinois and the Region
The 13th Annual Environmental Law Conference kicks off with a session on the latest initiatives on the state and federal level as presented by distinguished representatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, and the Illinois Attorney General’s Office.
Moderator: Prof. Keith I. Harley, IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, Chicago Legal Clinic, Inc., Chicago
Lisa Bonnett, Director, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, Springfield
Matthew J. Dunn, Chief of Environmental Enforcement/Asbestos Litigation Division, Illinois Attorney General’s Office, Chicago
Susan J. Hedman, Regional Administrator, Region V, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Chicago**

10:30 – 10:45 a.m.  Break (beverages provided)

10:45 – 11:45 a.m.  Breakout Session 1

  • Recent Developments in Vapor Intrusion Guidance and Regulation: Legal and Technical Issues
    In 2013, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency updated its guidance and regulations regarding volatile organic chemicals in soil and groundwater migrating into residential, commercial, and industrial buildings, while Illinois adopted the long-anticipated vapor intrusion component of its site remediation regulations. This segment explores the evolving regulatory and liability landscape in this area and provides practical advice and strategies for lawyers who advise industrial, commercial, and real estate clients.

    • Moderator & Speaker: 
      • Lisa A. Funderburg, Chief Environmental Health and Safety Counsel, Energizer Holdings, Inc., Springfield
      • Catherine E. Regan, Senior Engineer, Environmental Resources Management (ERM), Boston. Massachusetts
  • Illinois’ Renewable and Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standards
    In August 2007, Senate Bill 1592 was signed into law, creating the Illinois Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard (EEPS) and a Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS). This legislation was touted as one of the most ambitious clean energy legislation in the nation. This panel provides an overview of the legislation and how the program works, discusses Illinois’ progress toward meeting its ambitious program goals, and critiques the program as compared to other EEPS and RPS.

    • Moderator: James P. Gignac, Illinois Attorney General’s Office, Chicago
      • Melville Nickerson, Deputy Director, Illinois Energy Office, Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, Springfield
      • Robert Kelter, Senior Attorney, Environmental Law & Policy Center, Chicago

11:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.  Lunch Served (provided)

12:15 – 1:00 p.m.  President Obama’s Climate Action Plan: Goals and Implementation
Join us for this overview of President Obama’s Climate Action Plan and an in-depth analysis of U.S. EPA and state authorities under Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act to craft flexible, innovative approaches to reduce emissions from the largest greenhouse gas sources – existing electricity-generating power plants. The Natural Resources Defense Council has been an active proponent of the President’s Climate Action Plan and has proposed an innovative regulatory approach, which would allow states to “think outside the box” to reduce CO2 emissions from existing power plants.
David Weiskopf, Natural Resources Defense Council, Chicago

1:00 – 2:30 p.m.  Key Principles of Administrative Law for Environmental Law Practitioners
This panel presentation covers key principles of administrative law, including the importance of making an administrative record, the exhaustion of administrative remedies, and when matters qualify for judicial review. The application of these principles with respect to the USEPA, the Illinois EPA, and the Illinois Pollution Control Board are discussed.

Moderator: Matthew E. Cohn, Arnstein & Lehr, LLP, Chicago
William J. Anaya, Arnstein & Lehr LLP, Chicago
Bertram C. Frey, Deputy Regional Counsel, Region V, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Chicago**
Prof. Harold J. Krent, Dean and Professor of Law, IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, Chicago

2:30 – 2:45 p.m.  Break (refreshments provided)

2:45 – 3:45 p.m.  Breakout Session 2

  • Site Remediation Updates
    This segment explores a variety of current issues relating to site remediation “all appropriate inquiry” standard under the new ASTM E1527-13 and achieving the CERCLA bona fide prospective purchaser defense.

    • Moderator & Speaker: Eugene P. Schmittgens, Evans & Dixon, LLC, St. Louis, Missouri
      • Peter M. Felitti, Associate Regional Counsel, Region V, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Chicago**
  • Clean Air Act – Recent Decisions in New Source Review Enforcement Cases: What Do They Mean for EPA, Industry and the Public?
    Join us as our speakers offer perspectives from counsel for the USEPA, permittees, and public interest advocates on recent decisions addessing the availability of civil penalties and injunctive relief in Clean Air Act New Source Review (NSR) cases, including discussion of several precedential 7th Circuit cases. The segment examines the legal underpinnings of these decisions, whether these decisions undermine EPA’s power to enforce its new source review (NSR) permitting program, and the implications of these decisions for EPA, permittees, and the public.

    • Moderator: Patricia F. Sharkey, Environmental Law Counsel, P.C., Chicago
      • Stephen J. Bonebrake, Schiff Hardin, LLP, Libertyville
      • Prof. Keith I. Harley, IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, Chicago Legal Clinic, Inc., Chicago
      • Robert A. Kaplan, Regional Counsel, Region V, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Chicago**

3:45 – 4:45 p.m.  Hydraulic Fracturing in Illinois

Illinois recently enacted the Hydraulic Fracturing Regulatory Act, and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources is in the process of promulgating regulations implementing that law. Get the information you need on the status of the draft IDNR regulations implementing the new Act. This segment includes a comprehensive overview o the status of the rulemaking process, the draft implementing regulations, and how these regulations address the various permitting, groundwater, wastewater management, and air issues associated with fracking.

Moderator & Speaker: Matthew E. Cohn, Arnstein & Lehr, LLP, Chicago
William J. Anaya, Arnstein & Lehr LLP, Chicago
Mitchell L. Cohen, IDNR, Director, Office of Oil & Gas Resource Management, Springfield

4:45 – 6:00 p.m.  Networking Reception

Friday, March 7, 2014

8:30 – 10:00 a.m.  Case Law and Statutory Update
This session provides a comprehensive summary of recent state and federal environmental case law, as well as an overview of new state and federal environmental legislation and regulations – both enacted and proposed.

Moderator & Speaker: Alison Hayden Kehrer, United Airlines, Chicago
Kyle P. Carlson, Gardiner Koch Weisberg & Wrona, Chicago
Emily N. Masalski, Deutsch, Levy & Engel, Chartered, Chicago

10:00 – 10:15 a.m.  Break (beverages provided)

10:15 – 11:15 a.m.  Who Owns the Beach? – History, Common Law and the Great Lakes
Disputes about who owns or has right of access, use, and enjoyment of the Great Lakes’ shore and bed arise in many contexts and forum. Join us as our panel of experts discusses the fascinating history of Great Lakes water bed law, with a focus on our own Lake Michigan. Learn about the many nuances surrounding the rights that are created and limited under the U.S. Constitution, the scope of various state and federal statutes and regulations, and the evolution of state and federal common law, including differing views on private “ownership” of beaches and shoreline, the applicability of the public trust doctrine, the rights of riparian property owners, and the law governing accretion and erosion.

Moderator & Speaker: 

Bertram C. Frey, Deputy Regional Counsel, Region V, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Chicago**
Jeffrey B. Hyman, Staff Attorney, Conservation Law Center, Bloomington, Indiana
James M. Olson, Olson, Bzdok & Howard, P.C., Traverse City, Michigan

11:15 – 11:30 a.m.  Break (refreshments provided)

11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.  Identifying and Resolving Ethical Issues Arising in Environmental Law*

This lively two-hour presentation examines various hypothetical scenarios familiar to environmental practitioners who represent clients involved in generating, treating, transporting, discharging, emitting, or disposing of hazardous materials. The hypotheticals presented involve the Corporate Lawyer, the Government Lawyer, and Outside Counsel. Among other ethical issues, the scenarios focus on the unique issues faced by environmental lawyers in balancing client confidentiality and various statutory and regulatory duties to report. Each scenario is presented as a short skit with moderators highlighting potential issues and potentially applicable Illinois Rules of Professional Responsibility. Following the skit presentations, the audience will break into small groups, analze the ethical issues presented, and suggest potential solutions. Reconvening, the audience will weigh the various analyses and solutions with the aid and advice of our esteemed ARDC speaker.

Moderator & Speakers: 

William J. Anaya, Arnstein & Lehr LLP, Chicago and Lisle A. Stalter, Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office, Waukegan
Scott Renfroe, Chief, Supreme Court Practices, Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission, Chicago