Tuesday and Wednesday, March 30-31, 2010
Pointe Hilton Tapitio Cliffs
11111 North 7th Street
Phoenix, AZ 85020
The Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, continues to emphasize the importance of renewable energy development on federal lands, but the procedure to accomplish this development is currently long and arduous. Though many federal agencies have agreed to work together to streamline the permitting process, navigating the bureaucracy remains a major hurdle to energy development on federal lands. Now, as renewable developers start to tackle the permitting and environmental review challenges, understanding the regulations that control the process is becoming one of their major focuses in 2010.
This conference, hosted by Electric Utility Consultants Inc. (EUCI), and sponsored by Holland & Hart, is designed to address many of these significant challenges. Conference sessions will:
- Examine the role the Bureau of Land Management has in permitting and the environmental review process prior to development;
- Discuss the policies the Department of Interior is considering to streamline and incentivize additional rapid development;
- Discuss the importance of consulting state and local authorities despite the federal jurisdiction in order to ensure availability of adequate resources including transmission capacity and water resources;
- Evaluate the conflicts innate in allowing renewable energy development on some of the nations most precious land resources; and
- Provide potential options for balancing the conflicting objectives of energy development and land conservation.
Holland & Hart attorney Mike Brennan will present a session on the Endangered Species Act and other environmental reviews, touching on both the National Historic Preservation Act and permitting strategies. Mr. Brennan will also moderate a panel regarding how to navigate the permitting process, addressing some of the greatest challenges developers face as they traverse the development path.
Who Should Attend:
- Renewable energy professionals and consultants Renewable energy project developers
- Regulatory and public relations staffers
- Environmental organizations
- Financial and investment groups
- Lawyers and legal staff
- Compliance officers
- Electric utility procurement, generation, and transmission personnel
- Siting and permitting professionals
Pre-Conference Workshop:
On March 29th from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Mike Brennan and other Holland & Hart faculty will be offering a pre-conference workshop focused on the numerous environmental laws and regulations that must be considered prior to embarking on any new development projects on federal lands. Although federal agencies are now collaborating on ways to streamline the permitting process, it is important for all developers to begin with a basic understanding of the laws and with a clear strategy on how to ensure compliance throughout the process. This workshop will outline the major provisions of the key environmental laws controlling the development process. It will provide a thorough summary of the NEPA process, and suggest advice on how to best conduct the Environmental Assessments. It will discuss BLM's efforts to prepare Programmatic Environmental Impact Statements in order to expedite renewable energy projects. Also, it will provide compliance and regulatory management strategies for both the Endangered Species Act as well as the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. It will review the National Historic Preservation Act and describe methods to ensure compliance with Section 106. Finally, it will propose strategies on how to fit these permitting and compliance pieces together in order to move the project to its successful completion on budget and on schedule.
For more information and to register, please visit the EUCI website.