Healthy environments, public land policies explored in ABA Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources webinars

The American Bar Association’s Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources will host two pre-conference webinars prior to the section’s 29th Fall Conference Wednesday through Friday, October 13-15.

The Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources 29th Fall Conference will feature a keynote address and 12 panels covering the policy changes being made by the Biden administration. Senior administration officials and other thought leaders will share insights on the most pressing developments in environment, energy and resources law.

Program highlights include:

• “The Green Amendments Movement: Is There a Constitutional Right to a Clean and Healthy Environment?” — State constitutional guarantees of “environmental rights,” including rights to clean air and water and, more broadly, a “healthful environment,” are currently in place in several states and being considered by a host of others. This panel will analyze the practical and legal implications of these provisions, including whether they create private rights of action and what role state administrative agencies play in protecting the rights they confer. Panelists are Samuel L. Brown of Hunton, Andrews, Kurth in San Francisco, California; Margaret Murphy, senior counsel at Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; David Overstreet of Overstreet & Nestor LLC in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Maya Van Rossum, chief executive officer of the Delaware Riverkeeper Network in Bristol, Pennsylvania.

• “Making Public Land Provide Public Benefits: The Biden Approach to Public Land” — President Biden is pursuing an aggressive approach regarding energy and public land management. This session will focus on the Biden administration's public land agenda and speakers will also explore how the new approach to public land fits within the administration’s broader efforts to protect the environment, combat climate change, promote renewable energy development on and offshore, and protect 30 percent of U.S. lands and water by 2030. Panelists are Adell Amos, Clayton R. Hess Professor of Law at University of Oregon School of Law; Edward Boling of Perkins Coie in Washington, D.C.; and Rachel Jacobson of WilmerHale in Washington, D.C.

For questions or to register, contact Jennifer Kildee at 202-662-1732 or Jennifer.Kildee@americanbar.org.