Fifth Annual Martz Spring Symposium

03/21/2018

March 21, 2018: Fifth Annual Martz Spring Symposium

University of Colorado School of Law

Environmental Law & Policy under the Trump Administration (8:30am – 5:00pm)

Oxford-style Debate: Pruitt’s EPA: Lean or Malnourished? (6:00pm – 7:00pm)

The Martz Spring Symposium will bring together diverse experts to discuss the consequences of new interpretations of environmental protections at the federal level, the resultant litigation, and how Tribal, state and local governments, as well as market forces, are responding.

What are the likely outcomes from changes at EPA, Interior, and other agencies?

• Our panelists will discuss the changes to environmental policies taking place at federal agencies; the likely short- and long-term consequences (if any) to our air, water, public lands, and wildlife; and how these changes may affect the federal workforce.

Moderator

• Shaun McGrath, former EPA Region 8 Administrator, Denver, CO

Confirmed Speakers

• Bob Comer, Norton Rose Fulbright, Denver, CO
• Kerrigan Clough, former 30+ year career at EPA, Denver, CO
• Jill Cooper, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, Denver, CO
• Genna Reed, Union of Concerned Scientists, Washington, DC

Who is fighting these changes and how?

• Our panelists will review the various lawsuits, plaintiffs, and legal theories being used to halt or slow perceived environmental degradations.

Moderator

• Joan Card, former Senior Policy Advisor, EPA Region 8

Confirmed Speakers

• Megan Ceronsky, Center for Applied Environmental Law & Policy, Boulder, CO
• Gary Guzy, Covington & Burling LLP, Washington DC (invited)
• Lissa Lynch, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Washington DC
• Peter Zalzal, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), Boulder, CO

Keynote Address - Climate Progress in the Energy Sector: Room for Optimism?

• David Spence, the Herbert Kelleher Professor of Energy Law, University of Texas
  Market forces and the states continue to drive decarbonization. Three states in particular -- California, Texas, and New York -- illustrate different ways in which this transition continues, offering a set of natural experiments from which the rest of the country will be able to derive important lessons that will hasten the transition process.

In lieu of federal regulation, what’s happening from the “bottom up”?

• Hear about the steps many Tribes, states, and local government are taking to protect air and water quality, and battle climate change. Discussions will include the status of the Clean Power Plan, and the role of market forces and advancing technologies.

Moderator

• Pam Kiely, Environmental Defense Fund, Boulder, CO

Confirmed Speakers

• Emily Fisher, Edison Energy Institute, Washington DC
• Angie Fyfe, ICLEI USA, Denver, CO
• Governor Bill Ritter, Center for New Energy Economy, Denver Collins, CO
• Pilar Thomas, Lewis Rocca Rothgerber, Tucson, AZ

Oxford-Style Debate at 6:00: Pruitt’s EPA: Lean or Malnourished? (free & open to the public with reception to follow)

• Our guests will debate the following statement: The proposed changes to regulations and changes in enforcement priorities at the EPA will roll back gains made in recent years in protecting human health and the environment.
  • Paul Billings, American Lung Association, Washington DC
  • Emily Fisher, Edison Electric Institute, Washington DC