Steven Odell
Marten Law, LLP

Michael Purdie
NHA

DESCRIPTION

Increasingly, energy and environmental regulations are changing as federal and state administrations change.  This panel will explore the role politics plays in shaping the regulatory framework, and how members can navigate the uncertainty creating by the changing framework.  The panel will also discuss the role of the courts in interpreting and applying laws and regulations, and how their role has changed in recent years.  The panel will use the National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act and environmental justice as examples.  Members attending this panel will better understand how politics and litigation can impact hydropower operations, both directly and indirectly, and how to factor those considerations into licensing and compliance strategies. 

This Panel is within the Regulatory and Policy Track at the conference. 
 
This session is a 201-level discussion for those looking to take a deeper dive into this subject matter.  

Moderator: 

Dustin Till,  Partner, Troutman Pepper Locke LLP


Panelists: 

• Jenna Mandell-Rice, Partner, Van Ness Feldman
• Steve Odell, Partner, Marten Law LLP
• Michael Purdie, Director of Regulatory Affairs and Markets, NHA

Speaker Bios:

• Dustin Till focuses on guiding clients through complex hydroelectric relicensing, license surrender, and license compliance processes before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and other federal and state regulators. He is uniquely positioned to advise hydroelectric asset owners on high-stakes FERC hydropower proceedings, given his central role in navigating the successful FERC license surrender proceeding for the Lower Klamath Hydroelectric Project in California and Oregon, as well as the numerous state and federal regulatory requirements that applied to the largest dam removal effort in history. Working effectively with federal and state regulators, Native American Tribes, and other stakeholders, Dustin helped craft the legal, regulatory, and political strategies that delivered a balanced outcome, which included core utility business and customer protections, and resolved one of the nation’s most long-standing and intractable FERC hydropower proceedings on record.
• Jenna Mandell-Rice is a partner in the Seattle office of Van Ness Feldman and is the co-chair of the firm's Environmental, Land Use and Natural Resources practice group. Jenna counsels clients on natural resources, environmental, and water-related permitting and litigation, with a particular focus on hydropower project licensing and water infrastructure project permitting.
• Steve Odell is a native Oregonian, who served in all three branches of the U.S. Government prior to becoming a partner at the boutique environmental and natural resources law firm, Marten Law, having served as a trial attorney for the U.S. Justice Department, as a Senior Executive within the U.S. Department of the Interior, and as Senior Counsel to the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Serving in these varied capacities has allowed Steve to be at the epicenter of resolving some of the most complex and contentious issues in environmental, natural resources, and energy law in the American West over the past 25 years. Much of his professional experience has come in the courtroom, where he has litigated quite literally hundreds of cases in both federal appellate and district courts on myriad issues including hydropower, water quality and water rights, listed species, wetlands, and energy policy.
• Michael Purdie is NHA’s Director of Regulatory Affairs and Markets. Mike comes from Dominion Energy where he advocated for Dominion Energy’s interests at PJM, ISO-NE, and NEPOOL stakeholder venues. Prior to working for Dominion Energy, Mike worked at the Nuclear Energy Institute and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

• Michael Purdie is NHA’s Director of Regulatory Affairs and Markets.  Mike comes from Dominion Energy where he advocated for Dominion Energy’s interests at PJM, ISO-NE, and NEPOOL stakeholder venues.  Prior to working for Dominion Energy, Mike worked at the Nuclear Energy Institute and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Mike is the supporting NHA staff member for the Regulatory Affairs and Markets Committees.