Andrea Wortzel
Troutman Pepper

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: 
Andrea Wortzel, General Counsel for NWHA, Practice Group Leader, Troutman Pepper Locke LLP

Panelists: 

• Jenna Mandell-Rice, Partner, Van Ness Feldman
• Steve Odell, Partner, Marten Law LLP
• Dustin Till, PacifiCorp

Speaker Bios:

• Andrea Wortzel’s practice focuses on natural resource-related compliance, including addressing issues such as water quality, endangered species, National Environmental Policy Act reviews, environmental justice and water rights. She works closely with hydropower projects as they navigate through ESA consultation, NEPA analyses, and obtaining Clean Water Action Section 401 certifications. Additionally, she has worked with hydropower clients on environmental justice studies, and with strategies for developing ESG programs. She serves as General Counsel to the Northwest Hydroelectric Association.
• 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.