Holland & Hart News

Firm Releases White Paper on Transmission Siting Challenges in the Western United States

The electric transmission system in the western United States is currently inadequate to accommodate future energy needs, especially considering the increasing demand for renewable energy. Complicating transmission expansion are the myriad federal, state, and local requirements that govern siting, construction, and operation of transmission systems. 

Using this premise as a starting point, Holland & Hart LLP has released a new white paper by attorneys James Holtkamp and Mark Davidson, titled “Transmission Siting in the Western United States: Overview and Recommendations Prepared as Information to the Western Interstate Energy Board." 

Holtkamp and Davidson outline in the white paper the current regulatory systems of Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming and recommend that those states incorporate their respective best practices into a regional transmission siting regime. 

 

Holtkamp and Davidson stress in the white paper how serious the need is for a coordinated and rational approach to transmission project siting. Such an approach would assure protection of environmental and other critical interests, incorporate ample opportunity for input from affected stakeholders, allow for reasonable recovery of costs, and place a priority on the compelling interests in modernizing the transmission grid.

 

The white paper is available here.

 

 

Anne Castle Confirmed as Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Water and Science

Holland & Hart partner Anne Castle has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate as Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Water and Science. In this position, Castle will oversee water and science policy and will have responsibility for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Geological Survey. 

On June 19, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said of the confirmation, "Anne Castle has more than 25 years of experience in water rights, water quality, and natural resources law." He continued, "I welcome Anne to our leadership team and look forward to working with her on the major water and science challenges we face, from climate impacts, to drought and regional water issues."

Castle is the former Chair of Holland & Hart’s Management Committee and former Chair of the firm’s Natural Resources Department. She is consistently listed in Best Lawyers in America for water law and was selected by The Women’s Vision Foundation for its prestigious Woman of Vision award in 2008.

In 2007, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter appointed Castle to the South Platte River Basin Task Force. Castle was appointed a member of the Colorado Ground Water Commission from 1994 to 2002 by former Colorado Governor Roy Romer. She also was the Chair and an elected member of the Board of Directors for the Genesee Water and Sanitation District from 1989 to 2002.  

Read more about Castle's confirmation, here.

Partner Applies for Judicial Vacancy

Fifteen Las Vegas lawyers are vying for two recent vacancies on Southern Nevada court benches. Among them is Holland & Hart partner, Philip Dabney.

The other contenders include one judge, a deputy public defender, a former hearing master and several private attorneys. The two selected will replace Family Court Judge Stefany Miley, who was elected to Elizabeth Halverson’s District Court seat, and Family Court Judge Sandra Pomrenze, who was elected to the newly created Department P at Family Court.

The Commission on Judicial Selection will choose three candidates for each opening, and Gov. Jim Gibbons will pick the replacements from the nominees.

Read more in the Las Vegas Sun, here.

Time to Vote

Employment lawyer Jude Biggs summarizes the rules regarding time off to vote at Holland & Hart's Employment Law Blog. 

Click here to read.

ELECTION 2008: Law Firms Gear Up for JoeBama Rama

Today, from Law.com:

"With the Democratic National Convention set to debut tonight before a national television audience, firms are flocking to Denver to market themselves and their practice groups.

"We're just cranking here right now, literally hopping from event to event," says Scott Martinez, an associate at Denver-based Holland & Hart and a former interim executive director of the Colorado Democratic Party.

Martinez has just left an event attended by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Cal.) on renewable energy. "It was packed, wall-to-wall," the second-year associate says. "But it was a great place to get to know people on a social level. Five minutes from now, I'm headed to another meeting with some wind energy executives and most of the western [state] governors."

Firms like Holland & Hart use politically connected employees like Martinez--who is working in tandem with Holland & Hart government and regulatory investment partner Michael Carrigan--to press the flesh and solicit business.

"We want to make sure our firm has a strong presence at the convention and we're pretty much blocked from 7:30 in the morning to 1:30 in the morning," Martinez says. "People are pretty excited about showcasing our city, and our job here at the firm is to let others know that our footprint looks just like the Rocky Mountains and the Sierras."

Read the entire article on law.com

Chris Thorne Comments on Colorado Water Law

Chris Thorne, Chair of Holland & Hart's Water Law Group, participated in a recent hearing sponsored by the Colorado Supreme Court, on possible reforms to the Colorado Water laws and regulations.  Read the article in the Pueblo Chieftain. 

News Update on Carbon Sequestration Legislation

Wyoming Leads Nation with Clean Coal Legislation: State First to Establish Carbon-Capture Regulatory Framework
By Delissa Hayano
March 6, 2008

On March 4, 2008, Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal signed into law two bills intended to resolve ownership and regulation issues associated with the underground storage of carbon dioxide. With the Governor’s signature, Wyoming became the first state to enact comprehensive carbon sequestration legislation establishing a legal framework for underground storage of carbon dioxide and other emissions from coal-fired power plants.

House Bill 89 addresses the ownership of “Pore Space,” which is the space in subsurface geologic formations that can be used as storage space for carbon dioxide or other substances. The bill establishes that Pore Space underneath the surface estate is owned by the surface owner. The bill allows that the Pore Space is conveyed upon the conveyance of the surface, unless the space has been previously conveyed or is explicitly excluded in the surface conveyance. The bill states explicitly that it does not affect the common law regarding the dominance of the mineral estate.

House Bill 90 rests regulation of Wyoming’s carbon sequestration program with the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). The bill requires the DEQ to create an advisory board and rules to expand the Underground Injection Control program to include carbon sequestration. Under the bill, a working group including the supervisor of the oil and gas commission, the state geologist, and the director of the DEQ will set bonding procedures. Jurisdiction over the subsequent extraction of sequestered carbon dioxide rests with the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. The bill does not impact the oil and other mineral interest owners’ right to drill or bore through sequestration sites, nor does it include within its scope the regulation of enhanced oil recovery operations using carbon dioxide.

The laws take effect July 1, 2008, and are a component of Wyoming’s efforts to lead the nation in developing new clean coal technologies. Other components of this effort include a legislative committee’s proposal to study clean coal incentives during the interim between the 2008 and 2009 legislative sessions and the recently announced $100 million coal research plant to be developed by General Electric in partnership with the University of Wyoming.

Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission House Bills 1298 & 1341

Update on the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation
Commission House Bills 1298 & 1341 Rulemaking

This brief summary is to provide you with  an update on the current House Bills 1298 and 1341 rulemaking process at the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (the "COGCC").   

Since the release of the Pre-Draft Rulemaking Proposal (also referred to as COGCC's "strawman" proposal), COGCC has held a series of “stakeholder” meetings in five substantive areas: (1) Process; (2) Environment and Health; (3) Wildlife; (4) Studies; and (5) Additional Regulations.  These stakeholder meetings brought together representatives of federal, state and local governments, industry, concerned citizens and environmental groups to discuss problems, issues and suggestions raised by the strawman proposal.  The stakeholder meeting process has largely concluded, and the COGCC is now in the process of drafting proposed rules.   Stakeholders have expressed very mixed reviews and reactions to the stakeholder process, and many contentious policy and legal issues remain unresolved and unaddressed.

Read the rest of the article here.