WASHINGTON, D.C., Oct. 3, 2011 — Legal and regulatory developments related to environmental, energy and resources issues will be on the agenda as the American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy and Resources meets Oct. 12-15 at the JW Marriott, 10 S West St., Indianapolis.

The sessions will include two-dozen panels on several hot topics such as nuclear safety following the tragedy at Fukushima Daiichi; impact of product stewardship legislation; EPA regulations on coal combustion products and greenhouse gases; enforcement of foreign judgments in tort litigation; and environmental concerns surrounding hydraulic fracturing.

A selection of newsworthy sessions is below. The complete agenda and updated list of speakers can be found online.

• Tree-Planting Project — In collaboration with Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, a leading environmental non-profit, meeting attendees will plant native trees, 6 to 12 feet tall, at Paul I. Miller Elementary School, providing immediate environmental and aesthetic improvement. This activity is part of the section’s One Million Trees Project, which has the goal to plant 1 million trees by 2014.   9 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Oct. 13

• Plenary Session: Nuclear Safety, Expecting the Unexpected— Recent tragic events in Japan have reinforced the importance of having a robust framework for ensuring safety at existing (and proposed) nuclear facilities. This session will provide an overview of the events at Fukushima Daiichi and discuss the implications for U.S. facilities. 8:10 – 10 a.m. 

Oct. 14

• 2011 ABA Award for Excellence in Environmental, Energy, and Resources Stewardship— The award will be presented to James M. Redwine of Motors Liquidation Company and David R. Berz of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP for their plan of execution to address the environmental functions arising out of the largest industrial bankruptcy in the history of the United States, that of Motors Liquidation Company, formerly known as the General Motors Corporation. 8 – 8:15 a.m.
• Plenary Session 2: The New Environmental Landscape: Legislation, Regulation, and Enforcement Collide—This session will examine the environmental protection landscape and the approaches being taken by various institutional actors, including a review of EPA’s enforcement efforts and the ways in which legislative, regulatory and enforcement efforts are supporting and conflicting with each other, with particular emphasis on greenhouse gas regulation and environmental enforcement. 8:15 – 10 a.m.

Other sessions covering important and topical legal issues include:

ENVIRONMENT

• Hydraulic Fracturing: The Legal Landscape Is It Really Toxic? How Would I Know?
• When the Walls Come Tumbling Down—The Impact of Coal Ash Regulation and Emerging Litigation

ENERGY

• Climate Change Litigation after American Electric Power v. Connecticut.
• Social Cost of Carbon
• Emissions Control Requirements and Impacts: EPA’s Power Plant, Boiler, and Solid Waste Combustion Regulations under the Clean Air Act

BUSINESS

• E-Waste and Beyond: How Far Will and Should Product Stewardship Go?
• Making Products Greener: What is the Lawyer’s Role?
• Doing a Renewable Energy Project on an Indian Reservation: Top Ten Myths
• Reforming Chemicals Regulation: Balancing Science and Fear in the Reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act
• Real Estate Transactions in the New Economy: New Requirements, New Standards, and Climate Risks

ENERGY & INTERNATIONAL TRADE

• How the United States, Canada, and Mexico Are (and Aren’t) Cooperating to Address a New Era of North American Environmental Issues

U.S. SUPREME COURT

• Climate Change Litigation after American Electric Power v. Connecticut.
• Legal Currents: The U.S. Supreme Court and Inter-State Water Disputes.

The summit brochure provides further detail.

With nearly 400,000 members, the American Bar Association is the world’s largest voluntary professional membership organization. As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law. 

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