2015-2016 Environmental Law and Policy Annual Review Conference

When
April 1, 2016 9:30 am — 1:30 pm
Where
Washington, DC

Each year, Vanderbilt University Law School and the Environmental Law Institute identify innovative environmental law and policy proposals in the academic literature. Our participants joined leading professors, policymakers and practitioners to discuss the proposals selected this year. 

Topics

  • The Theory and Use of Environmental Permits
  • The Role of Cost-Benefit Analysis in Setting Health-Based Environmental Standards such as National Ambient Air Quality Standards
  • The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's Approach to Non-Transmission Alternatives

AGENDA

Introduction
9:30 – 9:50 AM

  • Scott Fulton, President, Environmental Law Institute
  • Michael P. Vandenbergh, David Daniels Allen Distinguished Chair of Law, Vanderbilt University Law School
  • Linda K. Breggin, Senior Attorney, Environmental Law Institute

The Permit Power Revisited: The Theory and Practice of Regulatory Permits in the Administrative State
9:50 – 10:55 AM

  • J. B. Ruhl (co-author), David Daniels Allen Distinguished Chair of Law, Vanderbilt University Law School (with Eric Biber, Professor of Law, University of California, Berkeley)
  • Ethan Shenkman, Deputy General Counsel, and Aditi Prabhu, Attorney-Adviser, Office of General Counsel, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
  • Bill Sapp, Senior Attorney, Southern Environmental Law Center
  • D. Randall Benn, Member, and Brent Fewell, Member, Earth and Water Group

Break
10:55 – 11:05 AM

Rethinking Health-Based Environmental Standards
11:05 AM – 12:10 PM

  • Michael A. Livermore (co-author), Associate Professor of Law, University of Virginia Law School, and Richard L. Revesz (co-author), Lawrence King Professor of Law and Dean Emeritus, New York University School of Law
  • Robert Martineau, Commissioner, Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation
  • Sally Katzen, Senior Adviser, Podesta Group
  • Gary S. Guzy, Senior of Counsel, Covington & Burling LLP

Break (Lunch will be served)
12:10 – 12:20 PM

Non-Transmission Alternatives
12:20 – 1:25 PM

  • Shelley Welton (author), Ph.D. in Law Candidate, Yale Law School
  • Randy Elliott, Senior Regulatory Counsel, American Public Power Association
  • Michael Panfil, Attorney, Environmental Defense Fund (via video)
  • Michael J. Gergen, Partner, Latham & Watkins LLP

Closing Remarks
1:25 – 1:30 PM


ELPAR Article Selections for 2015-16

Eric Biber & J.B. Ruhl
The Permit Power Revisited: The Theory and Practice of Regulatory Permits in the Administrative State
64 Duke Law Journal 133

Michael A. Livermore & Richard L. Revesz
Rethinking Health-Based Environmental Standards
89 New York University Law Review 1184

Shelley Welton
Non-Transmission Alternatives
39 Harvard Environmental Law Review 457

Honorable Mentions:

Alejandro E. Camacho
Going the Way of the Dodo: De-Extinction, Dualisms, and Reframing Conservation
92 Washington University Law Review 849

Matthew Wansley
Cost-Benefit Analysis as a Commitment Device
87 Temple Law Review 447