Environmental Priorities of the Obama Administration Thursday, March 19, 2009 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. CST Welcome & Introductions ©2009 Foley & Lardner LLP 1 Introductions Linda E. Benfield ©2009 Foley & Lardner LLP Housekeeping Issues Call 866.493.2825 for technology assistance Dial *0 (star/zero) for audio assistance Ample time for live Q & A will be allotted at the end of the formal presentation We encourage you to Maximize the PowerPoint to Full Screen Usage: – Hit F5 on your keyboard; or – Select “View” from the toolbar menu and click “Full Screen” ©2009 Foley & Lardner LLP 2 Key Environmental Appointees Under the Obama Administration Richard G. Stoll is a partner in Foley & Lardner's Washington, D.C. office. He is a member of the firm's Environmental Practice, and concentrates on federal administrative and environmental law matters. Richard G. Stoll ©2009 Foley & Lardner LLP Key Environmental Appointees Under the Obama Administration Julie Solmer Stine is an associate at Foley & Lardner LLP. She is a member of the firm's Environmental Regulation Practice. Prior to joining Foley, Ms. Solmer Stine worked as an environmental compliance coordinator in the automotive industry, where she ensured facility compliance with EPA, OSHA, and DOT regulations; implemented environmental management systems; and obtained ISO 14001 certification. Julie S. Solmer Stine ©2009 Foley & Lardner LLP 3 New Administration – New Initiatives Mark Thimke is a partner with Foley & Lardner LLP. He is a member of the firm's Environmental Regulation, and Corporate Compliance & Enforcement Practices and the Energy Industry Team. Mr. Thimke's practice encompasses all major environmental programs including hazardous waste, Superfund, the Clean Air Act, air toxics, and wastewater. Mark A. Thimke ©2009 Foley & Lardner LLP New Administration – New Initiatives Linda Benfield is a partner with Foley & Lardner LLP and chair of the Environmental Regulation Practice. Ms. Benfield has 22 years of experience in litigation and counseling in all aspects of environmental law, including air and water permitting and compliance issues, and solid and hazardous waste handling and disposal. Linda E. Benfield ©2009 Foley & Lardner LLP 4 Economic Stimulus and Federal Spending Bruce Keyes is a partner with Foley & Lardner LLP. He is a member of the firm's Environmental Regulation and Real Estate Practices. Mr. Keyes divides his time between property redevelopment, brownfields, sustainable development initiatives, environmental compliance counseling, transactions and environmental litigation. Bruce A. Keyes ©2009 Foley & Lardner LLP Presentation Topics Key Environmental Appointees Under the Obama Administration New Administration – New Initiatives Economic Stimulus and Federal Spending ©2009 Foley & Lardner LLP 5 Key Environmental Appointees Under the Obama Administration Richard G. Stoll Julie S. Solmer Stine ©2009 Foley & Lardner LLP Key Environmental Appointees under the Obama Administration (as of March 19, 2009) Lisa Jackson – EPA Administrator Stephen Chu – Secretary of Energy Carol Browner – White House “Climate Czar” Ken Salazar – Secretary of the Interior David Hayes – Deputy Secretary of Interior Cass Sunstein – OIRA Administrator Todd Stern – Special Envoy for Climate Change (State Dept.) Jon Cannon – EPA Deputy Administrator Gina McCarthy – EPA Assistant Administrator for Air Robert Sussman – EPA Senior Policy Counsel Lisa Heinzerling – EPA Senior Policy Counsel Cynthia Giles – Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance Assurance ©2009 Foley & Lardner LLP 6 Lisa P. Jackson EPA Administrator Commissioner of New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection 2006-08 (joined NJDEP 2002) Served on federal EPA staff for 16 years. Administered cleanup of hazardous waste sites and helped direct regional enforcement division Masters degree in chemical engineering from Princeton Reputation as consensus builder Named NJ Governor Corzine’s chief of staff shortly before Obama chose her for EPA ©2009 Foley & Lardner LLP Lisa P. Jackson (cont.) EPA Administrator At NJDEP introduced plan to reduce carbon emissions; but criticized by some environmental groups for proposal to privatize cleanup of hazardous waste sites Of several candidates considered by Obama, generally considered the most reasonable by industry interests ©2009 Foley & Lardner LLP 7 Stephen Chu Secretary of Energy Won Nobel Prize in Physics in 1997 for research in cooling and trapping atoms with laser light Formerly director of Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory, and professor of physics at University of California, Berkley Has called for urgent action on climate change, and advocated more research into alternative energy and nuclear power ©2009 Foley & Lardner LLP Carol M. Browner Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change Q Newly created position – White House advisory slot with no Senate Confirmation required Q Position to coordinate DOE and EPA policy/positions (including legislative) regarding greenhouse gases and climate change Q Obvious potential for duplication/overlap/friction with DOE and EPA leadership – remains to be seen how this will work in practice Q EPA Administrator under Clinton 1993-2001 Q Career has been spent either in government or pro- regulatory public interest groups Q For many years closely allied with Al Gore, especially on environmental/climate issues Q Considered to strongly favor environmental interest groups’ positions on most key issues ©2009 Foley & Lardner LLP 8 Ken Salazar Secretary of Interior Elected U.S. Senator from Colorado 2004 Colorado's Attorney General 1999-2004 Known as centrist in the U.S. Senate Campaigned for Obama in Colorado Supported building economic stimulus package around investments in energy infrastructure Some environmental groups have criticized him as “right-of-center” for votes on global warming, fuel efficiency and endangered species issues ©2009 Foley & Lardner LLP David J. Hayes Deputy Secretary of Interior Nominated but not yet confirmed by Senate Held same position for last two years of Clinton Administration Career environmental lawyer representing corporate clients in major law firms – most recently D.C. office of Latham & Watkins Despite corporate client representation, on moderate to liberal side of most environmental/resource issues – actively campaigned for Obama (and other Democrats in past) and led Obama transition team on environment/resource issues Longstanding and high-level volunteer positions with World Wildlife Fund, American Rivers, and Democratic think tank Progressive Policy Institute Generally supported by both industry and natural resources groups as a “problem solver” who can bring diverse interests together ©2009 Foley & Lardner LLP 9 Cass R. Sunstein Administrator, White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) Obama has announced intention to nominate OIRA part of White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) OIRA supervises executive agencies’ agenda and policies for regulations with direct authority over EPA, OMB, FDA, etc. Essentially has veto power over agency regulations In past administrations (especially Bush II), OIRA often forced EPA and other agency regulations to be more sensitive to costs/benefits, to chagrin of public interest/environmental groups Such groups had hoped for an OIRA Administrator aligned with their views in Obama Administration ©2009 Foley & Lardner LLP Cass R. Sunstein (cont.) Administrator, White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) Sunstein a major surprise and disappointment to such groups Law professor most of career – for years at University of Chicago Law School now at Harvard – widely known and respected in legal academic circles as expert in federal administrative and constitutional law Many speeches, articles, and books reflect strong bias in favor of rigorous cost-benefit approach to regulations Industry groups pleased with appointment ©2009 Foley & Lardner LLP 10 Todd D. Stern Special Envoy for Climate Change (appointed by Secretary of State Clinton) With sharp break from Bush Administration, President Obama wants U.S. to take lead in negotiating comprehensive greenhouse gas reductions Under Clinton Administration, Stern was senior White House official at previous Kyoto and Buenos Aires rounds of climate negotiations Worked with Al Gore in producing “An Inconvenient Truth” Secretary of State Clinton named Stern to take lead for U.S. State Department in all upcoming global climate negotiations Currently (since 2001) partner in D.C. law firm Wilmer Hale – primarily government relations/public policy/political practice Long-time friend of Bill and Hillary Clinton – worked on Hillary’s presidential campaign, and negotiated the terms of agreement for Bill Clinton to reveal names of foundation donors to pave way for Hillary’s confirmation as Secretary of State ©2009 Foley & Lardner LLP Jonathan Z. Cannon EPA Deputy Administrator Nominated but not yet confirmed by Senate Law professor and director of the University of Virginia Law School’s Environmental & Land Use Program (1998-present) Private practice at Beveridge & Diamond EPA General Counsel under the Clinton Administration (1995-98) Held numerous other positions at EPA under Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Reagan Administrations, including assistant administrator for administration and resources management, and chief financial officer ©2009 Foley & Lardner LLP 11 Gina McCarthy EPA Assistant Administrator for