UW to Host Energy Law and Policy in the Rockies Conference Oct. 13

The University of Wyoming will celebrate the 10th annual Landscape Discussion on Energy Law and Policy in the Rockies Friday, Oct. 13.

The conference focuses on energy-related legal, regulatory and policy issues of current interest in Wyoming and the Rocky Mountain region. UW’s School of Energy Resources (SER), the UW Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources and the UW College of Law’s Center for Law and Energy Resources in the Rockies (CLERR) host the conference.

Presented in collaboration with the Wyoming State Bar’s Energy and Natural Resources Section, the program will begin at 9 a.m. in the Marian H. Rochelle Gateway Center, as well as online. To register for the conference, view the schedule or learn more about the speakers, visit the conference webpage at www.uwyo.edu/ser/events/conferences/clerr-energy-law.html. A limited number of on-site registrations also will be available beginning at 8 a.m.

The conference costs $50 for either the in-person or online format. The event is free for UW students, faculty and staff members. For those attending online, a link will be emailed a day before the event. Continuing legal education credits and American Association of Professional Landmen credits are available.

Temple Stoellinger, a Wyoming Excellence Chair and an associate professor in UW’s Haub School, says the conference has highlighted the importance of the legal and regulatory side of energy development in Wyoming and the region for more than a decade.

“We are so pleased that this conference has been -- and continues to be -- a perennial success,” says Stoellinger, who has served as the co-director for CLERR and the conference’s lead organizer for the past 10 years. “Energy and environmental stewardship are ingrained in the identity of this amazing state and, to maintain its leadership in these areas, it is imperative that we keep legal and regulatory issues associated with energy development at the forefront.

“This conference has facilitated our legal and policy community’s ability to stay abreast of new energy advancements, challenges, and legal and regulatory changes, enabling them to better serve Wyoming and Rocky Mountain stakeholders and communities,” she adds.

The conference will bring in energy experts from across the nation to discuss important issues across the spectrum of energy topics in Wyoming. The agenda will feature keynote speakers, including Todd Parfitt, director of the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality; and John Litynski, former director of carbon transport and storage from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management. Litynski now serves as an SER senior adviser.

“With new opportunities in the energy sector, this year’s program focuses on the economics and implementation of new technologies, but it also will include updates on revisions to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and oil and gas permitting,” Stoellinger says. “The discussion on new technologies includes investments and federal funding opportunities, permitting guidance and regulation updates. We hope to facilitate some clarity for those in the industry on the cusp of deploying new technologies while also addressing issues pertinent to our legacy industries.”

Topics covered will include state primacy in environmental regulation, carbon management, NEPA revisions, oil and gas permitting reforms, as well as a panel discussion on funding and permitting for advanced energy technologies. Kathleen Carr, a UW alumna and retired U.S. Department of the Interior field solicitor, will give this year’s Gina Guy Keynote on Government Service.

For those unable to attend, the event will be recorded, and presentations will be posted on the SER website at the conclusion of the conference.

For more information, email Christine Reed, SER outreach director, at christine.reed@uwyo.edu.