25th Annual Advanced ALI-ABA Course of Study: Hazardous Substances, Site Remediation, and Enforcement

For a quarter of a century, this advanced course of study has attracted a national audience, bringing together lawyers and environmental managers who are committed to keeping their skills and knowledge fully up to date.

As with past presentations, this year’s program offers up-to-date information on enforcement initiatives and policies, plus case law developments and practical tips from the public and private sector. In addition, the 2006 presentation includes new sessions on two emerging hot topics: nanotechnology and electronic waste regulation. We will have a robust interactive discussion of brownfields redevelopment issues, providing numerous perspectives; discuss enforcement and compliance issues at the federal and state level; and provide updates on RCRA and Superfund—including contribution actions post-Aviall.

This course has been recognized for many years as the preeminent opportunity for environmental professionals to meet and learn from one another and from carefully selected panels of experts who work on the cutting edge of developments in this field.

The course, comprising more than 12 hours of instruction, begins with a keynote address by Sue Ellen Wooldridge, Assistant Attorney General for Environment and Natural Resources at the U.S. Department of Justice. Ms. Wooldridge discusses Justice Department priorities and perspectives across the range of environmental and natural resource programs. She is followed by a panel on enforcement that includes John Cruden, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Environment and Natural Resources at the Justice Department, and Granta Nakayama, EPA’s Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. Next comes a panel on the always lively topic of federal-state relations – an especially hot potato at a time when budgets are tight but the demands are as great as ever.

Maine was among the first states to implement a regulatory program dealing with electronic waste, and Thursday afternoon’s panel on the subject includes the Assistant Attorney General of Maine responsible for it. We round out the first day with panels on Superfund and RCRA. Opportunities for questions and answers are provided along the way, and discussions continue at a networking reception for registrants and faculty at the end of the day. Friday’s program begins with a panel on the fast-moving new field of nanotechnology, and features leaders from the private and public sectors.

Friday’s agenda also includes an examination of new developments in natural resource damages and a two-hour interactive discussion of brownfields redevelopment issues. The brownfields discussion includes the Directors of the EPA and New Jersey programs; the Director of the highly successful program implemented by the City of St. Petersburg, Florida; and speakers from the developer, risk assessment, insurance, and lender communities. We wrap up Friday afternoon with a vital colloquy on ethical issues facing the environmental practitioner and a general question and answer session. This course is filled with fresh information, insights and practical tips of great value to anyone working in this field. 

Crowell & Moring’s Ridgeway Hall is co-Planning Chair for this two-day conference. Crowell & Moring’s James Chen will be participating in a panel discussion on Nanotechnology.