Edited Panel Transcript: An Update on Energy/Natural Resource Issues of Interest
Tom Sansonetti, Dessa Reimer, Bret Sumner, Peter Forbes, Andrew Emrich, & Ryan Lance, Edited Panel Transcript: An Update on
Energy/Natural Resource Issues of Interest
Edited Panel Transcript: An Update on Energ y/ Natural Resource Issues of Interest
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SPECIAL SECTION: Energy Law
Tom Sansonetti
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Edited Panel Transcript: An Update on Energy/Natural Resource Issues of
Interest
Authors
Tom Sansonetti, Dessa Reimer, Bret Sumner, Peter Forbes, Andrew Emrich, and Ryan Lance
EDITED PANEL TRANSCRIPT
AN UPDATE ON ENERGY/NATURAL
RESOURCE ISSUES OF INTEREST
ENERGY LAW AND POLICY IN THE ROCKIES
OCTOBER 14, 2016
Tom Sansonetti (moderator), Dessa Reimer, Bret Sumner,
PeterForbes, Andrew Emrich, Ryan Lance
1. INTRODUCTION BY TOM SANSONETTI
The panel entitled "An Update on Energy and Natural Resource Issues of
Interest" was designed to educate the conference participants on a wide variety of
topics with impacts, not only in Wyoming, but across the Rocky Mountain states.
The goal was to provide more of an in-depth review of important policies and
litigation than afforded in newspaper stories, online articles, or radio summaries.
The first panelist, Dessa Reimer, an of counsel attorney in the Jackson office
of Holland & Hart LLP, reviewed the "Litigation Over the Bureau of Indian
Affair's (BIA) New Pipeline Right-of-Way Rule," which became effective in
April 2016, as it applies on the Wind River Reservation and elsewhere in Indian
Country. The panel discussed the potential for extensive negotiations and lengthy
litigation between pipeline owners seeking Right-of-Way (ROW) renewals from
tribes as a result of the new rule provisions.
The second panelist, Bret Sumner, a partner in the Denver office of Beatty
Wozniak LLP, spoke about "The Sage Grouse Rebellion: Litigation Update."
He sorted out the issues involved in the seven pending cases in a variety of federal
courts over the Endangered Species Act's key provisions protecting the bird
and the eleven impacted states. He further addressed the inevitability of other
western range-wide issues on behalf of other species once the sage grouse litigation
is resolved.
The third panelist, Peter Forbes, a partner in the Denver firm of Carver,
Schwarz, McNab, Kamper & Forbes LLP, in "Whose Lease Trumps, Oil or Coal,"
addressed a novel case of first impression faced by the Campbell County District
Court. He explored the question of when the operations of two valid federal
mineral lessees collide, and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lessor refuses
to choose between the two, how does state law determine which lessee has priority
to proceed and at what cost?
The fourth and final panelist, Andrew Emrich, a partner in the Denver
office of Holland & Hart LLP, tackled the topic of "BLM's Programmatic Coal
Leasing Review and What it Means for Wyoming." The presentation included a
sobering appraisal of the federal government's decision-making and its impacts on
Wyoming employment figures and state budget.
II. COMMENTARY'
Tom SANSONETTI: . . . We do have a very diverse panel today. You're going to
be hearing a little bit about Indian law and right-of-ways and coal and oil, and
gas, and endangered species. I think it should hopefully provoke a lot of good
questions along the way.
So our first topic is going to be all about the current litigation that is going
on over the Bureau of Indian Affairs new pipeline right-of-way rules, which a lot
of people don't even know have come into existence because it's that new.
And our speaker will be Dessa Reimer from the law firm of Holland & Hart.
Dessa advocates for clients involving federal and state environmental regulation
including environmental impact assessments, endangered species, and permitting
aspects of project development on private, public, and tribal lands....
DESSA REIMER: Thank you, Tom, and thank you to the University ofWyoming
for having me here. It's great to be on a panel with such really great speakers and
a diverse array of topics....
I'm going to talk today about rights-of-way in Indian country, and you might
wonder why is this relevant in Wyoming. We've got one reservation, and there's
not a lot of energy, new energy development going on there or new rights-of-way
being put in place.
One of the questions earlier sort of reflected why this is important, and that's
because, when we have interstate pipelines that are spanning potentially over a
thousand miles and only a small bit may be on a reservation or there may be tribal
interests involved, those particular interests can be the lynchpin or the trigger
point for federal involvement and also may be the source of controversy that holds
up your pipeline.
So when you hear the terms "Indian country" and "pipelines," maybe today
this is what you're thinking about because this is what is in the news. An (...truncated)