EERS

The Environment, Energy and Resources (EERS) Seminar
Thursday, October 19, 2023
Live Webcast Only
HSBA CLE Virtual Classroom for HSBA members or via link for Non HSBA members and student bar card members

Morning Session: 9:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
- PFAS: (1) Hawaii Department of Health Statewide PFAS Study and Upcoming Regulatory Requirements (2) Under the Radar PFAS Environmental Vulnerabilities – Consequences on Real Estate Transactions, Construction Projects, etc.
- The Energy Transition, the IRA, and Environmental Law
- Developer Community Engagements: The Legal Ethics of Getting Buy In

3 CLE Credits (including one ethics credit)
*must attend all seminars to receive 3 CLE (including one ethics credit)

Registration is Closed!

Seminar Moderator

Frank Cioffi, Attorney, Square One Legal LLLC
Sessions: PFAS Spotlight: (1) Hawaii Department of Health Statewide PFAS Study and Upcoming Regulatory Requirements (2) Under the Radar PFAS Environmental Vulnerabilities – Consequences on Real Estate Transactions, Construction Projects, etc.; The Energy Transition, the IRA, and Environmental Law; Developer Community Engagements: The Legal Ethics of Getting Buy In

Frank Cioffi is a Hawaii-licensed attorney and civil/environmental professional engineer (PE) with over 28 years of experience assisting clients with environmental compliance. Frank’s environmental expertise was built during a variety of diverse roles, including as an attorney in private practice in Hawaii as well as at the US EPA’s Office of General Counsel at their headquarters in Washington, DC, as a multiple-term extern at the Hawaii Supreme Court, and as the environmental engineering department manager for Hawaii’s (and the nation’s) largest engineering firm. His experience includes environmental compliance in a variety of media and subject areas; administrative rulemaking; regulatory enforcement, defense, and negotiations; land use; and civil litigation. Frank currently serves as the Vice Chair of the Environment, Energy & Resources Section (EERS) of the Hawaii State Bar Association (HSBA).

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PFAS Spotlight: (1) Hawaii Department of Health Statewide PFAS Study and Upcoming Regulatory Requirements (2) Under the Radar PFAS Environmental Vulnerabilities – Consequences on Real Estate Transactions, Construction Projects, etc.

Course Description

(1) The Hawaii Department of Health conducted a Statewide Study to determine whether PFAS is in our drinking water sources. Mr. Tokuda will present the results of this study and explain some of the upcoming regulatory requirements.

(2) Within the dynamic and uncertain landscape of PFAS environmental regulations, priority has rightfully been on locations of high volume PFAS releases and potential exposures to humans through drinking water and/or biota consumption. However, as more state and federal regulations are passed requiring sampling for and addressing PFAS at detection limits, many other environmental matters are coming to light. This presentation will address the challenges associated with including PFAS in Phase I Site Assessments, property redevelopment and/or real estate transactions, and large construction projects.

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Moderator

Frank Cioffi, Attorney, Square One Legal LLLC

Speakers

(1) Mr. Melvin Tokuda, Environmental Health Specialist, DOH

Melvin Tokuda has served as an Environmental Health Specialist for the last 30 years. Melvin started off his career at the Hawaii Department of Agriculture, Pesticides Branch where he worked in the Enforcement Section conducting inspections and complaints investigations. He then transitioned to the Hawaii Department of Health, Environmental Management Division, Safe Drinking Water Branch where he assists public water system with compliance requirements and has served Project Manager on environmental investigations and studies. Melvin received his Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

(2) Dr. Janet K. Anderson, Principal Toxicologist, GSI Environmental Inc., Austin, TX

Dr. Janet Anderson is a Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology and Principal Toxicologist with over 15 years of experience providing toxicology, risk assessment, and risk management strategies for emerging and unregulated contaminants to federal agencies, private industry, and municipal clients. Dr. Anderson specializes in the translation of human health toxicology data into state and federal regulatory policy decisions related to environmental risk, remediation, and public health. She conducts site-specific risk assessments, including for CERCLA sites and environmental justice settings, and provides product stewardship risk evaluations. She has broad experience assessing the potential toxic characteristics of chemicals to support scientifically sound decision making and has extensive experience developing strategies to track, communicate, and mitigate human health risks and address potential liability associated with emerging chemicals such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

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The Energy Transition, the IRA, and Environmental Law

Course Description

Reaching net zero carbon emissions will require a fundamental transformation of the global energy system, including the development of a wide range of clean energy technologies at scale and major changes to the energy infrastructure necessary to support them. This session will address how the landmark Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is designed to boost a diverse array of clean energy technologies and make these technologies more competitive economically. This session will also address the critical role that environmental lawyers have to play in creating the new legal frameworks necessary to implement the IRA and facilitate the energy transition—from permitting reform, to land use regulation, to critical minerals, and to other supply chain challenges.

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Moderator

Frank Cioffi, Attorney, Square One Legal LLLC

Speakers

Emily Orler, Esq. Attorney

Emily Orler's practice focuses on assisting a wide array of clients on the full lifecycle of environmental review and permitting—including litigation, compliance counseling, rulemaking, and legislative advocacy. Emily builds on her decade of federal government experience leading environmental reviews of major energy-related projects to help clients strategically navigate complex matters. Emily has advised and defended clients in matters involving mining operations, refineries, pipelines, railroads, and electric transmission lines. She has worked on cases involving administrative record review, tort actions, and environmental enforcement defense. She has particular expertise in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate change issues at both the federal and state levels, including GHG emissions and climate change impact assessment, GHG reporting and accounting, and carbon markets. Prior to joining Arnold & Porter, Emily worked for the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Department of the Interior, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture managing reviews of infrastructure and cleanup projects under NEPA, the National Historic Preservation Act, and the Endangered Species Act.

Ethan Shenkman, Esq., Attorney

Ethan Shenkman brings more than 16 years of government experience to bear on his wide-ranging environmental practice, which includes representing clients in trial court and appellate matters, and in regulatory matters before federal and state agencies. He is nationally known for his work with climate change policy and the energy transition, counseling clients on cutting-edge issues such as renewable fuels, carbon capture and sequestration, methane regulation, the phaseout of HFCs, renewable energy permitting, as well as NEPA and other climate-related litigation. He frequently represents clients in regulatory litigation before the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals and other courts challenging or defending EPA decisions and programs. His government experience includes serving for seven years as a political appointee in the Obama Administration, most recently as Deputy General Counsel at the US Environmental Protection Agency and, prior to that, as Deputy Assistant Attorney General at the US Department of Justice's Environment and Natural Resources Division. He also served as a career attorney and litigator at DOJ for nine years. Ethan teaches environmental law at the Georgetown University Law Center and is a featured columnist on private practice and public policy for The Environmental Forum.

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Developer Community Engagements: The Legal Ethics of Getting Buy In

Course Description

Now, more than ever, community buy-in is essential to the approval and success of a development project. However, as communities have become more conscious of the built environment, that buy-in is hard to obtain. Developers (and their lawyers) have increasingly turned to community engagement to overcome this obstacle—but what are the ethics of community engagement from the developer's perspective? And, for that matter, from the community's perspective? Join us to get practical advice for avoiding the ethical pitfalls inherent in the community engagement process.

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Moderator

Frank Cioffi, Attorney, Square One Legal LLLC

Speaker

Ryan Little, Esq, Attorney, Klinedinst PC

Mr. Little’s practice focuses on professional responsibility and risk management. Mr. Little defends lawyers, judges, and other professionals in both states against allegations of ethical misconduct and malpractice and also advises clients on various complex ethics matters, including CTAPP compliance, cryptocurrency, cybersecurity, and the use of large language models, including artificial intelligence (AI) tools like chatGPT, in the practice of law. Mr. Little offers his clients a unique perspective on legal ethics and risk management, as he previously worked for the Office of Disciplinary Counsel in Hawai’i, where he prosecuted lawyers accused of ethical misconduct. At ODC, Mr. Little was responsible for supervising investigations, making charging decisions, trying cases, and litigating appeals. He leverages this experience for his clients, offering them both the zealous advocacy of a defense attorney and the mind of a prosecutor.

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Visit other seminar pages:
Appellate Seminar
ediscovery Seminar
Environment, Energy, & Resources Section (EERS) Seminar
Family Law Seminar
Real Property & Financial Services Section (RPFSS) Seminar