American Bar Association Energy and Resources Committees

State and Regional Environmental Cooperation Committee

2010-2011 Committee Chair:

Mary Simmons Mendoza, Haynes and Boone, LLP, Austin, TX

Public Service Message

Dear ABA-SEER State & Regional Environmental Cooperation Committee (SRECC) Members:

In the spirit of the holiday season, and to keep you from being a last minute shopper this year, please consider participating in a public service project open to all SRECC members. The idea: to find something unique and useful for your loved ones, clients, and employees, and to give the gift of light to those in need at the same time. The gift: the BoGo Solar-Powered Flashlight ("BoGo" stands for "buy one, give one"). With each BoGo light purchased in the developed world, the purchaser chooses an organization to which a second identical light will be donated for distribution in the developing world. The BoGo Light charges with a day of sunlight, provides six to eight hours of use per charge and works for thousands of hours before requiring new rechargeable batteries. In addition, new this year, the BoGo Light now comes in two sizes -- the regular and the mini. Both versions of the ever-ready light are useful in the United States, and potentially life-changing in Africa. Most importantly, introducing simple clean technology in rural Africa empowers the recipients to choose sustainable energy options in the future.

Purchase one to keep and one to give by visiting http://www.bogolight.com. If you click on "choose where to give," you can select where to give the second flashlight. One of the worthy options is Elephant Energy, a non-profit working to introduce renewable energy technologies in rural Africa. Elephant Energy has teamed up with SunNight Solar to distribute BoGo Solar-Powered Flashlights to villagers committed to promote rural development and nature conservation in Namibia (for details, visit http://www.elephantenergy.org). (If you donate a light to Elephant Energy, and also send an e-mail to elephantenergy@gmail.com with your name and e-mail address, they will send you a picture of the recipient in Africa holding the donated light with your name written on it.) Please contribute to this important cause and help SRECC make a positive impact on the world this holiday season.

Please e-mail any questions to brayback@pierceatwood.com.

Regards,

Brian Rayback
SRECC Vice-Chair for Public Service

Message from the Chair

Welcome to the Committee website for the State and Regional Environmental Cooperation Committee (SRECC). This Committee is a clearinghouse for information regarding regional issues of interest to environmental practitioners, offers regional CLE programs in specific EPA regions, periodic newsletters highlighting regional and state issues, and cosponsoring timely programs of regional interest with state bar associations, other ABA-SEER committees, academic institutions and other organizations. As such, it is a great place to get current information on a wide range of regional environmental developments. If you’re a member of one or more ABA-SEER substantive committees that focus on subject matter relevant to your practice, SRECC is a great additional committee membership that cuts across programs and brings many regional developments into focus.

Committee Structure
The SRECC Committee has Regional Vice Chairs, listed to the right on this webpage, for all of the EPA Regions, and other Vice Chairs with responsibilities common to most ABA-SEER committees (membership, newsletter, programs, technology, public service, etc.). Our Regional Vice Chairs provide updates on issues and programs of interest in our newsletters and via periodic listserv communication with all of the committee’s members. They also communicate with state bar leaders and environmental agency representatives in their respective regions, for newsletter updates and to collaborate and cosponsor programs of interest to environmental practitioners. We hold monthly calls among the committee’s leadership to review ongoing projects and activities.

Activities

The Committee sponsors conferences in each EPA region. The conferences are co-sponsored by the EPA region and the environmental and natural resources sections of the state bar associations (and often municipal bar associations) within each region. A cross-section of speakers includes federal, state, and local regulators, as well as private and public interests lawyers, consultants, and corporate officials. The frequency of these programs varies with the region. In those regions where distance make an in-person program difficult, the Committee attempts to provide alternative programs to achieve the same connection between practitioners in the regulated community and in the regulating agencies.

At the Section Fall Meeting, the Committee moderates an "idea exchange" among Committee and Section members regarding common and innovative ideas used by state bar environmental sections across the country.

At the Annual Conference on Environmental Law (Keystone, Colo.), the Committee facilitates regional roundtables with EPA and private/public interest attorneys.

Committee Resources

	The Clean Air Act Handbook, Second Edition The updated and expanded edition of The Clean Air Act Handbook is a current guide to one of the most complicated and extensive pieces of environmental legislation ever written. This thoughtful, well-written analysis of the Clean Air Act is comprehensive in scope, providing detailed coverage not only of the statute, but also a careful examination of the EPA's implementing regulations and policy guidance.

	Basic Practice Series: EPCRA (Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act) This is a convenient and conscient guide to EPCRA and the regulations implementing the Act. Topics covered include: Emergency planning and notification; Substances and facilities subject to the EPCRA emergency planning process; Routine reporting requirements and MSDS reporting; General provisions; and Trade secret factors and EPA trade secret regulation.

	Global Climate Change and U.S. Law Global Climate Change and U.S. Law provides comprehensive coverage of the country's law as it relates to global climate change. After a summary of the factual and scientific background, Part I outlines the international and national legal framework of climate change regulation and associated litigation. Part II describes emerging regional, state and local actions, and includes a 50-state survey. Part III covers issues of concern to corporations, including disclosure, fiduciary duties, insurance, and subsidies. Part IV examines the legal aspects of efforts to reduce greenhouse gases, such as voluntary efforts, emissions trading, and carbon sequestration. Global Climate Change and U.S. Law includes key resource aids, including a glossary of climate related terms; a list of acronyms; extensive endnotes; and a comprehensive index.

State and Regional Environmental Cooperation Navigation

SRECC EPA Resource Site

The SRECC sub-committee has compiled an exhaustive listing of Environment, Energy, and Natural Resource websites that is searchable by state and EPA region. If you feel there is a link that should be added please let us know.