state-of-the-practice meeting:
A MULTI-STAKEhOLDER REVIEW OF FAST-PACED CHANGES AND NEW EMERGING OPPORTUNITIES IN NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Agenda
Tuesday, July 22, 2025
9:30 AM
Welcome
Barbara J. Goldsmith, Executive Director, Ad-Hoc Industry Natural Resource Management Group; President, Barbara J. Goldsmith & Company LLC
Jeffrey Talbert, Partner, Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP
9:45 AM
WHY THIS MEETING AND WHY NOW: BACKGROUND AND DESIRED OUTCOMES
Barbara J. Goldsmith, Executive Director, Ad-Hoc Industry Natural Resource Management Group; President, Barbara J. Goldsmith & Company LLC
10:00 AM
KEYNOTE ADDRESS: THE EVOLVING LANDSCAPE OF NATURAL RESOURCE LIABILITIES AND OPPORTUNITiES
Hon. Roger Martella, Chief Corporate Officer, Chief Sustainability Officer and Head of Government Affairs, GE Vernova
10:45 AM
panel discussion: continuing influences on current and future practice and possible solutions
Panelists will examine individually, and collectively, a suite of issues that continue to impact – and challenge – how entities approach natural resource practices in the US – and abroad. How these influences may impact both site-specific practices, as well as broader organization-wide priorities and strategies will be discussed, as well as ways stakeholders can address and manage these matters. Among the influences to be discussed include climate change, regulatory shifts, emerging contaminants, international synergies and mandates, and more.
Moderator
Jeffrey Talbert, Partner, Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP
Panelists
Regulatory
Roger Nober, Director of the GW Regulatory Studies Center; Professor of Practice of Public Policy and Public Administration, The George Washington University
Climate
John Pendergrass, Senior Attorney and Director of the Center for State, Local and Regional Environmental Programs, and Co-Director of the International Programs, Environmental Law Institute
Emerging Contaminants
Shalene Thomas, Senior Emerging Contaminant Program Manager, Battelle
International Synergies
Richard J. Wenning, Principal, Wenning Environmental
12:00 PM
break for networking lunch
12:45 PM
reflections on state of the practice: role of the courts and UNTOLD LESSONS LEARNED FROM DEEPWATER HORIZON
John Cruden, Principal, Beveridge & Diamond PC; Former President, Environmental Law Institute; Former Assistant Attorney General of the United States, Environment and Natural Resources Division
1:15 PM
PLENARY SESSION: CURRENT LAY OF THE LAND - WHERE WE ARE IN LAW, SCIENCE, ECONCOMICS AND POLICY
Speakers will set the stage for participants by identifying key developments and current state of practice concerning legal, technical, economic and policy issues associated with natural resource damage liability, assessment, restoration and related matters.
Moderator
Jonathan P. Deason, Ph.D., P.E., Lead Professor, Environmental and Energy Management Program, School of Engineering and Applied Science; Executive Director, Environmental and Energy Management Institute, The George Washington University
Legal
Lauren Daniel, Partner, Arnold & Porter
David Kreutzer, First Assistant Attorney General, Colorado Department of Law
Technical
William Goodfellow, Principal Scientist Practice Director, Exponent
Timothy Hoelzle, Deputy Director, Office of Restoration and Damage Assessment, US Department of the Interior
Economics
Al McGartland, Ph.D., Senior Economic Advisor to the Associate Director for Policy and former Director, National Center for Environmental Economics, US Environmental Protection Agency
Theodore Tomasi, Ph.D., Senior Principal - Natural Resources and Environmental Economics, Integral Consulting
Policy
Ruth Demeter, Senior Director of Policy, Global Energy Institute, US Chamber of Commerce
3:00 PM
break
3:15 PM
PANEL DISCUSSION: ADVANCING COMMON OBJECTIVES - WHAT’S WORKING TODAY?
This multi-stakeholder multi-disciplinary panel will identify ways in which public and private parties can work together to achieve the overarching goal of the natural resource damage assessment (NRDA) process at a specific case or site, namely, to restore resource services back to public use in an efficient and timely manner. Mechanisms to facilitate a collaborative approach will be identified and discussed, including the “case for cooperative assessments”, opportunities for site-specific efficiencies, settlement trends and innovative solutions, ways to identify restoration projects of mutual interest and other solutions. Applications in actual practice will also be discussed.
Moderator
Jean Martin, J.D., Senior Counsel, BP
Panelists
Kegan Brown, Partner, Lowenstein & Sandler LLP
William Jackson, Partner, Kelley Drye & Warren LLP
Emily Joseph, Director, Office of Restoration and Damage Assessment, US Department of the Interior
Tony Penn, Chief, Assessment and Restoration Division, US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Rebecca Stevens, Restoration Coordinator/Program Manager, Hazardous Waste Management Program, Coeur d'Alene Tribe
Jessie Ritter, Associate Vice President, Water and Coasts, National Wildlife Federation