Law Seminars International Presents

The First Midwest Conference on

Developing Tribal Utilities

Exploring the Opportunities in Diversification

October 21 & 22, 2004
Marquette Hotel in Minneapolis, MN
Order      Download PDF Brochure

Who Should Order Homestudy

Attorneys; tribal and government representatives, decision makers in energy, financial institutions and government

Why Order

"Indian tribes own millions of acres of land that contain a large portion of the United States’ untapped energy resources. Over the last 20 years, Indian lands have contributed approximately 11% of the United States’ onshore oil and natural gas production, and 11% of its coal production. Indian tribes are increasingly evaluating their energy resources and potential for developing tribally-based self-sufficient non-grid electric power generation to meet the power demands of their tribal facilities and for commercial enterprises. Indian tribes are also exploring the many opportunities for energy development ranging from tribal utility formation to power generation for their own use and for the wholesale market. In addition, many Indian tribes have sought to develop other utilities to serve the needs of their populations, such as water treatment and telecommunications services. These efforts have generated unique issues for the utilities involved, the tribes and other affected communities. This conference will provide attorneys, program managers, and industry representatives an overview of the current issues in tribal energy and utilities development. Successful case studies in tribal utilities development and current federal legislative proposals will also be examined. Participants in the conference will develop an understanding of the complexity of issues related to tribal utilities development as well as learn some practical approaches for energy and utilities development on Indian lands.” L. Joseph Genereux, Dorsey & Whitney and Tadd M. Johnson, Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe

What You Will Learn

- Why Tribes Would Consider Developing Utilities -- the Advantages of Diversification - Federal Regulation of Tribal Utility Activity - Coordinating and Working witih Tribal Utilities - Dealing with Existing Utilities and Power Incumbents - Tribal Utilities Formation - Grant Opportunities for Renewable Energy Projects - Financing Tribal Utility Activities - Ethical Considerations - Tribal Cultural Distinctions - Applying Federal Law - The Practicalities: Lessons Learned in Setting Up Utilities - The Utility as Arm of Tribal Government or Separate Corporation - Federal Legislation

What Attendees Said

"These speakers just get better and better" "The presenters have all been exceptional." "Truly a good conference!"

Agenda

Thursday, October 21, 2004
8:00 am Registration & Continental Breakfast
8:30 am Why Tribes Would Consider Developing Utilities -- The Advantages of Diversification
  L. Joseph Genereux, Esq., Program Co-Chair
 Dorsey & Whitney LLP / Minneapolis, MN
  Tadd M. Johnson, Esq., Program Co-Chair
 Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe / Hinckley, MN
8:45 am Federal Regulation of Tribal Utility Activity
  Rollie Wilson, Tribal Liaison
 Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) / Washington, DC
9:30 am Break
9:45 am Coordinating and Working with Tribal Utilities
  PUC Perspective
  Phyllis A, Reha, Commissioner
 Minnesota Public Utilities Commission / St.Paul, MN
  Industry Perspective
  David R. Lewis, Vice President Marketing & Sales
 Calpine / San Jose, CA
10:45 am Dealing with Existing Utilities and Power Incumbents
  Structuring business arrangements with existing utilities
  John E. Jacobson, Esq.
 Jacobson, Buffalo, Schoessler & Magnuson, Ltd. / St. Paul, MN
  Converting Existing Transmission Grids to Tribal Ownership
  Charles Grunewald, PE, Project Engineer
 Excel Engineering / Golden Valley, MN
12:15 pm Lunch (on your own)
1:30 pm Tribal Utilities Formation
  Carl J. Artman, Esq., Chief Counsel
 Oneida Nation / Oneida, WI
2:15 pm Grant Opportunities for Renewable Energy Projects
  Douglas MacCourt, Esq.
 Ater Wynne LLP / Portland, OR
3:00 pm Break
3:15 pm Financing Tribal Utility activities through Bonds, Taxes and Other Sources
  Vanya S. Hogen, Esq.
 Faegre & Benson LLP / Minneapolis, MN
  Jeffrey Seidel, Vice President
 Northland Securities, Inc. / Minneapolis, MN
4:45 pm End of Day
  Co-hosted by Tribal Energy Development and Natural Resource Group, Inc.

Friday, October 22, 2004
8:00 am Registration & Continental Breakfast
8:30 am Ethical Considerations in Tribal Energy Development
  L. Joseph Genereux, Esq., Program Co-Chair
 Dorsey & Whitney LLP / Minneapolis, MN
  Tadd M. Johnson, Esq., Program Co-Chair
 Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe / Hinckley, MN
9:00 am Applying Federal Law: NEPA, TEPA & EPA
  How NEPA & TEPA fit into leases and trust lands
  Elizabeth A. Bell, Esq.
 Holland & Knight, LLP / Washington, DC
  What the EPA requires
  Roger Blomquist, Ph.D., Principal
 Natural Resource Group / Minneapolis, MN
10:00 am Break
10:15 am The Practicalities: A Discussion of Lessons Learned in Setting Up Utilities
  Wind power
  John Seymour
 Florida Power & Light / Minneapolis, MN
  Biomass
  Jack Whittier, Program Manager
 McNeil Technologies / Albuquerque, NM
  Water treatment facility
  Anita Fineday, Esq., Corporate Attorney
 Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe / Hinckley, MN
  Telecommunications
  Rosalind K. Allen, Esq.
 Holland & Knight LLC / Washington, DC
  Electricity
  Howard Bichler, Esq.
 St. Croix Chippewa / Hertel, WI
  Politics
  Linda Osburn, Esq.
 Garrison Law Offices / Garrison, MN
12:15 pm Tribal Cultural Distinctions: Recognizing, respecting and reinforcing them in the process
  Scott Taylor, Esq., Indian Law & Tax Professor
 University of St. Thomas / St. Paul, MN
12:45 pm Lunch (on your own)
1:45 pm The Utility as Arm of Tribal Government or Separate Corporation?
  Pros and Cons of each
  Mark A. Jarboe, Esq.
 Dorsey & Whitney LLP / Minneapolis, MN
2:30 pm Break
2:45 pm Energy Development Opportunities for Tribes -- Business and Regulatory Challenges.
  Regulatory issues; business opportunities and hurdles; advantages and pitfalls; cost- benefit; can a tribal utility pay for itself?
  Robert M. Adler, Esq.
 O'Connor & Hannan LLP / Washington, DC
3:45 pm Federal Legislation -- What's the Latest and How does it Impact Tribal Utilities?
  Tadd M. Johnson, Esq., Program Co-Chair
 Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe / Hinckley, MN
  Steven J.W. Heeley, Esq.
 Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld / Washington, DC
5:00 pm Adjourn

Cancellation

There is a $25 cancellation fee for Course Materials orders and $50 for Homestudy orders

Continuing Education Credits

Law Seminars International automatically obtains CLE credit approval for the state in which a seminar is held. On request, we will apply for CLE credits in other states and other types of credits. Current credits status: MN CLE 13 inc .5 ethics (#84505) | CA MCLE 13.5 inc .5 ethics | NY CLE 16.5 (inc .5 ethics; non-transitional) | PA CLE 13.5 inc .5 ethics | WA CLE 13.5 inc .5 ethics (#125604) | WI CLE 16 (0 ethics)

Cost

Our complete Homestudy Course, consisting of a VHS or DVD recording and the written course materials, is available for $905. The course materials alone are available for $100. We will ship your homestudy order via UPS ground within two weeks after the seminar or the date we receive payment (which ever is later).
Order Homestudy

Faculty Bios

L. Joseph Genereux, Program Co-Chair, is a partner in the Minneapolis office of Dorsey & Whitney LLP, where he Chairs the Banking and Commercial and Financial Services groups. He practices in the area of commercial financing, including syndicated credit facilities, merger and acquisition financing, asset-based lending, and lease financing.

Tadd M. Johnson, Program Co-Chair, is Special Counsel for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe where he works closely with the Band’s lobbyists and communications specialists to protect the Band’s interests at the local, state and federal levels. He also helps develop Band policies related to self-governance, the trust relationship with the United States, economic development, and other issues.

Robert M. Adler is a General Partner with the law firm of O’Connor & Hannan, L.L.P and President of Tribal Energy Development. He has represented Indian Tribes both in litigation and in various matters pending before the Bureau of Indian Affairs. He coordinates the services provided to Tribal governments by other O’Connor & Hannan attorneys.

Rosalind Allen, a partner with Holland & Knight, LLP, practices in the area of telecommunications law, development/deployment of spectrum-based technologies, privacy law and homeland security issues. Ms. Allen has held a number of key positions at the FCC, including Deputy Chief of the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau.

Carl J. Artman, an enrolled member of the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin, serves as Chief Counsel. He has extensive government and private sector experience, having served as a legislative assistant for Congressman Michael Oxley, director of federal affairs for the Oneida Tribe, and in executive positions within numerous high-tech and telecommunications companies, including the Tribe’s wireless telecommunications venture.

Elizabeth A. Bell, Holland & Knight, LLP, practices in the areas of energy, environment and natural resources, business and Indian law and government relations. She has represented clients in matters pending before the FERC and state utility commissions and on environmental permitting and transactional matters related to energy production, generation and transmission.

Howard J. Bichler is Tribal Attorney for the St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin. Before his current position he was an attorney with Wisconsin Judicare and an attorney/planner with the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission. He is a past chairman of the Indian Law Section Board of the State Bar of Wisconsin and a member of the Legislative Council Committee on State Tribal Relations.

Roger Blomquist is a Principal at Natural Resource Group, Inc., with over 30 years experience managing and preparing environmental review documents to meet local, state and federal requirements. Dr. Blomquist provides project management oversight from regulatory strategies to preparing/reviewing technical reports and permit applications.

Anita Fineday is an enrolled member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe and Corporate Counsel for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe’s Corporate Commission. She has previously served as Solicitor General for the Mille Lacs Band, Tribal Attorney for the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe and Executive Director of the Indian Child Welfare Center.

Charles Grunewald is a project engineer with Excel Engineering where he screens transmission contracts for key data related to OASIS and grandfathered transmission rights and represents project owners in utility connection issues. He is currently retained to handle transmission interconnection issues for multiple, active wind projects.

Steven J. W. Heeley is the Chair of the Federal Indian Law and Gaming Practice Group for Quarles & Brady, Streich Lang, LLP. He focuses in the areas of Federal Indian Law, Economic Development, Indian Gaming Practice, and Federal and State Government Relations.

Vanya Hogen leads the Indian law practice for Faegre & Benson, LLP. An enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, she has practiced Indian law for ten years. Minnesota Law and Politics magazine recently named her as one of four “Super Lawyers” in the field of Native American law.

John E. Jacobson is a member of Jacobson, Buffalo, Schoessler & Magnuson, Ltd., a St. Paul, firm that specializes in Indian law. For the thirty-one years he has represented Indian tribes, tribal businesses, and Indian people.

Mark Jarboe is a partner in the Minneapolis office of Dorsey & Whitney LLP. He heads the Indian Law Practice Group and chairs the Indian & Gaming Law Department of the firm. He was bond counsel on the first tribal tax-exempt bond financing in the nation under the Indian Tribal Government Tax Status Act and represents tribal governments, tribal businesses and entities doing business with tribes across the country.

David R. Lewis, Vice President - Marketing & Sales, manages sales opportunities for Calpine Corporation in the Southern California and the Desert Southwest territories. His duties include developing, structuring and negotiating power sales opportunities for Calpine's merchant energy portfolio across the region.

Douglas MacCourt is a partner in the Portland, Oregon office of Ater Wynne LLP and for 16 years has represented public, private and tribal clients on land use, natural resources, environmental and energy matters with an emphasis on facility siting and agency permitting.

Linda Osburn, a principal with Garrison Law Office, has been involved with formation and implementation of the Garrison Kathio West Mille Lacs Lake Sanitary District. The GKWMLL district broke ground on July 1, 2004 for the first phase of a $17.1 million sewer collection project.

The Hon. Phyllis A. Reha serves as Commissioner of the Public Utility Commission of Minnesota. Prior to her appointment, she was an Administrative Law Judge with the Minnesota Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) where she specialized in Public Utility, Environmental and Transportation Regulation. She is Vice-Chair of the Energy, Resources and the Environment Committee of the National Association of Regulatory Commissioners (NARUC).

Jeffrey D. Seidel is Vice President, Northland Securities, Inc., where he is responsible for originating both commercial loan syndications and municipal revenue bonds, with particular emphasis on Native American issues. He has extensive experience in both municipal and commercial finance having successfully negotiated 89 transactions with a par value of $4.9 billion in 16 years.

John Seymour is Executive Director for Wind Development at FPL Energy, where he successfully negotiated the power purchase agreement for FPL Energy’s recently constructed 144 MW Evanston, Wyoming project and is leading FPL Energy’s efforts on multiple projects in Minnesota, Wisconsin and the Pacific Northwest.

Jack Whittier is a Program Manager for McNeil Technologies, with over two decades of experience in business planning, project development and renewable energy technologies. He has performed detailed site identification and selection, biomass resource assessment, and economic analysis of biomass heat and power generation and alternative fuels projects throughout the western United States.

Rollie Wilson, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s first tribal liaison, will be working closely with the Commission and Indian tribes at all levels to enhance tribal involvement in FERC proceedings, facilitate consideration of tribal resource issues, and increase tribal awareness of FERC’s responsibilities.