Program Overview
Who Should Order
Attorneys, Tribal, local, state and federal governmental representatives, environmental professionals, business executives, water users and their representatives
Why You Should Order
Our Fifth Annual Conference brings together an exceptional faculty to address major developments for Tribal water in the Pacific Northwest. It is an essential update on the role of Tribal governments in discussions regarding water availability, quality, conservation and regulations in the Pacific Northwest.
Leading attorneys, Tribal and agency representatives will discuss the broad implications of the Hirst Fix legislation, Agua Caliente water rights case, and Yakama Nation cooperative efforts for resource preservation and improvement. They'll also discuss stream flows and water release management on the Columbia River and an update on the Culverts Case.
Throughout our Tribal Water Law conference, we will explore ways in which Tribes, local governments and water agencies can work cooperatively to ensure an adequate and sustained supply of water for mutually beneficial uses into the future. We hope you can join us.
Register soon. A live webcast is also available.
~ Eric D. Eberhard, Esq. of University of Washington School of Law and Thomas P. Schlosser, Esq. of Morisset Schlosser Jozwiak & Somerville, Program Co-Chairs
What You Will Learn
- -SB 6091 (the "Hirst Fix" Legislation)
- -Pending Tribal water issues in the Pacific Northwest
- -Technical, legal and Tribal perspectives on the water supply problem
- -Stream flow management in the Pacific Northwest
- -Water management of the Columbia River and Klamath Basin
- -Update on the Culverts Case
- -Technical considerations of water resources management
What Attendees Said
- "Great mix and balance of litigation + policy; law + tech/science presentations"
- "Great speakers and the agenda flowed well. I like the addition of technical speakers that showed us practical implementation of these legal principals. I also get a lot of use in having related legislative & agency perspectives."
- "Thanks for putting this together!"
- "Tribal attorneys are so spread out that it is great to have a place for everyone to gather together"
Agenda Day 1
8:00 am
Registration Opens
8:30 am
Introduction & Overview
Thomas P. Schlosser, Esq.
, Program Co-Chair
Morisset Schlosser Jozwiak & Somerville / Seattle, WA
Eric D. Eberhard, Esq.
, Program Co-Chair, Professor
University of Washington School of Law / Seattle, WA
8:45 am
Stream Flows: What Can Tribes Expect to Have Available in the Pacific Northwest?
Precipitation as the starting point for all water supplies: Update on the annual forecast in light of the anticipated impact of climate change on precipitation patterns, both in terms of total quantities and the timing of water flows
Kirti Rajagopalan, Ph.D.
, Research Professor
Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources, WSU / Puyallup, WA
Water release management on the Columbia River system: Update on the current status of the BPA Biological Opinion and the overall picture for restoration of the Pacific Northwest salmon runs and management of natural resources by Indian tribes
F. Lorraine Bodi, Esq.
, Vice President, Environment, Fish & Wildlife
Bonneville Power Administration / Portland, OR
10:15 am
Break
10:30 am
Water for Rural Development: Washington's Recently Passed SB 6091 (the "Hirst Fix" Legislation)
Unraveling the complexity: Washington's 62 watersheds; groupings and how they came about; who returns to pre-Hirst rules and restrictions and what that really means; new provisions for other watersheds; exemptions and why they were made
Bill Clarke, Esq.
Attorney at Law & Government Affairs / Olympia, WA
Tribal perspective on the legislation: Primary issues addressed during the legislative process; the political dynamics of how the deal came about; what to expect for the 2019 session
The Hon. John McCoy
, (D) District 38
Washington State Senate / Olympia, WA
12:00 pm
Lunch (on your own)
1:15 pm
What Next for Tribes
Tribal fishery management perspective on the process, passage, and implementation of ESSB 6091
Todd Bolster
, Habitat Policy Analyst
Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission / Olympia, WA
Issues facing tribes; possible approaches towards finding solutions
Sharon I. Haensly, Esq.
, Attorney
Squaxin Island Tribe / Shelton, WA
The scientific foundation for conjunctive management of water resources: The hydraulic interaction between surface water and groundwater; development of water markets
Brett Bovee
, Intermountain Regional Director
WestWater Research / Fort Collins, CO
3:15 pm
Break
3:30 pm
What Next (cont'd): Reduced Withdrawal Limits for Over-Committed Aquifers
Creation of, and Tribal participation in, Watershed Restoration and Enhancement (WRE) committees for recommending fish projects to enable higher withdrawals than 950 gallons per day for the eight watersheds where exempt wells are the most problematic
Diana R. Bob, Esq.
Native Law PLLC / Seattle, WA
4:15 pm
Exemption of the Yakima Basin from Hirst Fix Provisions
Hydraulic interaction between surface water and groundwater; 2018 update on Yakama Nation cooperative efforts for conjunctive management and resource preservation and improvement
Tom Ring
, Hydrogeologist
Yakama Nation / Toppenish, WA
5:00 pm
Adjourn Day 1
Friday, July 20, 2018
8:30 am
Water for Fish
Technical perspective on stream flows for fish: What are the order of magnitude impacts of water uses on aquatic habitat? Where should the focus be?
Chris V. Pitre
, Founder
Coho Water Resources / Seattle, WA
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC): Tribal in-stream flows and Klamath River dam removal as a water quality solution; implications for other hydro projects nearing the end of their useful life
Scott Williams, Esq.
Berkey Williams LLP / Berkeley, CA
Consultation requirements: Update on litigation against the fisheries service and reclamation on when agencies are obligated to re-initiate consultation
Thane D. Somerville, Esq.
Morisset Schlosser Jozwiak & Somerville / Seattle, WA
10:30 am
Break
10:45 am
Permitting Processes after the Hirst Fix: What to Expect from the State and Local Permitting Authorities
Implementation plans at the state level
Dave Christensen
, Section Manager, Water Resources Program
Washington State Department of Ecology / Olympia, WA
How counties were adapting to the Supreme Court decision and will be modifying processes to comply with the new statute
Mike Hermanson
, Water Resources Manager
Spokane County Environmental Services Department / Spokane, WA
12:00 pm
Lunch (on your own)
1:15 pm
Management of the Columbia River as a Fisheries Resource
Update on the in-depth economic analysis prepared in anticipation of the renegotiation of the US Canada Treaty
David Batker
, Chief Economist and Executive Director
Earth Economics / Tacoma, WA
2:00 pm
Key Recent Cases Relating to Tribal Water Rights
Federal Court of Claims rejects Klamath farmers' takings claims: Implications for Tribal assertion of treaty rights
Ramsey Laursoo Kropf, Esq.
Somach Simmons & Dunn PC / Boulder, CO
Other cases: Where decisional trends for Tribal water law are taking us; the resulting new set of issues on the horizon
Dan Von Seggern, Ph.D., Esq.
, Staff Attorney
Center for Environmental Law & Policy / Seattle, WA
3:00 pm
Break
3:15 pm
Putting the Pieces Together for Tribal Water Rights
Avoiding extinction vs. ensuring harvestable fish: The Culverts case and the interplay between Endangered Species Act (ESA), water law, and Tribal treaty rights; tips for influencing how they factor into administrative decisions and litigation outcomes
Robert Anderson, Esq.
, Director of the Native American Law Center
University of Washington School of Law / Seattle, WA
How poor water quality contributes to both depletion and contamination of the fisheries resource; update on water quality standards in Washington and elsewhere, including recent developments at the tribal, state, and federal levels
Catherine O'Neill, Esq.
, Consultant
Olympia, WA
4:30 pm
Evaluations and Adjourn
Faculty Bios
Eric D. Eberhard,
Program Co-Chair, is an Affiliate Assistant Professor at the University of Washington School of Law. He is a former General Counsel to the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.
Thomas P. Schlosser,
Program Co-Chair, focuses his practice at Morisset Schlosser Jozwiak & Somerville on Tribal natural resource environmental regulation matters.
Robert Anderson
is a Professor and Director of the Native American Law Center at the University of Washington School of Law.
David Batker,
Chief Economist and Executive Director at Earth Economics, is an expert in ecological economics for establishing the value of watersheds for providing water and floodplain flood risk reduction.
Diana R. Bob
is the founder of Native Law PLLC. She previously served as in-house counsel for the Lummi Nation.
F. Lorraine Bodi
is Vice President for Environment, Fish and Wildlife at BPA. Previously, she was Co-Director of the Northwest Office of American Rivers and an attorney for NOAA and the EPA.
Todd Bolster is a Habitat Policy Analyst for the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission. His area of focus is implementation of the federal Clean Water Act and work includes evaluating environmental programs, legislation, and regulations for their ability to protect and promote the habitats of treaty-reserved resources like salmon.
Brett Bovee
is Intermountain Regional Director at WestWater Research, a water resources consulting firm specializing in water valuation and water markets in the Western US.
Dave Christensen,
is the Section Manager for the Washington State Department of Ecology Water Resources Program.
Bill Clarke,
Attorney at Law & Government Affairs, is a former Chair of the Pollution Control Hearings Board and Shorelines Hearings Board.
Sharon I. Haensly
is an attorney for the Squaxin Island Tribe. Prior to representing Squaxin Island she was an attorney for the U.S. EPA and the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community.
Mike Hermanson
is Water Resources Manager for the Spokane County Environmental Services Department.
Ramsey Laursoo Kropf
is a shareholder with Somach Simmons & Dunn PC. Before joining the firm, she served as Deputy Solicitor, Water Resources, Office of the Solicitor, in Washington, DC.
The Hon. John McCoy,
(D) District 38, represents the Everett, Marysville, and Tulalip communities, and neighborhoods of Snohomish County, in the Washington State Senate.
Catherine O'Neill,
Consultant, has worked on issues of environmental justice with various tribes, advisory committees, and grassroots environmental justice groups.
Chris V. Pitre
is Founder of Coho Water Resources LLC. He has done extensive work on Managed Aquifer Recharge/Aquifer Storage and Recovery (MAR/ASR).
Kirti Rajagopalan, Ph.D.,
of the Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources at WSU works at the interface of water and agricultural issues in the Columbia River Basin, and more broadly Western United States. Her background is in biophysical modeling of systems, and integration of economic and biophysical models. She is very interested in applied research that translates to rich decision support tools for a variety of stakeholders. Kirti has a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from Washington State University, and MBA from Iowa State University. She has previously worked at Deere and Co. and as an independent consult in marketing analytics.
Tom Ring
is a hydrogeologist with the Water Resources Program of the Yakama Nation. He previously worked for the Water Resources Program at the Washington Department of Ecology.
Thane D. Somerville,
Director at Morisset Schlosser Jozwiak & Somerville, exclusively represents Tribal governments and enterprises His practice includes all aspects of Tribal, representation, with special emphasis on preservation of natural and cultural resources.
Dan Von Seggern, Ph.D., Esq.,
is a Staff Attorney for the Center for Environmental Law & Policy. Prior to his legal career, he spent 20 years as a research scientist.
Scott Williams, partner at Berkey Williams LLP, represented Tribes in negotiating agreements to remove dams and restore the Klamath River in California and Oregon.
Continuing Education Credits
Live credits: This program qualifies for 12.75 Washington CLE credits. Upon request, we will apply for, or help you apply for, CLE credits in other states and other types of credits.
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Pricing
Regular tuition for in person or webcast attendance for this program is $995 with a group rate of $895 each for two or more registrants from the same firm. For government employees, we offer a special rate of $745. For students, people in their job for less than a year, and public interest NGOs, our rate is $497.50. All rates include admission to all seminar sessions, food and beverages at breaks, and all course materials. Materials will be available for download and review a few days before the seminar. Make checks payable to Law Seminars International.
Financial aid is available to those who qualify. Contact our office for more information.
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There is a $25 cancellation fee
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