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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