Columbia Hosts Environmental Commissioners

The Commissioner Speaker’s Panel

May 23, 2012

On May 23, 2012, Columbia Law School hosted an all-day conference, Key Environmental Issues in U.S. EPA Region 2. A highlight was the Commissioner Speaker’s panel, pictured.

The conference packed the largest classroom at Columbia Law School with 190 attendees. It was co-sponsored by EPA Region 2; the American Bar Association’s Section of Environment, Energy and Resources; the New York State Bar Association’s Environmental Law Section; the New Jersey State Bar Association’s Environmental Law Section; the New York City Bar Association’s Committee on Environmental Law; and Columbia Law School’s Center for Climate Change Law. This conference has been held every two years starting in 1994; this was its ninth running.

Panels at the conference discussed climate and air pollution, natural gas extraction, contaminated site cleanup and redevelopment, and the cross-cutting issues of civil enforcement, criminal enforcement, and environmental justice. Each panel included high-ranking state and federal regulators.

In picture, from left: Carter Strickland Jr. (JD 1995), Commissioner of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection; Bob Martin, Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection; Joseph Martens, Commissioner of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation; Professor Michael Gerrard, who chaired the conference; and Pedro Nieves, Chair of the Puerto Rico Environmental Quality Board. Not pictured is Judith Enck, Regional Administrator of EPA Region 2, who was in Albany on business but delivered a keynote address by video link from Albany Law School.