Assistant Secretary Stickler to Speak
Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health Richard Stickler will speak at the EMLF-USDOL Mine Safety & Health Law conference in Washington, DC on Nov. 14. The two-day program will be held at the USDOL Auditorium, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW on November 14-15. Solicitor of Labor Howard Radzely opens with a presentation on legal and policy developments, followed by a series of sessions on the MINER Act – the Emergency Response Plan and Plan Approval Process, Mine Safety Rescue Technology, the Federal Mine Safety & Health Review Commission’s Interim Final Rules on Emergency Plan disputes, and a panel of Administrative Law Judges discussing practice and procedure for issues relating to the MINER Act.
On the second day the Coal Mine Mapping Project, undertaken following the Quecreek Mine accident, will be updated, followed by a session on MSHA Accident Investigations and an update on recent judicial decisions, state safety legislation, and regulatory developments. On Wednesday afternoon the Federal Mine Safety & Health Review Commission will sit in special session at the USDOL auditorium so that registrants can hear oral arguments in the Jim Walter Resources case.
You can still register online for the Mine Safety & Health Law program at the EMLF website. Be sure to register in advance for this program so your name will be on the EMLF registration list given to security officers at the USDOL and your entrance to the building can be expedited.
EMLF Energy Careers Programs
Many thanks to the EMLF members who participated in the Energy Careers programs at EMLF member law schools this fall. The EMLF sponsored programs for students at American University in Washington, DC with speakers Professor Barlow Burke, Washington College of Law, Kirsten Nathanson of Crowell & Moring, Margo Lopez with Ogletree Deakins, and Ron Meisburg, General Counsel to the National Labor Relations Board. Appalachian Law School students in Grundy, VA, (over 175 students attending) heard panelists Suzan Moore, Alpha Natural Resources, The Honorable Elizabeth A. McClanahan of the Virginia Court of Appeals, and Tim Gresham of Penn Stuart & Eskridge talk about their experiences as energy lawyers. A record 55 pizzas were served by EMLF to the students.
At West Virginia University, panelists were David Morrison, Steptoe & Johnson, Kirsten Nathanson, Crowell & Moring, and Cordell Pierce, Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs, a 2005 WVU grad and EMLF scholarship recipient. Natalie Anderson Jefferis, Equitable Production, David Laurent of Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, and Sean Cassidy of Cassidy Kotjarapoglus & Pohland spoke to students at both Duquesne University and the University of Pittsburgh, where Professor Cy Fox moderated the program and told students about the EMLF.
Next week is this fall’s final presentation, scheduled at Washington & Lee with Mary Beth Naumann of Jackson Kelly, Greg Ossi of Venable LLC, and Tim Gresham of Penn Stuart & Eskridge. Through these programs an estimated 250 law students have had the opportunity to talk to EMLF members about entering the field of energy law. It’s been a great program, and the EMLF thanks everyone who helped make it a success.