Kate Iverson, DU JD Graduate and Assistant General Counsel at Denver's RTD, Discusses "Fastracks" Light Rail Project During Speakers Series

Kate Iverson, Associate General Counsel for the Regional Transportation District in Denver, spoke recently to University of Denver Sturm College of Law students about Fastracks, the RTD's major light rail project that is currently being built.

Ms. Iverson, a 2006 JD graduate from the College of Law, described Fastracks as a multi-billion dollar comprehensive transit expansion plan to build 122 miles of new commuter rail and light rail, 18 miles of bus rapid transit, and the stations and parking spaces needed to support the system. She said that the West Corridor Light Rail project would be finished in 2013, Union Station in 2015, and the East Corridor Rail and Gold Line Rail in 2016.

She explained the unique nature of the Eagle P3 Project, which will involve the 22.8 mile East Corridor to Denver International Airport as well as the 11.2 mile Gold Line commuter rail to Arvada and Wheat Ridge and a starter segment to south Westminster on the Northwest Rail commuter rail corridor. The interesting aspect of the project is that it consists of a public/private partnership that will build out this portion of Fastracks. "It's a design, build, finance, operate, and maintain project," she said.

Among her responsibilities include meeting and negotiating with local governments to discuss what work will be done in a particular jurisdiction, who will pay for it, and who will maintain it. She is also centrally involved in issues related to utilities and trails that happen to intersect with Fastracks. She also negotiates with railroads to obtain Fastracks' access to railroad rights of way.
Don C. Smith, director of the Environmental and Natural Resources Law (ENRL) program, said, "The work that Kate Iverson is doing at Fastracks is a key element in what will ultimately be one of the largest light rail networks in the American west. Having her speak at the College of Law benefits students desiring to learn more about this vast undertaking and provides an inside view of what a large city transport development attorney does. I am sure Kate will be back over the next few years to share the progress on this project, which has the potential of changing transport patterns all across the Denver metropolitan area."

Ms. Iverson's presentation, which was part of the ENRL Speakers Series, was co-sponsored by the Land Use Law Society.

For a map of the Fastracks project, please click here.

DU Environmental and Natural Resources Externships: "Some of the Best Opportunities in the Nation," Professor Ann Vessels Says

Students studying environmental and natural resources issues at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law were advised recently to take advantage of the law school's many excellent externship opportunities. Students attending an Environmental and Natural Resources Law (ENRL) advising session heard Professors Fred Cheever, Rock Pring, and Ann Vessels, director of the College of Law Legal Externship Program, extol the benefits of undertaking one or more externships during law school.

Professor Vessels said, "We have some of the best environmental and natural resources externships in the country here at the Sturm College of Law. The Denver area specifically, and Colorado more generally, are excellent locations for the types of externships you are looking for." She noted that externship opportunities range from working for federal and state agencies, to non-profits and think-tanks, to private firms. Moreover, there is often a link between a student's externship experiences and their ability to get a job after graduation, Professor Vessels said.

Professor Pring noted that, "Externships are a great way to learn as well as meet key individuals. It also allows you to list the externships on your resume, which can be very impressive to prospective employers. I highly recommend [doing externships]."

Nino Coppero, Environmental and Natural Resources LLM Student, Elected to Student Bar Association Senate

We would like to congratulate LLM student Nino Coppero for his election to the University of Denver Sturm College of Law Student Bar Association (SBA) Senate.

Nino comes to our program from Peru where he graduated with honors from the Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas (UPC) with a degree in Law. Nino is currently on leave from his job at one of Peru’s top natural resources and environmental law firms, Rodrigo, Elias & Medrano.

Luis Carlos Rodrigo, one of the firm’s partners and Sturm College of Law Adjunct Professor, had this to say about Nino: “ I can say that Nino is currently one of our best lawyers and collaborators specialized in mining and environmental law.”

We are extremely proud of Nino and his accomplishments while at the University of Denver LLM program. Enhorabuena, Nino!

Lucy Daberkow

Assistant Director

Environmental and Natural Resources Law Program

Hiring News: Alison Eastley, DU JD Graduate and December LLM Graduate, Will Begin Work in January as Water and Land Use Attorney for Holland and Hart

Alison Eastley, a recent University of Denver Sturm College of Law JD graduate who will also earn an LLM in December from College of Law's Environmental and Natural Resources Law (ENRL) program, has been hired by one of the west's top law firms Holland & Hart.

While enrolled in the ENRL program, Ms. Eastley interned with the Rocky Mountain Institute and the Colorado Water Conservation Board. Both internships gave her the opportunity "to learn from great minds and influential professionals in Colorado's environmental fields," she said.

Between her internships and LLM classes, Ms. Eastley gained practical experience and deepened her understanding of water law and land use.

Ms. Eastley said that she is "thrilled to have found a job in my field where I will be working as a water law and land use attorney with Holland & Hart beginning in January 2011."

Fall 2010 Environmental and Natural Resources Law Newsletter Available: Sturm College of Law Strategic Plan As Relates to Program is Featured

The Fall 2010 Newsletter published by the Environmental and Natural Resources Program (ENRL) at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law is now available by clicking here.

The Fall 2010 issue highlights the recognition of the ENRL as a flagship program as defined in the College of Law strategic plan, which was approved by the faculty last spring and by the University's board of trustees in the summer.

The newsletter also calls attention to the considerable achievements of the ENRL faculty, which is known as one of the best in the field in the U.S. specifically and across the entire world more generally. Newsletter readers will see the expansive work of the faculty, including publications and presentations during the period from March 2010 through October 2010.

Finally, the newsletter discusses a new innovation in the program, the establishment of a monthly Speakers Series that brings leaders in the environmental, energy, and natural resources fields to the College of Law to speak to student gatherings. The series has been very well received, with students enthusiastically welcoming and learning from the business, law, policy, and regulatory leaders who are helping set the framework for discussion of future environmental, natural resources, and energy matters.

In Denver Post Letter to the Editor, Professor K.K. DuVivier Urges Planting "The Right Trees in the Right Place" to Help Combat Climate Change

The Denver Post recently published a letter to the editor by Professor K.K. DuVivier. Professor DuVivier teaches Energy Law at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, and is author of the Renewable Energy Reader, a sourcebook about renewable energy law, due out from Carolina Academic Press in late 2011.

Professor DuVivier wrote in response to "Deciduous trees have decidedly beneficial impact on air pollution" (Oct. 22, 2010). The deciduous trees story noted that a study conducted by the National Center for Atmospheric Research reported that "deciduous vegetation absorbs one-third more air pollution that previously believed -- tens of millions of metric tons worldwide."

However, the article also noted that not all trees are the same with respect to reducing the levels of air toxics. "The right trees include ash, apple, birch, hawthorn, hackberry, maple, pear, and peach. Wrong: poplar, eucalyptus and oak [because]...[t]hese species, NCAR scientists say, emit more volatile organize compounds [VOCs] than they absorb."

Professor DuVivier expanded on the deciduous trees article by identifying which trees that are "right" for absorbing VOCs are also "right" because they do not grow to heights that interfere with neighbors' use of the sun for passive solar heating or electricity generation through photovoltaic panels. Like the "wrong" trees with respect to the emission of VOCs, taller trees whose shading results in the need for more coal-fired power generation, contribute to the climate problem instead of helping it, she has noted.

In her letter, Professor DuVivier urged that planting the right types of trees in the right places is the best way to enlist trees in the climate change battle. Specifically, Professor DuVivier wrote:

"[The] article lauded trees for absorbing smog. Trees also mitigate O2 emissions. But not all trees are equally beneficial: some species emit more volatile organic compounds than they absorb.

"In urban environments, we need more restrictions to avoid negative impacts on those around us: e.g., wood burning or watering restrictions. Sunlight plays an increasing role in energy solutions — for solar energy and urban gardens. Trees that mature at over 70 feet can create shade pollution for neighbors up to three lots away. Several of the 'right trees' for smog absorption are also those that mature at lower heights: apple, hawthorn, pear and peach.

"Where we plant new trees in the city is also important. Branches of deciduous trees still block critical southern exposures catching the low winter sun. So, we should plant more trees, as long as they are the right trees in the right place."

Terence Daintith, Author of Book About the History of Oil and Gas Industry, Speaks to Adjunct Professor Ken Jones' Oil and Gas Course

The author of Finders Keepers? How the Law of Capture Shaped the World Oil Industry spoke recently at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. Terence Daintith, the former director of the University of London's Institute of Advanced Legal Studies and a co-editor of a treatise on United Kingdom oil and gas law, was a guest in Adjunct Professor Ken Jones' course "Oil & Gas Law."

Mr. Daintith spoke about a 2008 Texas Supreme Court decision, Coastal v. Garza, in which the majority held, according to Mr. Daintith, that "the rule of capture prevents recovery for drainage caused by [hydraulic fracturing], both to the early development of the rule of capture in the U.S. and to contemporaneous developments in the United Kingdom, where the legal consequences of slant-hole drilling have just been considered for the first time by the U.K. Supreme Court [formerly known as the House of Lords] in Bocardo v. Star Energy."

Mr. Daintith's comparison illustrated the "effects of different property right systems for oil and gas, and also demonstrates the contrasting approaches to policy and doctrinal questions in the two [U.K. and U.S.] courts."

He also talked more broadly about the law of capture (also called the rule of capture), that provides that "oil and gas become the property of the person who recovers them by drilling on land he or she owns or has lawful access to, even if that oil and gas may have migrated from under adjoining lands." In his book, Mr. Daintith writes:

"At first thought, this may seem like just one of a multitude of rather mundane and technical rules of property law; in practice, however, the choice between acceptance and rejection of this particular rule has been crucial to the way the oil industry has developed. This is true not just of the United States, but of oil-producing countries generally...One of the aims of this book is to show why, despite this common beginning, the rule today is of marginal importance elsewhere yet remains the foundation of the complex legal structure that regulates the domestic U.S. industry."

For those interested in the oil and gas sector, this book is well worth reading. Owen L. Anderson, a professor at the University of Oklahoma, has written that the book is "a thorough analysis of the most fundamental of all rules of oil and gas. Every oil and gas lawyer, petroleum landman, petroleum geologist, and petroleum engineer should read this important book."