Denver Law Assumes Editorship of the Prestigious "Journal of Energy and Natural Resources Law" Published by the International Bar Association

Beginning January 1, 2012, the Environmental and Natural Resources Law & Policy Program has assumed the editorship of the prestigious Journal of Energy and Natural Resources Law (JERL). The Journal is published by the International Bar Association Section on Energy, Environment, Natural Resources and Infrastructure Law (SEERIL).

SEERIL is the leading international forum for energy and resources lawyers. With a membership of more than 2,000 of the most recognized professionals from private practice, energy companies, academia and governments, SEERIL provides unrivalled opportunities for lawyers worldwide to exchange views and professional expertise.

From its launch date in 1982 until 2007, JERL was edited at the University of Dundee, Scotland, Centre for Energy, Petroleum & Mineral Law & Policy. For the last three years it has been edited at the University of Calgary School of Law. Thus, the Sturm College of Law will serve as the first “U.S.-based” institution to edit the journal.

Don Smith, Director of the Environmental and Natural Resources (ENRL) Program, will serve as editor. He will be assisted by students who will help with various aspects of publishing the journal. JERL will use a system of peer reviewers to assess papers that are submitted for publication.

The decision by the IBA to award the editorship to Denver Law was confirmation of the high regard in which the ENRL program is held by the international community, Mr. Smith said. “Having the IBA and SEERIL name Denver Law as the editor of the Journal is enormously significant,” he said. “This will raise Denver Law’s already high reputation among international practitioners and academics to an even higher plane.”

Denver Law Dean Martin Katz said hosting the Journal is a perfect fit for DU. “Our strategic plan commits to demonstrated excellence in environmental and natural resources law,” Dean Katz said. “To us, this means being at the center of the international dialogue on cutting-edge resources issues. This journal advances our ability to do exactly that.”

The Journal’s articles are written by authors worldwide. The first 2012 issue, which will be published in mid-March, includes pieces written by authors from Canada, Italy, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the U.S. The first issue will feature these articles:

• Whither the South African Mining Industry?


• Natural Gas Price Reviews: Past, Present and Future


• Marine Environmental Protection in Joint Development Agreements


• Integrating the Proposed National Oil Company of Uganda into the Corporate Governance Discourse: Lessons From Norway

For more information about JERL including Aims and Objectives, Submission Procedure, and Guidelines and Information for Authors, please click here.

Professor K.K. DuVivier Supports Colorado HB 1105, Which Establishes a Nonseverable Wind Energy Right in Real Property

Colorado House Bill 1105 recently cleared the House Agriculture Committee. It would establish "a nonseverable wind energy right in real property."

Creating nonseverable rights wouldn’t stop wind development. It would only require a separate “wind energy agreement,” that would have to be recorded with the county clerk.

Professor K.K. DuVivier, testified on behalf of the bill. She is knowledgeable about the topic and has written several articles concerning the matter such as, “Animal, Vegetable, Mineral - Wind? The Severed Wind Power Rights Conundrum.” Click here to access some of her articles.

An article published by the "Colorado News Agency" recalls that she said that only six states have passed laws that prohibit the splitting of wind and surface rights. Texas, a state that has not, produces far more wind energy than any other state and the severed rights have caused many problems for those owning the land, she said.

Professor K.K. DuVivier urged lawmakers to keep the wind rights in the surface estate. She noted that wind farms require long-term and extensive use not only of the surface land but of the area immediately above and below it for transmission, distribution, and collection lines. “Without legislative guidance, courts logically turn to precedents defining the status of other resources, such as oil or water,” she wrote in an article for the Washburn Law Journal. “Yet, defaulting to traditional models is unlikely to encourage the best development of our country's wind resources.”

Professor K.K. DuVivier was interviewed on Colorado Public Radio about the topic.

Fall 2012-Spring 2013 University of Denver Water Law Review Board Announced

The University of Denver Water Law Review has announced its editorial board for Volume 16 (Fall 2012 - Spring 2013), along with its new staff members.

Members of the Volume 16 editorial board are:
• Editor-in-Chief: Allison Altaras
• Managing Editors: Greg Cowan and Liz Hutchinson
• Article Editors: Sarah Barth, Jessica Zaegel, Kelly Delaney, Jonathan Culwell, Jessica Bidgood
• Symposium Editor: Jonathan King
• Business Editor: Emily Lande
• Production Editor: Matt Watson
• Court Report Editors: Johna Varty and Joe Norris

New staff editors are:
•Danielle Contos
•Ryan Coyne
•Gerard Deffenbaugh
•Lauren Varner
•Jacob Watterson

Don C. Smith, director of the Denver Law Environmental and Natural Resources Law Program said, "The Water Law Review provides a unique, high quality forum for sharing ideas, information, legal analyses and policy analyses concerning water law issues. It is the objective of the editorial board and staff to make the Review a valuable resource for the practitioner, the scholar and the policy maker."

Two Denver Law Environmental Experts, Professor Jan G. Laitos and Dr. Anita Halvorssen, to Speak at "Rule of Law for Nature" Conference in Norway

Two Denver Law environmental and natural resources law professors will be featured in the Rule of Law for Nature program, which is being organized by the Natural Resources Law Group at the Faculty of Law, University of Oslo from May 9-11, 2012.

Professor Jan G. Laitos, John A. Carver Jr. Professor of Law, and Dr. Anita Halvorssen, Adjunct Professor of Law, will take part in the conference that marks the 40th anniversary of the adoption of the Stockholm Declaration, the 30th anniversary of the UN World Charter for Nature and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the 25th anniversary of the Brundtland Report, and the 20th anniversary of both the Rio Declaration, Agenda 21, and the UNCED Conventions: the Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Professor Laitos' lecture is entitled, "A Right of 'Non-use' for Nature." Dr. Halvorssen and her co-presenter Ottavio Quirico of the European University Institute, will address "The Impact of Environmental Corporate Responsiblity Policies on Climate Related Border Tax Adjustments."

According to the University of Oslo Faculty of Law, "This is an appropriate point in time for reflection on the legal status of nature, how environmental goods and services are valued and taken into account in decision-making, and the implications of the rule of law in this respect."

The deadline for registration is April 1, 2012. More information about the conference can be accessed by clicking here.

Editor's note: The Faculty of Law building at the University of Oslo is shown above.

Environmental Law Clinic Director Michael Harris leads suit against Christo’s "Over the River" Project

Our very own Professor Michael Harris, Director of the Environmental Law Clinic, is leading several law students in a suit against Christo’s "Over the River" project. Last November, the project was approved by the Bureau of Land Management, which allows the project to hang 5.9 miles of aluminum-coated material over a 42 mile stretch of the Arkansas River in southern Colorado.

On behalf of a grassroots, all-volunteer citizen group, Rags Over the Arkansas River (ROAR), the suit was filed February 1st, 2012 by third-year law students Mason Brown and Justine Shepherd under the supervision of Professor Harris.

According to the suit, the project will be built almost entirely within federally designated Arkansas Canyonlands Area of critical environmental concern that will take 28 months to construct and 12 months to remove. The project will include intensive construction practices to implement, including heavy equipment normally found in mining and road construction (i.e. hydraulic drills, various types of excavators, cranes, grouters, water tanks, grout mixers, support trailers, steel rock anchors, and anchor frames). The group opposes the project due to environmental issues and dangers to the residents and visitors to the area.

For more information please click here.

Nadia B. Ahmad, Denver Law LLM Student, Chosen by Denver Mayor Michael Hancock for Human Rights and Community Relations Advisory Board

Nadia B. Ahmad, who is studying for an LLM in the Environmental and Natural Resources Law (ENRL) Graduate Program at the Sturm College of Law, has been appointed by Denver Mayor Michael Hancock to the city and county of Denver's Human Rights and Community Relations Advisory Board.

The Advisory Board advocates on issues and opportunities of the represented commissions and at-large constituency groups and communicates those to the Agency for Human Rights and Community Relations, which was established in 1948.

The Agency empowers communities to address local issues and strives to promote equal opportunity and protects the rights of all people regardless of race, color, creed, gender, sexual orientation, age or disability as well as works with the Agency regarding policies, goals and objectives that will affect the Agency and the constituents of the Commissions and at large groups.

Among the Commissions that are part of the Agency are: American Indian; African American; Asian Pacific; Aging, GLBT; Latino; People with Disabilities, and Women's.

Don Smith, Director of the ENRL Graduate Program, said, "Mayor Hancock's selection of Ms. Ahmad for this important position reflects his confidence in her judgment and experience. It is quite an honor for Ms. Ahmad. She will do an excellent job."

Ms. Ahmad practiced law in Florida before coming to Denver. She is a JD graduate of the University of Florida School of Law.

Denver Law and Natural Resources and Environmental Law Society to Host Colorado Renewable Energy Society Feb. 16; DU to Have 1st College Chapter

The Natural Resources and Environmental Law Society (NRELS) at Denver Law is excited to announce its alliance with the first college chapter of the Colorado Renewable Energy Society (CRES). The primary goal of the college chapter, known as DUCRES (pronounced “do-cress”), is to connect students and student organizations across the University of Denver’s campus with the growing renewable energy industry in Colorado.

Current CRES members can elect to be included in DUCRES provided they are part of the University of Denver community. This includes University of Denver staff, faculty, administrators, students, and recent alumni. Non-CRES members will have the opportunity to join at the February 16 event.

The event on February 16 will feature the Executive Director of CRES, Tony Frank, who will focus on efforts being made by CRES at the Colorado State Assembly and trends that are occurring in renewable energy incentives across the country. The public is encouraged to attend this event and anybody remotely interested in renewable energy should attend.

The free event, which will take place in room 165 of the Denver Law Ricketson Law Building, is from 6 to 8 p.m. February 16, 2012. Questions about DUCRES can be directed to Scott Thompson, sthompson12@law.du.edu.

Click here for a map to the DU campus and the Ricketson Law Building.