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The Clark Group continues active participation in the National Association of Environmental Professionals (NAEP)

The 2010 NAEP Annual Conference marked the end of a productive first year to Lisa Mahoney’s 2-year post as the Chair of the NAEP NEPA Working Group. As Chair, Ms. Mahoney facilitates discussion between NEPA practitioners around the country, and through the Working Group, creates initiatives to help NEPA professionals and practitioners. For instance, with Lisa’s guidance as Chair, the Working Group is currently developing a list of “Training Essentials.” This list will act as a resource providing the NEPA skills, training and understanding necessary for two different types of employees: government decision-makers/mangers and environmental professionals. The draft of the Training Essentials was presented at the NAEP Annual Conference for discussion and comments, with the final document appearing in late 2011.

The Clark Group also published two papers in the NAEP Annual Report. Holly Reuter and David Contrada wrote a piece entitled “Deepwater Horizon: Lessons for NEPA Practitioners,” which explores CEQ’s report analyzing the environmental policies, practices, and procedures MMS used to issue leases for Deepwater Horizon and the Macondo well. Reuter and Contrada’s paper summarizes major findings from CEQ’s report, and shows what CEQ’s findings mean to other Federal Agencies. Chris Conrad submitted a paper entitled “Performance Management for Environmental Managers” that describes The Clark Group’s approach to using their Performance Management tool for helping environmental managers and planners improve effectiveness and efficiency while meeting their mission. In August of 2010, David Contrada’s short commentary, “The Economic Power of Feed-In Tariffs: A Note for Policy-Makers” was accepted for publication by NAEP’s Environmental Practice, and will appear in the theme issue “Energy” in the fall of 2011.

Brian Kuehl Addresses the 2010 Wyoming Sustainability Summit

On April 12, Clark Group Partner Brian Kuehl addressed the 2010 Wyoming Sustainability Summit hosted by the University of Wyoming and the Ruckelshaus Institute for Environment and Natural Resources.

In a speech entitled “Atypical Allies: Engage the Whole Community to Contribute to Sustainability” Brian presented examples of successful projects that The Clark Group has coordinated around the United States that have contributed to community sustainability.

“It’s important for people to understand that sustainability is a process, not a place,” said Brian Kuehl. “Changing light-bulbs won’t make you sustainable. Sustainability comes from aligning your organization and the needs of external stakeholders to solve real problems – that’s true in government, NGO’s and in the private sector.”

Brian’s speech looked at three Clark Group case studies: construction of a biogas plant in Washington State; a regional effort to improve air quality in Middle Georgia; and a community-based green redevelopment effort in Sheridan, Wyoming.

“The Clark Group believes that one of the best routes to sustainability is to bring together people with diverse interests and to align those interests toward a higher goal,” added Brian. “Solutions that are borne from consensus are inherently more sustainable that those that are not.”

For a copy of the PowerPoint presentation for this speech, contact The Clark Group at 202-544-8200.

Clark Group Hosts Webinar with Former EPA Administrator, Governor Christie Todd Whitman

Recently, The Clark Group had the opportunity to partner with the Eisenhower, Kellogg and Loeb Fellowships for a webinar featuring Governor Christie Whitman, former head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The event entitled “Building Community for the Global Environment' brought together more than a dozen Loeb Alumni Fellows who were gathered at Harvard University to celebrate the 40th anniversary of their fellowship program signed on as a group to participate in the web-based seminar.The Clark Group's Managing Partner, Brian Kuehl, was a Loeb Fellow in '06-'07. Kellogg Fellows across the U.S. and participants from Ireland tuned in as well. The program was a follow-up to the seminar “Building Communities Across Differences” held in Ireland this past May.

Listen to a recording of the webinar below:

Download the recording here.

NAEP Comments on Minerals Management Service Environmental Review Process.

Lisa Mahoney, chair of the NEPA working group for the National Association of Environmental Professionals, recently submitted comments to CEQ regarding the reorganization of MMS and the environmental review process for offshore oil drilling. The NAEP National e-Newsletter noted:

Recent activity of our thriving NEPA Working Group, under the leadership of Lisa Mahoney, includes commenting on the Obama Administration’s proposed changes in the role of Minerals Management Services and in long-established environmental procedures for approval of Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) oil drilling. Our comments were sent to the President’s Council on Environmental Quality and the Obama Administration last week.

These comments, accessible here, demonstrate The Clark Group's ongoing commitment to improving federal environmental stewardship. For more information about The Clark Group's NEPA consulting services, click here.

Chelsea Henderson Maxwell Contributes to GMF Climate Essay Series

Chelsea Henderson Maxwell, a partner at The Clark Group recently published a policy brief entitled "U.S. Climate Leadership: Outlook for 2010” with the German Marshall Fund. This is the first of an essay series that GMF will publish over the course of 2010 on Climate Change Policy: New Ideas for a New Decade. The essays are intended to offer fresh thinking and policy recommendations to help clarify the post-Copenhagen policy landscape and offer ideas to policymakers in the United States, Europe, and around the globe on how to tackle climate change.

Laura Sands and Sara Brodnax attend 2010 Commodity Classic with Members of the Agricultural Carbon Market Working Group

Laura Sands, Partner, gave a presentation focused on the effects of climate change and related legislation on agriculture at the annual Commodity Classic trade show. Dan Looker, of Agriculture Online, said the presentation worked to “shatter some myths about cap and trade legislation,” and also recounted Laura’s assertion that agriculture can be part of the solution to climate change. The presentation was sponsored by the National Wheat Growers Association Foundation.

Laura and Sara accompanied five members of the Agricultural Carbon Market Working Group (ACMWG) to Commodity Classic in Anaheim.

To see Laura’s presentation visit the Policy section of the ACMWG website. It is titled Climate Change: Are You Sure You Know What You Think You Know and can be found here.

To see the complete Dan Looker article on Laura’s presentation click here.

Lisa Mahoney Selected Chair of NEPA Working Group

Lisa Mahoney, Senior Associate at the Clark Group, has been elected to serve as the Chair of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Working Group of the National Association of Environmental Professionals (NAEP). This leadership role has responsibility for guiding and coordinating the activities of the NEPA Working Group.

The National Association of Environmental Professionals (NAEP) is a multi-disciplinary association for professionals dedicated to the advancement of the environmental professions. NAEP is a network of professional contacts in industry, government, academia, and the private sector in the U.S. and abroad. The NAEP serves as a forum for state-of-the-art information on environmental planning, research and management.

The Working Group is dedicated to improving environmental assessment as performed under NEPA. Responsibilities of the NEPA Working Group (NWG) Chairperson include:

Encourage high level of activity among group members
Coordinate and lead NWG monthly conference calls
Hold NWG meeting at Annual Conference
Oversee and manage NWG website
Oversee and manage preparation of NEPA Annual Report

Lisa will assume her responsibilities at the NAEP Annual Conference in Atlanta during April.

More information can be found on the NWG website: http://draftnepa.wetpaint.com/

Or the NAEP website: http://naep.org.

Clark Group Attends 40th Anniversary NEPA Symposium

Lisa Mahoney, Chris Conrad and Ray Clark of The Clark Group, LLC attended the 40th Anniversary National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Symposium hosted by the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). Passed by Congress in 1969 and signed into law on January 1, 1970, NEPA was the first Federal legislation to incorporate environmental considerations into government decision-making.

Concurrent with the 40th Anniversary Symposium, CEQ announced steps to modernize and reinvigorate NEPA, including the release of draft guidance on the consideration of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change in NEPA analyses.

Watch a short video about the NEPA Symposium

Concurrent with the 40th Anniversary Symposium, CEQ announced steps to modernize and reinvigorate NEPA. These measures are intended to assist Agencies to meet the goals of NEPA, enhance the quality of public involvement, increase transparency and ease implementation.

CEQ released draft NEPA guidance for public comment on four issues: consideration of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change; “Findings of No Significant Impact” and monitoring of environmental mitigation commitments; categorical exclusions; and enhanced public tools for reporting on NEPA activities.

Read the press release

Or access the guidance on NEPA and climate change

The Clark Group well Represented at UN Climate Negotiations in Copenhagen

Chelsea Maxwell, Sara Brodnax, and Zeke Spears attended the recent Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Copenhagen, Denmark. This was the 15th conference of the parties (COP-15) and the second time the Clark Group has sent observers to a COP. Last year, Sara Brodnax attended COP-14 in Poznan, Poland with Ag Carbon Market Working Group (ACMWG) member Fred Yoder.

Chelsea, a Partner at the Clark Group, tracked various aspects of the conference and created daily reports that were distributed to Congress as updates on the progress of negotiations. While this was Chelsea’s first COP with the Clark Group, she attended COP-13 in Bali, Indonesia as part of the Congressional delegation while working as Senator John Warner’s Senior Advisor on energy and climate change.

Sara and Zeke followed the role of agriculture at COP-15 with members of the ACMWG Fred Yoder, former President of the National Corn Growers Association, and Dwayne Siekman, Executive Director of the Ohio Corn Growers. American agriculture played a visibly increased role at this COP, as seen by a range of first time attendees. Joining the members of the ACMWG were representatives of the National Milk Producers Federation and the National Corn Growers Association.

American, Brazilian and German Farmers Exchange Places and Ideas

This summer, the Clark Group coordinated and participated in a series of farmer exchanges with Brazil and Germany. The purpose of the exchanges was to create a link between the United States, Brazilian and German agricultural communities focusing on ways in which agricultural and forestry producers in each country can benefit from an international carbon market as part of a climate change policy. The exchanges provided a forum for farmer-to-farmer discussions on various international and domestic policy dimensions of energy, trade, climate protection and deforestation.

“These exchanges were a real chance for connection between the American, Brazilian, and German farming communities,” said Sara Hessenflow Harper, partner with The Clark Group. “Farmers from around the world are becoming interested in the value of eco-services markets and how these services can be valued in the international marketplace. It was particularly inspiring to see the connections that formed between the American and Brazilian farmers over using carbon markets to avoid deforestation.”

The exchanges started in early July, when German farmers and foresters visited farm sites and carbon projects in Ohio, Pennsylvania and policymakers in Washington, DC. American farmers and members of the Ag Carbon Market Working Group then traveled to the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil to visit ranches, agricultural production facilities, forest areas and indigenous tribes. And then in August, Brazilian farmers and representatives of local governments and commodity organizations visited farms, production facilities, and a farm show in Ohio and policymakers in DC.

The Brazilian exchange was organized in coordination with a number of partners.

In particular, the exchange served to examine the significance of agriculture’s role in the new direction of climate policy in the United States as well as major challenges facing the international agricultural community within the context of the UN climate negotiation process. The many benefits of the exchange included:

Fostering farmer-to-farmer transatlantic cooperation;
Spotlighting climate change solutions that the agriculture and forest sectors can deliver;
Promoting agriculture’s awareness of policy options to address climate change;
Developing US, Brazilian and German agriculture’s understanding of both domestic and international climate policy issues;
Providing opportunities to find common ground and options to respond to policy shifts;
Educating the farmers on cutting-edge approaches and technologies to reduce and sequester carbon emissions;
Providing information to the agricultural community on important linkages between agriculture and other important issues such as tropical forest conservation.

The exchanges built on a previous US-German farmer exchange in July and August 2007.

Photographs of the exchanges from Sara Brodnax, Clark Group’s Director of Analysis, can be found here: http://picasaweb.google.com/sara.brodnax/ BrazilianAdventures?authkey=Gv1sRgCOOSuN-8wdyyVQ#

Brian Kuehl Interviewed by Christian Science Monitor for Perspective on Rocky Mountain Environmental Politics

Fifteen years ago, Mr. Clinton dispatched Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt, a former Arizona governor, to the Western hinterlands, where he championed reform of mining rules and livestock grazing, recovery of endangered species such as wolves, and cuts in the tree harvest from national forests. Those positions became yet another rallying cry for then-Rep. Newt Gingrich (R), who parlayed antigovernment sentiments into midterm-election victory, giving Republicans control of Capitol Hill that lasted for 12 years.

“I think Obama is well aware of what happened to Clinton,” says Brian Kuehl, managing partner of The Clark Group, a policy think tank, who was formerly the legislative director for US Sen. Max Baucus (D) of Montana. “Obama and those around him are smart enough not to repeat those mistakes, but more importantly, the West is different than it was in the early 1990s.”

So far, the president has reached out to hunters and anglers, and he has avoided a major tiff with the National Rifle Association by not pushing for gun control. During this Montana trip, the president may attempt to fly-fish, one of his aides said Thursday.

Interior Secretary Salazar a plus

Obama’s selection of former Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar to head the Interior Department is also a promising sign, says Mr. Kuehl, who now lives in Sheridan, Wyo., and is the son-in-law of former Wyoming Gov. Mike Sullivan. A Hispanic-American with ties to the ranching industry, Secretary Salazar is an outspoken supporter of the right to bear arms and a conservation-minded sportsman. He has never been accused of being too green. Still, he helped to sell Obama’s wilderness protection plan and reform of a 19th-century mining law linked to costly ecological problems and giveaways of public land.

With the contentious Pacific Northwest timber wars largely a thing of the past, Obama is on surer footing than Clinton was, Kuehl adds.

Read full article here...

VA Selects The Clark Group to Craft New Environmental Policies

July 27, 2009. (Washington, DC) The Department of Veterans Affairs announced on Monday that it has selected The Clark Group to provide technical expertise and staff to assist the VA in the development and implementation of new National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations for the agency.

The Clark Group was awarded the contract because of their unparalleled expertise in environmental policy and guidance. Over the past 10 years, members of the Clark Group team have been involved in more than a third of the environmental analysis regulations and policies developed by federal agencies including revisions to NEPA policies for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Agency.

“We are very pleased to be selected by the VA to assist with development of their new environmental regulations,” said Lisa Mahoney, Vice President of Environmental Analysis for The Clark Group. “Our firm is one of the leading companies in the United States helping governments and businesses develop and implement proactive environmental policies.”

The contract awarded by the VA will require The Clark Group team to transform outdated environmental policies into an efficient and effective environmental program for the 21st century. The proposed revision of the VA NEPA procedures is the first time that the regulations will have been updated since they were first implemented back in 1986. Since that time, the VA’s statutory requirements and organizational structure have changed, the White House Council on Environmental Quality has issued new guidance on NEPA, and climate change has risen to the forefront of environmental concerns.

As the federal government’s second largest department, the VA is responsible for health care services, including the construction of VA hospitals, benefits administration, and oversight of the national cemeteries. This large and complex mission requires a tailored and effective NEPA program. The Clark Group team will bring expertise to bear on a regulatory revision that will transform the VA’s environmental planning program.

The Clark Group team on this project includes Lisa Mahoney; Ray Clark, former Associate Director at the White House Council on Environmental Quality; and Chris Conrad, former head of the joint Chiefs of Staff Policy Division.

Chelsea Henderson Maxwell Serves as U.S. Climate Expert for Carbon Expo Panel in Barcelona

Chelsea Henderson Maxwell, a Partner at The Clark Group, recently served as a panelist for the plenary session titled, “Role of the USA in a Post-2012 Regime: Domestic and International Realities and Opportunities,” at the annual Carbon Expo in Barcelona, Spain. The Expo hosts around 3000 climate and energy professionals from around the world.

The panel delved into the issues surrounding the U.S. and its reemergence in the international climate negotiations; the significance of action in both the Obama Administration and in the U.S. Congress; and the likelihood of the U.S. enacting a domestic cap and trade program before international negociations resume this year in Copenhagen.

"The momentum around action on climate change was palpable. All eyes are on the United States Congress and efforts to pass a meaningful cap and trade program before Copenhagen.” - Chelsea Maxwell

Chelsea contributed her perspective as the lead staffer on the Senate climate change bill during the 2007-2008 consideration of the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act and the intelligence she has gathered working with members of both the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives to move a climate change bill forward in 2009.

Clark Group Assesses Carbon Offset Potential of Ecotech Zeolite

The Clark Group released a scoping report detailing the carbon offset potential and other associated environmental benefits from the use of Ecotech zeolite. Zeolite is a unique mineral with many agricultural applications that provides environmental benefits, including improved water quality, reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from manure and fertilizer, and enhanced methane capture in anaerobic digestion.

The purpose of the report is to assess the options for Ecotech zeolite to qualify for carbon credits based on the potential for zeolite to mitigate GHG emissions in light of current and emerging climate change policies and markets. The report is focused primarily on agricultural applications, although zeolite may also have GHG benefits for other applications such as industrial processes. Click here to read the full report (PDF, 1.3mb)

Chelsea Henderson Maxwell Addresses International Emissions Trading Association

On January 23, 2009, Chelsea participated in the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) members’ workshop, speaking on a panel entitled, "Congressional Plans for a Nationwide Trading Regime." Joining Chelsea on the panel were Joel Bluestein of ICF International and Michael Goo from the Natural Resources Defense Council. In this session, Chelsea discussed the prospects and likely course of development for cap-and-trade legislation in the 111th Congress. Chelsea specifically addressed what course of action is expected from the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Committee, as well as the likelihood that President Obama could use existing authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate CO2 and bypass Congress altogether.

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