The Oklahoma Bar Association Environmental Law Section (ELS) has over 200 members, including a number of out of state attorneys, a large number of state regulatory agency personnel, in-house counsel and professors, as well as several adjunct members who are not attorneys.  Leading the Section for 2008 were Lloyd Landreth, Chairperson (Tulsa); Teena Gunter (OKC) Chairperson-elect; Michael Decker, Past-Chairperson (OKC); Gerald Hilsher, Treasurer (Tulsa); and Sarah Penn, Secretary (OKC).

The first ELS meeting of the year was held in Tulsa on March 27, 2008 in the board room of the ONEOK Plaza Building.  The ELS sponsored a program entitled, “Is a ‘Picture’ Really Worth a Thousand Words The Use of Demonstrative Aids in Environmental Litigation”, with presentations by experts in the area of graphical data presentation.  Sixty-five attendees had the opportunity to consider various types of demonstrative aids and hear observations on the use of these aids.  Following the presentation, the ELS was honored to have distinguished federal judges from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma; Chief Judge Claire Eagan, Judge Terrence Kern and Magistrate Paul Cleary provide commentary on the use of demonstrative aids in litigation.  Having these members of the Northern District Bench in attendance provided a rare opportunity to enjoy lively commentary and anecdotal remarks from the judges outside of the pressures of the courtroom.   A business meeting for the ELS was also held, presided over by Lloyd Landreth, and considered several items including the Summer Meeting agenda and discussion on revisions to the Oklahoma Environmental Law Handbook.

The ELS held its 2008 Summer Meeting at the Oklahoma History Center in Oklahoma City on June 6-7, 2008. The event was a great success with over 100 members and non-members participating and everyone enjoyed the beautiful facility. Attendees were also encouraged to tour the museum at the Oklahoma History Center after the meeting and during breaks.

The seminar provided a slate of outstanding presenters and offered 11 hours of Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credit, including an hour of ethics.  Speakers at the meeting included Jim Roth, Oklahoma Corporate Commissioner; the Honorable Samuel Joyner, Magistrate Judge, U.S. District Court Northern District; Jeri Fleming, Esq., OSU Water Research Institute; Mike Knopp, Esq., Executive Director, Oklahoma City Boathouse Foundation; Professor Shannon Ferrell, Esq., OSU Dept. of Agricultural Economics; Rusty Kroll, Esq., Doerner, Saunders, Daniel & Anderson; Chris Paul, Esq., Joyce & Paul, PLLC; Maria Seidler, Esq., Dominion Resources; LeAnne Burnett, Esq. and Mark Walker, Esq., Crowe & Dunlevy; Mary Ellen Ternes, Esq., McAfee & Taft; and Chad Neuens, Esq, Glass & Wilkins, PC. The Oklahoma State Agency updates were provided by, Dean Couch, Oklahoma Water Resources Board; Janet Stewart, Oklahoma Conservation Commission; Jimmy Givens, Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality; and Caroleen Carman, Esq., Oklahoma Department of Mines. 

A highlight of the ELS Summer Meeting was the Friday night reception at the Bricktown Brewery that was graciously sponsored by Devon Energy Corporation.  The ELS is very appreciative of Devon Energy Corporation for supporting our section activities and we enjoyed having a number of Devon in-house counsel attend our CLE program. 

In addition to the presentations and social events, an ELS business meeting was held, presided over by Lloyd W. Landreth.  Among the topics discussed included a Fall Meeting service project and the status of the Oklahoma Environmental Law Handbook.  LeAnne Burnett of Crowe & Dunlevy is doing an incredible job in organizing the handbook project and working with authors on what will become the authoritative treatise on key Oklahoma environmental law topics.  The ELS is excited about our plans to introduce the handbook via an OBA-sponsored CLE program in the spring of 2009.  We encourage all lawyers and non-lawyers who work with environmental issues in Oklahoma to plan on attending this OBA seminar, with the cost of the seminar including a copy of the updated handbook.

The Environmental Law Section’s Annual Meeting, and final meeting of 2008, will be held on November 13 in Oklahoma City.  The business meeting agenda includes the election of officers for the upcoming year, finalization of the Environmental Law Handbook, and continued expansion of our membership.  The Annual Meeting will also include a service project, which is currently slated to involve volunteer work at the Oklahoma City Food Bank, as well as a reception for all ELS members at a downtown Oklahoma City location to be announced.

Thanks to the efforts of many Oklahoma state agency employees, a number of lawyers from firms in Tulsa and Oklahoma City, and many other “behind-the-scenes” individuals, 2008 was a successful year for the ELS.  We are very excited about the Environmental Law Handbook update project and teaming with the OBA for our spring 2009 CLE seminar.  We are also very encouraged by the continued growth of the ELS, which is a direct reflection on the efforts of several recent chairpersons of our section.  Finally, I again want to thank the outstanding speakers and Northern District Federal Judges for making the spring and summer programs a valuable learning experience for our membership.