Designing a Climate-Friendly Energy Policy: Options for the Near Term
Douglas W. Smith
Van Ness Feldman, P.C.
Douglas W. Smith is a member in the Washington, DC office of Van Ness Feldman. Mr. Smith specializes in electricity, natural gas, and hydroelectric regulation, as well as environmental policy. His extensive experience in both the public and private sectors allows him to assist clients with regulatory, legislative, appellate litigation, and transactional matters in these fields.
Prior to joining Van Ness Feldman in 2001, Mr. Smith served as General Counsel to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). At FERC, Mr. Smith played a lead role in Commission policy initiatives, including rulemakings on formation of regional transmission organizations and on reform of natural gas transportation regulations, and an interagency initiative to improve processes for hydropower licensing.
Before joining the FERC in 1997, Mr. Smith served as the Deputy General Counsel for Energy Policy at the U.S. Department of Energy. In this position, he played a key role in initiatives such as:
Development of the Department's proposal for comprehensive federal electricity legislation;
Development, with the electricity industry, of the Climate Challenge program for achieving voluntary reductions in utility greenhouse gas emissions; and
Promulgation of new efficiency standards for refrigerators and other appliances, and an overhaul of the process used to develop new efficiency standards.
From 1987 through 1994, Mr. Smith was an attorney with the Washington, DC office of Powell, Goldstein, Frazer & Murphy. There he specialized in energy and environmental law and policy, including advocacy on the acid rain title of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 and the electricity, natural gas, and energy efficiency titles of the Energy Policy Act of 1992.
Mr. Smith is a 1986 graduate of the Yale Law School, where he served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Yale Journal on Regulation. He received his S.B. in Urban Planning and Civil Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1981.
Robert R. Nordhaus
Van Ness Feldman, P.C.
Robert R. Nordhaus is a member of the law firm of Van Ness Feldman, specializing in federal electric, natural gas, and environmental regulation. His work in private practice and his governmental experience have encompassed legislative, regulatory and transactional work, and administrative and appellate litigation in these fields. In private practice, he has represented electric utilities, independent power producers, end users of natural gas and electricity, and state and local governments.
Mr. Nordhaus originally joined Van Ness Feldman in 1981, after serving three years as FERC's first General Counsel. He practiced with the firm until 1993, when he was appointed General Counsel of the Department of Energy by President Clinton. He rejoined the firm in 1997.
In 1977, prior to his service at FERC, Mr. Nordhaus was a member of the Energy Policy and Planning Office in the Carter White House, and served as Assistant Administrator of the Federal Energy Administration. In 1975 and 1976, he was counsel to the House Commerce Committee, and from 1963 to 1974, he was Assistant Counsel in the Legislative Counsel's Office of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Mr. Nordhaus is a 1960 graduate of Stanford University and a 1963 graduate of Yale Law School. He is a member of the bar of the United States Supreme Court. He served as a member of the Electric Power Research Institute's Advisory Council and was a member of the Market Surveillance Committee of the California Independent Transmission System Operator from 1998 to 2001. Mr. Nordhaus was an Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center from 1980 to 1985 and currently serves on the adjunct faculty of the George Washington University Law School. In the past he has served on the Board of Directors of the Federal Energy Bar Association and as Chair of the Administrative Law and Agency Practice Division of the District of Columbia Bar.
Marc Chupka
The Brattle Group
Marc Chupka is a Senior Consultant in the Washington, D.C. office of The Brattle Group. Mr. Chupka has nearly two decades of public and private sector experience analyzing the market impacts of both domestic and international energy and environmental policy. His recent work has focused on analyzing the electricity market impact of Clean Air Act regulations and the financial implications of possible climate change policies on the energy sector.
Prior to joining The Brattle Group, Mr. Chupka was a principal at PHB Hagler Bailly. Before returning to the private sector, he served as the acting Assistant Secretary of Energy for Policy and International Affairs at the U.S. Department of Energy. In that capacity, he was the primary policy advisor to the Secretary of Energy in matters such as electricity market restructuring, global climate change, energy security, strategic planning, international energy markets, and energy-related domestic and global environmental issues. He was the primary Department representative in interagency consultations and the senior U.S. government delegate in international and multilateral forums. He has testified several times to U.S. Congressional Committees, and authored several key policy documents, including the President's 1993 Climate Change Action Plan and the Department of Energy's Sustainable Energy Strategy in 1995.
Mr. Chupka also served as the Chief Economist and Associate Director of Air, Energy and Transportation at the White House Office of Environmental Policy. Prior to his Administration Service, he was a Staff Economist at the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress, a Project Director at ICF Incorporated, and an Analyst in the Natural Resources and Commerce Division of the Congressional Budget Office.
Mr. Chupka earned a BA in Economics from Yale College, and an MS and M. Phil in Economics from Yale University.
Thomas C. Roberts
Van Ness Feldman, P.C.
Thomas C. Roberts, a member in the Washington, DC office of Van Ness Feldman, practices in the areas of environmental and energy policy, specializing in legislative and regulatory issues. With ten years of public service in the U.S. government as a Legislative Director in both the U.S. Congress and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Mr. Roberts has substantial experience in all aspects of the legislative and regulatory processes.
Prior to joining Van Ness Feldman in 1995, Mr. Roberts served for five years as the Legislative Director for the EPA, where he was responsible for all of EPA's legislative activity. In this position, he represented EPA before the U.S. Congress on a wide range of legislative and oversight matters, with an emphasis on hazardous and nuclear waste issues. While serving as Co-Director of the Superfund Reauthorization Project from 1993-1994, Mr. Roberts headed the Agency's efforts to reform and reauthorize the Superfund program in the 103rd Congress.
Between 1985 and 1990, Mr. Roberts served as Chief Counsel and Legislative Director to Senator Frank Murkowski (R-AK). As the principal policy and legal advisor to Senator Murkowski, Mr. Roberts developed and implemented policy initiatives, drafted and analyzed legislation, and represented the Senator in policy and legislative negotiations. Through these responsibilities, he gained substantial experience in energy, natural resources, and Alaska issues.
Mr. Roberts practiced law with private firms in Alaska from 1979 until 1984 and is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and the State of Alaska. He received his J.D. in 1979 and an LL.M. in energy and environmental law in 1987, both from the University of Utah. He received a B.S. in political science from South Dakota State University in 1976.
Shelley Fidler
Van Ness Feldman, P.C.
Shelley Fidler is a principal with the law firm Van Ness Feldman. Ms Fidler now assists clients by finding solutions to complex problems that require in-depth knowledge of the political and institutional makeup of Congress and the Executive Branch. Prior to joining Van Ness Feldman in 2001, Ms. Fidler worked within the federal government for over twenty-five years resolving energy, environmental, and natural resource conflicts. From 1998-2000, Ms. Fidler served as Principal Deputy at the White House Climate Change Task Force, an interagency group charged with coordinating the President's climate change policy. She served concurrently as Senior Advisor at the U.S. Department of Energy, performing special assignments for the Deputy Secretary of Energy and the Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. From 1995 to 1998, she served as the Chief of Staff to the President's Council on Environmental Quality. Ms. Fidler also served as the Staff Director for the Subcommittee on Energy and Power of the Committee on Energy and Commerce in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993-1995, Assistant to the Chairman for Policy for the House Subcommittees on Fossil and Synthetic Fuels and Energy and Power from 1980-1993, and as the Chief Legislative Assistant for Congressman Philip Sharp (D-IN) from 1975-1980.
Janet Anderson
Van Ness Feldman, P.C.
Janet Anderson is a Technology and Policy Advisor with Van Ness Feldman, where she represents clients before Congress, the federal agencies, and the private sector on numerous issues related to the intertwining of business initiatives with energy and environmental policy. In particular, she focuses on providing government policy counsel in the areas of global climate change, electric restructuring, and air quality. Prior to joining Van Ness Feldman in 2001, Ms. Anderson served as the Director of Industry Policy for the White House Climate Change Task Force for three years. From 1994 to 1998, Ms. Anderson served as a Special Assistant to the U.S. Secretary of Energy. During this time, she assisted in the development of electricity industry restructuring policies that were included in President Clinton's draft restructuring legislation. She also coordinated research that assisted in the development and support of many of the Department's policies and public affairs strategies. Before entering public service, Ms. Anderson worked for the Northern States Power Company from 1979 to 1994. She held several positions during her time with the $2.2 billion power company, including Supervisor of Air Programs from 1989 to 1990 and Manager of Atmospheric and Terrestrial Sciences from 1990 to 1994. Ms. Anderson received a B.M.E. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Minnesota in 1982.
Kyle Danish
Van Ness Feldman, P.C.
Kyle Danish is a senior associate in the Washington, DC office of Van Ness Feldman. His practice focuses on domestic and international environmental matters, with special emphasis on global climate change and on federal and state air regulatory issues. Mr. Danish is co-chair of the American Bar Association's Committee on Climate Change and Sustainable Development. Prior to joining Van Ness Feldman in 1999, Mr. Danish was an associate at the law firm of Hunton & Williams. He also served as an Intern to the Principal Technical Adviser for Climate Change at the United Nations Development Programme/Global Environment Facility and worked as a consultant for the Center for International Environmental Law on issues related to climate change. From 1990-1992, Mr. Danish served as the Special Assistant to the Virginia Secretary of Natural Resources. A 1997 cum laude graduate of Temple University School of Law, Mr. Danish received his Master in Public Affairs in 1996 from the Princeton University Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, where he was Managing Editor of the Journal of Public and International Affairs, and his B.A. in 1989 from Haverford College. Mr. Danish is a member of the American Bar Association and the American Society of International Law.
Richard Agnew
Van Ness Feldman, P.C.
Richard Agnew is a member in the Seattle, Washington office of Van Ness Feldman, representing a variety of clients before Congress and federal agencies. His current practice focuses in areas of water, mineral, and other natural resource development projects, public utilities, and Native American land use issues. Prior to entering joining Van Ness Feldman in January 1991, Mr. Agnew served as Chief Minority Counsel to the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs (now the Committee on Resources) in the United States House of Representatives from 1985 to 1991. He served as Republican Counsel to the Subcommittee on Public Lands and National Parks a period of three years and as staff counsel to Congressman Don Young (R-AK) from 1980-1983. Mr. Agnew received his law degree from the Seattle University School of Law in 1979 and his B.A. in Economics from the University of Washington. Mr. Agnew is active in Bar Association Continuing Legal Education activities and is a frequent speaker on natural resource issues.