Kathy Robb
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Kathy Robb is a partner on resources, regulatory & environmental law at the Hunton & Williams firm in New York, and director of the Water Policy Institute, a think tank housed at the law firm. [1] [2]
According to her profile on the law firm's website, Robb "focuses exclusively on energy, environmental and administrative law." Her clients include "developers, electric utilities, investors, chemical manufacturers, and paper mills." She co-founded the Women's Network for a Sustainable Future and is on the Environmental Law Institute's board of directors. [3]
Contents
On the Water Policy Institute
In an interview, Robb said that "Climate change is likely to be a major topic" of the Water Policy Institute. "Other topics will include the intersection of water quality and quantity; desalination; new technology; agriculture; allocation of water; and infrastructure." [4]
"Founding members include GE Water, BP and the Central Arizona Water Conservation District. Companies are likely to be among the chief members initially, but I am hopeful to attract a wide range of constituencies. The goal is to provide a forum for cross-pollination among various stakeholders." [5]
Legal work
Clean Water Act and Maine dams
In 2005, Robb co-authored a "friend of the court" (amici curiae) brief, on behalf of the National Association of Home Builders and the Foundation for Environmental and Economic Progress. The brief was filed in the U.S. Supreme Court case of S. D. Warren Co. v. Maine Board of Environmental Protection (547 U.S. 370, 2006), in support of the S. D. Warren Company. The company, which operates hydroelectric dams in Maine, argued that the Clean Water Act did not require it to seek water quality certifications from the state government, when renewing its federal licenses with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The Supreme Court disagreed. Maine's Board of Environmental Protection had required the company to maintain a "minimum stream flow and to allow passage for certain fish and eels." [6]
The brief co-authored by Robb supported S. D. Warren Company, arguing that requiring the company to obtain water quality certifications from the Maine government "improperly expands the CWA," or Clean Water Act. The brief compared water passing through a dam to water "stirred by a spoon, pushed by an oar, or splashed by a hand," arguing that "such movements of water" should not trigger application of the Clean Water Act. [7]
Articles and resources
Related SourceWatch articles
References
- ↑ "Water Policy Institute: Leadership," Hunton & Williams website, accessed June 2008.
- ↑ Press release, "Water Industry Leaders Launch Water Policy Institute to Address Current Challenges: Christine Todd Whitman to serve as chair; Hunton & Williams lawyer as director," Hunton & Williams, June 4, 2008.
- ↑ "Kathy Robb," Hunton & Williams website, accessed February 2009.
- ↑ "New water institute seeks to convene diverse voices," Clean Water Report, June 18, 2008.
- ↑ "Hunton & Williams LLP Partner Robb Interviewed on Water Policy Institute by Clean Water Report," Hunton & Williams website, July 18, 2008.
- ↑ "Syllabus: SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES: S. D. WARREN CO. v. MAINE BOARD OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION et al., Certiorari to the Supreme Judicial Court of Maine; No. 04–1527. Argued February 21, 2006 - Decided May 15, 2006," available via the Cornell University Law School website, accessed February 2009.
- ↑ Duane Desiderio, Thomas Jon Ward and Felicia Watson of the National Association of Home Builders, with Virginia Albrecht, Karma Brown and Kathy Robb of Hunton & Williams LLP, "Brief of Amici Curiae National Association of Home Builders and Foundation for Environmental and Economic Progress, in Support of Petitioner (pdf)," filed with the U.S. Supreme Court November 23, 2005.
External resources
External articles
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