Legal proceedings related to environmental contamination are part of doing business in the Oil and Gas industry. It’s imperative that environmental professionals working in this space understand the environmental regulations and the oil and gas exemptions that exist with-in those environmental regulations, regardless of which side of the argument you are on. This course provides the basis for environmental professionals to more fully comprehend the regulations and recognize the exemptions, and therefore become more valuable to the companies and clients that they advise.
What You Will Learn
- This course also examines the legal process associated with oil-field contamination cases and reviews past rulings to see how the courts are deciding these environmentally centered cases. The course instructor will then cover topics related to:
- How an environmental professional’s work can help his or her client win the day
- How and when to use documents, test results, trial exhibits and demonstrative aids
- How to recognize and apply the oil industry exemptions found throughout the environmental statutes
You Will Also Learn
- What sound technical evidence does NOT appeal to juries
- Qualifying as an expert in court and before regulatory commissions
- How to “sell yourself” (or your company) as the professional of choice.
- How to steer complaints in the direction you want
- Lousy technical arguments that juries love
Your Instructor
Lynn Alan Bortka
Lynn worked in the oil and gas industry for Amoco (later BP) from 1977 through 2009. His original petroleum engineering career included projects and oversight of oil and gas operations in the Midcontinent, Rocky Mountains, and Gulf Coast areas of the United States as well as responsibilities in Canada and the North Sea. He spent two years coordinating Amoco’s world-wide production and drilling training. Working for Amoco’s natural gas pipeline affiliate while finishing law school, Lynn developed expertise in gas contracting, purchasing, marketing, and transportation.
Following law school at Tulsa University, DePaul, and the University of Houston, Lynn transferred into Amoco’s legal group where he relied on his industry expertise to assist in-house clients, joint defense groups, regulators, and trade associations in litigation management, regulatory and legislative advocacy, and counseling in the United States and Latin America. Lynn developed expertise in oil and gas law, environmental law, and crisis management. He was a member of several oil and gas trade organizations, the Society of Petroleum Engineers, and the long-term Chairman of Texas Oil and Gas Association’s Environmental Law Committee. He is a recent Chairman of the Houston Bar Association’s Environmental Section and has eagerly spoken at dozens of legal seminars and training sessions.
Lynn was BP’s sole legal counsel for the company’s Lower 48 and Gulf of Mexico’s Corporate Compliance Committees and BP’s confidential contact person for the company’s compliance hotline. He was Amoco and BP’s senior Environmental, Health & Safety attorney for their lower ’48 operations and the Gulf of Mexico and represented the companies on numerous internal and external audits of EH&S Compliance.
Since retiring from BP, Lynn has taught and consulted a myriad of organizations including ExxonMobil, Chesapeake Energy, BP, Texas Southern University, the American Petroleum Institute, Petrobras, Sonangol, and the Iraqi Ministries of Oil and Environment through the U.S. Department of Commerce. Lynn developed and teaches two courses at the University of Houston’s law school; Environmental Law in the Oil & Gas Industry and Practicing Law in the Oil and Gas Industry.
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Seminar Agenda
DAY ONE:- Common Contamination issues in the oil field -where the messes are and how to find them
- Ownership of oil and gas rights and their influence on environmental complaints
- Review of the stakeholders involved in oil-field environmental issues: Who gets involved and what do they really want?
- Factors influencing common law claims v statutory claims. When should a landowner bypass the oil company and go straight to court?
- Negligence, trespass, and nuisance: How the environmental professional’s work determines the outcome of these common law claims
- What can you do to help your client with fracing contamination allegations?
- Understanding Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material from the oil-fields
- How to get reluctant agencies involved in disputes (or keep them out)
- What to do when the agency won’t give you a written response to a verbal agreement
- As an agency professional, how should you respond to these overtures?
- How to use oil company environmental policies to your client’s benefit
- Depositions for environmental professionals; preparation and the main event
- What to expect and how to be good at the process and in your performance
- How to help depose the “other guy”
- Joint defense groups and conflicts of interest: helping more than one client
- How to assist your client obtain privileged and confidential environmental data
- Protecting yourself and your company: Using indemnity clauses to ensure bad results don’t come back to you
DAY TWO:- Testifying versus consulting expert? Which one do you want to be? What’s the difference?
- When is it OK to send draft reports…and how to discuss them with your client
- When you’re testifying, you should…………..and you should NOT……
- Offers to clean up: how and when to make them and how to reject them
- Being an expert witness: What’s involved and when should you do it
- How clean is clean? Risk based corrective action: Scientists love it. Landowners?....not so much…
- Agency involvement: when is it required? When is it optional?
- Waste: Review of EPA’s “Green/Brown” Book for exploration and production waste
- Explore waste creation, whether waste is hazardous, and why it matters
- Analysis of the E&P exemption. RCRA’s “trump” provision
- If it’s going to be recycled…was it ever a waste?
- What if you donate the old equipment rather than throw it away?
- Dealing with Environmental Justice issues
- Hazardous substances continued. Reporting obligations. Indemnity agreements
- Hazardous v. non-hazardous injection wells
Venue
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Who Should Attend this Seminar
This Course Is Useful for Environmental Professionals in the Oil and Gas Arena to Include: In House EHS Staff, Environmental Consultants, Agency and Regulatory Personnel, Legal Professionals New to the Oil and Gas/Environmental Arena, Lawmakers and Their Staff, Experts called as Witnesses for Oilfield Contamination Cases, Landmen
Prerequisites and Advance PreparationThis fundamental level group live seminar has no prerequisites. No advance preparation is required before the seminar.
Program LevelBasic level. This fundamental course begins with basic material and then proceeds to the intermediate level.
Delivery MethodGroup-live.
Hotel and Seminar Information
This two-day seminar will be held at the hotels listed below or The seminar will start promptly at 8:00 AM and will finish at 5:00 PM on the first day. On the second day, the seminar will resume at 8:00 AM and will finish at 1:00 PM. The program includes continental breakfast and lunch. Dress is business casual for all seminars
Norris Conference Center - CityCentre816 Town & Country Blvd.
Suite 210
Houston, TX 77024
Telephone: (713) 590-0950
View Seminar Location WebsiteBecause of the diversity of hotels found in the area, we will not be holding a block of sleeping rooms with one particular hotel.
