Notable Engagements

• Crafting Solutions to Deadlocked Disputes
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• Developing Energy Infrastructure
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• Overcoming Regulatory Hurdles
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• Pro Bono and Community Efforts
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• Strategic Guidance on "Bet the Company" Issues
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• Trading In New Commodities

• Crafting Solutions to Deadlocked Disputes

• Finding Common Ground Between Indian Tribes and Electric Utilities
  As it frequently does, the firm assisted several Public Utility District clients to obtain support from tribes that were Interested Parties in a hydroelectric project relicensing process. This is an area in which there is a great opportunity for the negotiation of creative packages that benefit all parties.
  Related Practices: Business Partnerships & Tribal Employment, Hydropower, Indian Law, Project Licensing and Compliance, Resource Development & Rights of Way, Seminar on Doing Successful Business on Indian Reservations
• Securing Coastal Wetlands for Generations to Come
  In a landmark case with implications for all future U.S. offshore minerals leases, Van Ness Feldman negotiated a settlement between the State of Louisiana and the U.S. Department of the Interior regarding environmental assessments necessary before such leases can proceed.
  Related Practices: Environment, Infrastructure Investment, Litigation, Project Development & Permitting

• Developing Energy Infrastructure

• First LNG Import Terminal on the West Coast of the U.S.
  Serving as project counsel, Van Ness Feldman lawyers helped NorthernStar Natural Gas secure Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) authorization to build the first liquefied natural gas import terminal on the west coast of the United States.
  Related Practices: LNG, Natural Gas & Oil
• Largest Natural Gas Pipeline in the United States
  Van Ness Feldman handles all project development and permitting issues for the 1,600-mile, 42-inch diameter Rockies Express natural gas pipeline to be constructed through 8 states, from Wyoming to Ohio. The project’s total capital cost is $4.5 billion and the pipeline, when completed, will transport 1.8 Bcf/d of natural gas.
  Related Practices: Government Relations & Public Policy, Indian Law, Natural Gas & Oil, Public Lands & Natural Resources, Resource Development & Rights of Way
• The Next Generation of Coal-Fired Power Plants
  The FutureGen project is a $1 billion effort by the Department of Energy and a consortium of private companies to build the world's first zero-emissions coal-fired electric power plant incorporating carbon sequestration by 2012. Van Ness Feldman serves as General Counsel to the industry consortium.
  Related Practices: Advanced Coal / Fossil Fuel Technologies and Carbon Capture and Storage, Clean Energy Technologies, Clean Technologies, Climate Change, Electric, Energy Policy, Energy Transactions, Project Development, and Permitting, Environment

• Overcoming Regulatory Hurdles

• A New Owner for the Largest Fishing Vessel in the U.S.
  Combining the firm’s corporate transactional and seafood industry experience, we assisted leading seafood products company Nippon Suisan USA, Inc. in a series of transactions valued in excess of $175,000,000.
  Related Practices: Fisheries Regulation & Transactions, Public Lands & Natural Resources
• New York Power Authority Secures New 50-Year License for the Niagara Power Project
  Van Ness Feldman helped to obtain a new 50 year license for the continued operation of the largest FERC-licensed hydroelectric facility in the United States.
  Related Practices: Electric, Hydropower, Policy Development & Strategy, Project Licensing and Compliance, Transactions

• Pro Bono and Community Efforts

• Advocating Community-Based Alternatives for At-Risk Youth
  Van Ness Feldman helped the National Network for Youth garner Congressional support for an amendment to the Juvenile Justice Act that would provide youths involved in minor offenses such as truancy or curfew violations with community-based correctional options instead of incarceration.
  Related Practices: Pro Bono
• Helping Veterans Preserve Their History
  In the 2009 Omnibus Appropriations bill, our firm helped win $1.2 million in appropriations for The National Veterans Technology Consortium (NVTC), a coalition of firms owned by service-disabled veterans.
  Related Practices: Pro Bono
• Keeping a Family Together
  Van Ness Feldman successfully represented a foreign national in appealing an Immigration Judge's decision before the Board of Immigration Appeals.
  Related Practices: Pro Bono

• Strategic Guidance on "Bet the Company" Issues

• Cutting Edge Advice on Global Climate Change
  When the CEO of a Fortune 500 multinational energy company decided to commit the company to a proactive position on strategy on global climate change, the company retained Van Ness Feldman to assist in devising and implementing its new approach.
  Related Practices: Climate Change, Electric, Energy Policy, Environment

• Trading In New Commodities

• Swiss Carbon Fund Meets its Transaction Targets
  Van Ness Feldman helped the Climate Cent Foundation finalize purchases of nearly 4 million tons of Certified Emission Reductions and Emission Reduction Units. The Foundation intends to rely on the firm to help it meet its goal of finalizing contracts for another 6 million tons of Kyoto credits by mid-2008.
  Related Practices: Climate Change, Emissions Trading, Carbon Markets, & Offset Project Development, Environment