Matthew Burnette, PG, PH, CFM, (North Carolina) and Amy Dzialowski, (Oklahoma) will present at the 2023 Environment, Energy & Natural Resources Law Section Program at the Holiday Inn Resort Lumina in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, May 5 and 6, 2023. Jeff Tyburski, PG, RSM, (North Carolina) is one of the event’s organizers.

Matthew will present “Dams and Dam Safety” at 9:30 a.m. EDT on Friday, May 5, and Amy will present on “Emerging North Carolina Issues” at 10:25 a.m. EDT the same day.

Matthew is a Senior Water Resources Professional with experience in stormwater and watershed management, hydrologic, hydraulic, and water quality modeling, and regulatory compliance.

Amy is a Senior Principal specializing in environmental planning, with an emphasis on brownfield redevelopment, funding programs, and environmental compliance.

Jeff is a Senior Principal Geologist with more than 32 years of experience focused on brownfield redevelopment to support property due diligence and acquisition, site redevelopment, site construction, and postoccupancy property management.

The 2023 Environment, Energy & Natural Resources Law Section Program dives into recent USEPA guidance on perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and the expansion of PFAS-related litigation and regulation, reviews regulatory requirements and common deficiencies of state-regulated dams, and shares the latest updates on case law and legislative developments in the state. Panelists discuss timely topics related to coastal law in North Carolina and reflect on the past successes and future challenges of environmental justice issues.

The Environment, Energy & Natural Resources Law Section members represent governmental, nonprofit and private environmental law practitioners, providing a forum for collegial interaction among North Carolina’s environmental lawyers from all three sectors.

Dams and Dam Safety

North Carolina is one of five states with more than 1,000 dams that have the potential to cause loss of life or significant property damage should they fail. State agencies like the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ), regulate more than 80 percent of the nation’s dams. The average age of dams included within the North Carolina Dam Safety Program Inventory is 59 years. As dams age, deterioration — such as rusting metal pipes and structural components — increases, as do repair costs. The majority of these dams are privately owned with the owner bearing the responsibility of operational and maintenance costs, as well as maintaining a safe dam that is compliant with regulatory requirements. The panel provides an overview of regulatory requirements of dams subject to the North Carolina State Dam Safety Law of 1967, discusses common deficiencies of state-regulated dams, and talks through responsibility and liability when multiple responsible parties are involved, such as property owners, easement holders and homeowner associations.

Emerging North Carolina Issues

Join us for a fun, fast-paced session about emerging trends and the latest updates on the Advanced Clean Trucks Rule, the Carbon Plan and the USEPA Brownfields Grant program. After the presentation of each of the three topics, there is a question-and-answer session.

More Information

About the event: 2023 Environment, Energy & Natural Resources Law Section Program | NCBA CLE (ncbar.org).
About NCBar: https://www.ncbar.org/members/communities/sections/environment-energy-natural-resources-law/.
For consultation regarding North Carolina environmental law, contact Matthew Burnette at Matthew.Burnette@Geosyntec.com
Learn more about Matthew Burnette: Matthew Burnette
Learn more about Amy Dzialowski: Amy Dzialowski | LinkedIn
Learn more about Jeff Tyburski: Jeffrey Tyburski