Representatives from industry and government agencies will join lawyers, scholars, and environmental advocates for a day-long conference on hydraulic fracturing, titled "Drilling for Solutions: The Future of Fracking," from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, March 18, in Chase Community Center at Vermont Law School. The conference is free and open to the public and press.

First-year law students, inspired after a charged discussion about the controversial technique used to recover gas and oil from shale, partnered on the event for the school’s annual Solutions Conference.

"Some students were strongly opposed to fracking operations, as they had seen some of the devastating impacts firsthand, while others not only supported fracking, they had convincing evidence to support their claims that hydraulic fracturing is a better alternative to other fossil fuels and can serve as a bridge to a fossil-free future," said Julia Muench ’18, a juris doctor candidate and mission scholar at VLS. "Several of us, though we had an opinion, recognized that we simply don’t have enough facts to be able to confidently support one side or the other."

The students "decided to create an opportunity to learn more from all sides of this controversial issue," Muench said. "We want to ensure that we go into the real world with truth—with facts—not opinion."

Drilling for Solutions will begin with an introduction to fracking followed by panels focused on legal and technical issues, a debate, and a breakout session.

The schedule includes:

8 a.m. Welcome
President and Dean Marc Mihaly, Vermont Law School

8:15 a.m. "Introduction to Fracking"
Matthew Pritchard ’18, former manager of quality assurance, Rockwater Energy Solutions

8:30 a.m. Technical Panel: "On the Ground"

  • Gregory Kozera, president of Virginia Oil & Gas Association and author of "Just the Fracks, Ma’am: The truth about hydrofracking and the next great American boom"
  • Amy Pickle, director, State Policy Program, Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University
  • James Landis ’09, general counsel to the U.S. Marine Corps, former senior counsel on fleet and operational environmental law and assistant secretary of the Navy
  • Advocate (TBD) representing communities directly affected by fracking operations​

10:30 a.m. Legal Panel: "Rights and Regulations"

  • Eric Claeys, professor of law, constitutional law scholar, George Mason University School of Law
  • Dylan Fuge, senior advisor, Bureau of Land Management
  • Jason Hutt ’98, partner and director of environmental and natural resources practice, Bracewell LLP
  • Patrick Parenteau, professor of law and senior counsel, Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic (ENRLC), Vermont Law School

1 p.m. Debate: "A Case Study of the New York Ban"

  • David Morabito, East Rochester, N.Y., lawyer suing for the right to frack on private land
  • Lindsay Speer ’14, community organizer at Creating Change
  • Daniel Raichel, attorney, Natural Resources Defense Council
  • Jason Hutt ’98, partner and director of environmental and natural resources practice, Bracewell LLP​

2:40 p.m. Break-Out Session: "Seeking Solutions"

3:50 p.m. Closing Remarks

In addition, students will host two movie nights during the week leading up to the conference, presenting "Gasland" (I and II) Tuesday, March 15, and "FrackNation" Wednesday, March 16. Films will be shown at 7 p.m. in Room 007, Oakes Hall.

Drilling for Solutions: The Future of Fracking is sponsored by VLS Environmental Mission Scholars, the Federalist Society, and SPEAK, in collaboration with the Student Bar Association, Energy Law Society, Environmental Law Center, and Veterans Law Student Association. Continuing legal education (CLE) credits are available for a fee. For more information, including preregistration and CLE credits, visit http://bit.do/vlssolutions or email JuliaMuench@vermontlaw.edu. Preregistration, to include lunch, closes March 11.

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Vermont Law School, a private, independent institution, is home to the nation’s largest and deepest environmental law program. VLS offers a Juris Doctor curriculum that emphasizes public service; three Master’s Degrees—Master of Environmental Law and Policy, Master of Energy Regulation and Law, and Master of Food and Agriculture Law and Policy; and four post-JD degrees —LLM in American Legal Studies (for foreign-trained lawyers), LLM in Energy Law, LLM in Environmental Law, and LLM in Food and Agriculture Law. The school features innovative experiential programs and is home to the Environmental Law Center, South Royalton Legal Clinic, Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic, Energy Clinic, Food and Agriculture Clinic, and Center for Applied Human Rights. For more information, visit vermontlaw.edu, find us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter.​