Environmental Law Explored: A Podcast SEERies

Lynn Bergeson, Managing Partner at Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), joins Jim Aidala, Senior Government Affairs Consultant at B&C® and former EPA Assistant Administrator for Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, to explore the history and evolution of pesticide and chemical regulation. They discuss the development of FIFRA, FQPA, and TSCA, the role of litigation and scientific advances in shaping regulation, and emerging issues including PFAS, endocrine disruptors, and new detection technologies. The conversation also looks at the role of SEER's Pesticides and Chemicals Committee in bringing together legal, scientific, regulatory, industry, and environmental perspectives and what the future may hold for this evolving area of environmental law. Keep the conversation going. Join SEER

Host Norman Dupont sits down with Claudia Rast, shareholder at Butzel Long and a leader in cybersecurity and emerging technologies, to explore the impact of women in the environment, energy, and resources fields. The conversation looks back at pioneers like Rachel Carson and Jane Goodall, and celebrates SEER trailblazers Sheila Hollis, Brenda Mallory, Alex Dunn, and Mary Nichols. Claudia then traces her own path from environmental science into cybersecurity, unpacking recent attacks on water infrastructure and the double-edged role of agentic AI in strengthening — or breaching — our cyber defenses. The episode closes with reflections on how far women's representation in science and law has come, and the lasting value of mentorship within the SEER community. Keep the conversation going.  Join SEER

In this episode of the SEER 100 podcast series, hosts Naveed Nanjee and Rishab Mahajan sit down with Todd Kim, former Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division and now a litigator at Pillsbury Law. This episode traces a century of environmental enforcement, from early common-law nuisance claims to today's sprawling statutory framework of the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and CERCLA. Drawing on his experience across government and private practice, Mr. Kim discusses how landmark matters like the East Palestine train derailment and the Jackson, Mississippi water crisis shaped his "principled, practical, problem-solving" approach, and looks ahead to the challenges reshaping the field, including climate change litigation, PFAS contamination, environmental justice, and the growing role of AI in compliance and monitoring.

From timber sale agreements to conservation easements and project financing, join Dylan Sollfrank (Schwabe), Andrea Driggs (Holland & Hart), and Janet Howe (Holland & Hart) as they explore how NEPA impacts forest resources law—and how recent developments, including Seven County and changes to CEQ's rulemaking authority, are already reshaping how lawyers structure deals, conduct due diligence, and assess litigation risk. Keep the conversation going. Join SEER

While WOTUS serves as the jurisdictional foundation of the Clean Water Act (CWA), the statute does not define the term. Since the CWA's enactment in 1972, determining the scope of WOTUS—and, in turn, the reach of federal regulatory authority—has remained a persistent and challenging issue in environmental law. By defining "navigable waters" only as "waters of the United States," Congress left it to the U.S. EPA, the U.S. Army Corps, and the courts to interpret a term with significant implications for federal-state authority, environmental protection, and private property rights. The definition of WOTUS has evolved through a combination of agency action and Supreme Court decisions, including Rapanos v. United States, and Sackett v. EPA (2012) (Sackett I ). These decisions have shaped how the agencies interpret jurisdiction, particularly with respect to wetlands. The split Rapanos decision introduced competing analytical frameworks, further contributing to longstanding uncertainty. In this episode, Professor Royal Gardner will provide a high-level overview of these developments, placing recent changes in context and offering insight into the current and future scope of federal jurisdiction under the CWA. Keep the conversation going. Join SEER