About Edna Sussman

Environment, Energy and Green Buildings ADR Experience

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Edna Sussman has been a leader on energy, environment and green building issues. Through her work as executive director of an environmental NGO with a broad mandate that covered water, air, land and energy issues, her civic activities representing the business interests and through her bar association activities, she has become expert in many areas in the field. She has written and spoken extensively about dispute resolution in energy and environmental matters and has been in the forefront in promoting greater utilization of alternative dispute resolution to resolve such disputes. She has been particularly active in addressing the many issues that arise in connection with the responses to climate change and the drive towards energy security, including green buildings, energy efficiency, carbon and REC trading, renewable energy, cogeneration, demand response, and adaptation strategies including water, energy and land use solutions.

Ms. Sussman is a United States Green Building Council LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Accredited Professional, having taken the qualifying examination.

As an arbitrator and mediator, Ms. Sussman has handled over 150 disputes including disputes concerning:

• Failure to properly conduct an environmental assessment.
• Legal violations claimed in connection with a stormwater management project.
• CERCLA (Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act) claims.
• Public nuisance claim.
• Eminent domain - claim of unconstitutionality.
• Various claims relating to oil spills and groundwater pollution.
• Oil tanks removal issues.
• Sewer expansion issues.
• Renewable energy credits.
• Waste water treatment plant project grants disputes.
• Energy service company (ESCO) disputes, including customer/supplier pricing.
• Construction disputes.
• Delay damages and impact costs claims.
• Mold liability issues.
• Landlord/developer tenant disputes relating to environmental improvements.
• Insurance coverage for environmental damages.
• Oil warrants issued in conjunction with Brady Bonds.
• SOx credits.
• Allocation of proceeds of sale of Superfund site among competing creditors.

Recognition

• Ms. Sussman’s work in this field has been repeatedly recognized:
• Listed in Best Lawyers for Alternative Dispute Resolution 2009 and 2010.
• Selected as an Outstanding Woman in Energy Law by Energy Law 360.
• Recipient of 2008 Environmental Quality Award, United States Environmental Protection
  Agency, Region 2.
• Appointed by Mayor Bloomberg in 2008 to serve on the New York City Panel on Climate Change.
• Appointed by County Executive Andy Spano in 2007 to Chair the Business Sector Committee of the Westchester County N.Y., Global Warming Task Force.
• Appointed by County Executive Andy Spano in 2008 to serve on the Advisory Council to implement the Westchester Action Plan for Climate Change 2008.

Publications:

Editor in Chief, New York Dispute Resolution Lawyer; Associate Editor of Oil Gas and Energy Law Intelligence

Selected Recent Energy, Environment and Green Building Articles:

• Climate Change Adaptation Planning Guidance for Local Governments in the United States, American University Washington College of Law, Sustainable Development Law & Policy Journal, Spring (2009)(PDF)
• Adaptation to Climate Change: Fostering Progress Through Law and Regulation, lead author with
  David C. Major, forthcoming, New York University Law School Environmental Law Review, January 2010
• Law, Regulation and Climate Change, lead author with David C. Major, forthcoming in New York City Panel on Climate Change, 2009 Report (publisher New York Academy of Sciences) 2010
• Climate Change Framing and Social Marketing: The Influences that Persuade, Pace Law School Environmental Law Journal, forthcoming January 2010 (DOC)
• The Energy Charter Treaty Can Foster Solutions to Global Warming and Promote Sustainable Development, forthcoming in Sustainable Development in International Investment Law, Editor Andrew Newcombe (Publisher Kluwer)
• Sustainable Westchester: A Case Study in a Community Collaborative Effort, Dispute Resolution Committee newsletter of the American Bar Association Section of Environment Energy and Resources, January 2009 (PDF)
• The New Paradigm for Green Buildings and Energy Efficiency, Sustainable Energy, Bloomberg Law Reports, December 2008 (PDF)
• The Energy Charter Treaty’s Investor Protection Provisions: Potential to Foster Solutions to Global Warming and Promote Sustainable Development, ILSA Journal of Int'l & Comparative Law, Vol. 14:2 (2008) (PDF)
• Reshaping Municipal and County Laws to Foster Green Building Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, New York University Law School Environmental Law Journal, Vol. XVI Issue 1 (2008) (PDF)
• Complexities of Designing a U.S. Federal Carbon Regime, Energy Law 360, July 2007 (PDF)
• Building Stock Offers Opportunities to Foster Sustainability and Provides Tools for Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation, American University Washington College of Law, Sustainable Development Law & Policy Journal, Vol. VII Issue 3 (2007) (PDF)
• The Energy Charter Treaty Affords Investor Protections and Right to Arbitration, Oil Gas and Energy Law Intelligence, October 2006 (PDF)
• RGGI: New York Addresses Climate Change with the First Mandatory Greenhouse Gas Program, New York State Bar Association Journal, Vol. 78, No. 4, May 2006 (PDF)
• Green Buildings: An Overview and Developments, ABA’s Section of Environment Energy and Resources, Trend Magazine May/June 2005 (PDF)
• Renewable Energy Resources Development Initiatives on Public Lands, American Bar Association’s Trend Newsletter March/April 2005 (MS Word)

Selected Recent Energy, Environment and Green Building Presentations:

• Climate Change: Resolving Emerging Disputes, American Bar Association, forthcoming February 2010
• Effective Legal Strategies to Resolve Environmental Disputes, Pace Law School, Nov. 2009
• Addressing Climate Change Through Collaboration and Public Involvement: Models for Federal, Regional, State and Local Solutions, Association for Conflict Resolution, June 2009
• Utilizing Environmental Quality Review Acts to Foster Climate Change Solutions, NYC Panel on Climate Change, January 2009
• Renewable Energy: Using ADR Techniques to Guide Policy Development and Implement Projects, ABA, January 2009
• The Resolution of Environmental Interest Disputes, New York City Bar Association, November 2008
• Considering the Costs and Benefits of Nuclear Power: Pros and Cons of New Plants, New York City Bar Association, October 2008
• Emerging International Issues in Confronting Climate Change: Adaptation and Allowance Trading, American Branch of the International Law Association, Oct. 2008
• Climate Change: Avoiding, Managing and Resolving Emerging Risks, Disputes and Liability, ABA annual meeting, Dispute Resolution Section, August 2008
• Shaping Local Laws to Promote Sustainable Development, ABA, June 2008,
• Communities Plan for Adaptation, ABA Eastern Water Conference, May 2008
• The Energy Charter Treaty, ABA International Section Annual Meeting, April 2008
• Developments in Energy Policy Around the World, ABA International Section Annual Meeting, April 2008
• Green Building Summit: Regulatory Developments Drive Growth of Green Building, Practicing Law Institute, March 2008
• The Debate: Emissions Cap & Trade or a Carbon Tax, NYC Bar Association, November 2007
• Energy Efficiency: Emerging Regulatory, Market and Policy Measures, ABA October 2007
• Energy Charter Treaty: History and Potential, American Branch of the International Law Association Oct. 2007
• Washington Update on Renewables and Climate Change, ABA, September 2007
• Biofuels and Biotechnology: Coexistence, Regulatory and Liability Issues, ABA, Sept. 2007
• Community Sustainability Collaboratives: A Case Study, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 2, July 2007
• Global Warming: Hot and Getting Hotter, Communities Turn to Adaptation, ABA, May 2007
• Executive, Legislative, and Judicial Responses to Global Warming, ABA, April 2007
• Climate Change: The Business Advantage, Westchester Business Council, March 2007
• Local Governments Address Climate Change, New York University Law School Colloquium, February 2007
• Energy and ADR: What Every Energy Professional Should Know, Energy Bar Association, January 2007
• Sustainability Planning; a Community Partnership, Columbia University, December 2006
• The Legal and Financing Implications of the Kyoto Protocol Clean Development Mechanism, American Branch of the International Law Association, October 2006
• Greenhouse Gas Trading, International Bar Association annual meeting, September 2006
• Arbitrating Energy Disputes: The Way to Go if Other ADR Fails, ABA, June 2006
• Climate Change Litigation: Past, Present and Future, ABA June 2006
• The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative: the National and International Backdrop, ABA, February 2006