California Permitting Challenges

Tuesday, October 18, 2022

1:00 PM – 2:00 PM ET

Location: Hall A

Moderator(s)

Whitney Fiore, M.S.

Offshore Wind Lead
SWCA Environmental Consultants
Solvang, California, United States

Handouts

Speaker(s)

Steve Black, JD

President and Founder
Steve Black Strategies, Inc., Colorado, United States
Sarah Courbis, Ph.D.

Marine Protected Species and Regulatory Specialist at Advisian
Advisian Worley Group
Portland, Oregon, United States
Liz Klebaner, JD (she/her/hers)

Partner
Nossaman LLP
Los Angeles, California, United States
Jennifer Miller

Chief of the Renewable Energy Section
Bureau Of Ocean Energy Management, Pacific Region
Camarillo, California, United States
Stephanie Wilson

Director of Offshore Permitting
Avangrid

There are multiple federal, state, and local agencies with regulatory authority and jurisdiction over construction and operation of an offshore wind project in California. Many of these agencies have been working with stakeholders and participating in interagency workgroups to coordinate the analysis of effects to resources and the conditions placed on lease issuance and site investigation activities. The next step in project permitting will require even greater inter-agency coordination if it is to be done efficiently and with predictability. This panel will identify potential permitting risks and discuss the ways in which California and industry can work to achieve an efficient, coordinated and predictable environmental clearance and permitting process that also ensures offshore wind is responsibly developed in California.