(12/6/2017, Manchester, NH) – Sheehan Phinney Bass & Green PA shareholder Thomas S. Burack will speak at the New England Electricity Restructuring Roundtable on December 15, 2017, Boston, MA. Burack will be part of a 5 person panel titled “Improving Energy Facility Siting and Permitting in New England”. Burack will describe recent reforms to New Hampshire’s energy facility siting law and will also discuss provisions of a new federal law, the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST-41), that are intended to improve coordination of permitting of large scale energy projects.
In January 2017, Burack returned to Sheehan Phinney after serving for over ten years as the Commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services. He is a nationally recognized strategic leader in the fields of environmental, public health and energy regulation, as well as organizational management and governance. During his tenure at NHDES he served first as Chair and later as Vice Chair of New Hampshire’s Energy Facility Site Evaluation Committee. Burack’s thirty years of experience working in all three branches of government as well as the private sector provide an in-depth understanding of how the federal, state and local governments operate, and how the public and private sectors can constructively collaborate to solve problems and resolve disputes.
Burack spearheaded the creation of E-Enterprise for the Environment, a shared governance approach among the US Environmental Protection Agency, states and tribal governments to modernize and streamline the business of environmental protection and regulation in the United States. He served as the first state co-chair of the E-Enterprise Leadership Council, which provides strategic direction for the overall initiative and oversight of dozens of E-Enterprise projects. Among other roles, he now serves as an executive advisor and consultant to the initiative, which is supporting joint state, tribal and federal efforts to improve permitting processes.
About the Firm
Sheehan Phinney is a full service business law firm representing local, national and international clients with innovative approaches and practical solutions. Founded in 1937, Sheehan Phinney has grown to over 60 attorneys with four offices throughout New Hampshire and Massachusetts and is known for professional excellence, practical counsel and commitment to both its clients and the communities it serves. Sheehan Phinney is the exclusive member in New Hampshire of Lex Mundi, the world’s leading association of premier independent law firms.