Valerie T. Herring

Valerie (Val) Herring’s energy practice focuses primarily on permitting energy infrastructure, ratemaking proceedings, and other regulatory and compliance issues. Val has extensive experience obtaining the federal, state, and local approvals necessary for the construction of high voltage transmission lines and defending those approvals on appeal.  She also regularly assists clients in state regulatory ratemaking proceedings.  Val is admitted to practice in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Colorado.

Val practices primarily in the areas of:

• Energy facility permitting
• Utility ratemaking
• Administrative law and regulatory compliance
• Appellate law

Representative Regulatory Experience

• Represented electric utility group in multiple state regulatory proceedings for several 345 kV transmission lines spanning Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, and South Dakota.
• Represented electric and gas public utilities in ratemaking proceedings before multiple state public utility and public service commissions.
• Represented electric utility in appeal of a route permit order to the Minnesota Court of Appeals.
• Represented electric utility in appeal of a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity to Wisconsin circuit court and the Wisconsin Court of Appeals.
• Assisted electric utility in seeking approval of grid modernization proposals and associated cost recovery in Colorado and Minnesota.
• Represented a transmission company in obtaining a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity for a 345 kV transmission line in Wisconsin.
• Represented multiple electric utilities in obtaining Certificates of Need and Route Permits in Minnesota for 115 kV, 161 kV, and 345 kV transmission projects.
• Represented electric utility in obtaining a certificate of corridor compatibility for a 230 kV line in North Dakota.

Representative Litigation Experience

• Defended thousands of claims and numerous trials stemming out of a North Dakota derailment.
• Represented international businesses in private arbitration to allocate liability for a $100 million coal tar clean-up of sediments and land.