Cynthia L. Quarterman

Partner

• cquarter@steptoe.com
• vCard
• Washington Office

Cynthia L. Quarterman is a partner in the Washington office of  Steptoe & Johnson LLP, where she is a member of the Regulatory & Industry Affairs Department. Ms. Quarterman’s practice is focused on litigation and administrative law. She has recently litigated and advised clients on matters associated with pipeline safety, royalty valuation, federal land minerals management, pipeline acquisitions, Outer Continental Shelf (“OCS”) oil, gas, and LNG facilities, the jurisdictional status of pipeline assets, as well as surface transportation and telecommunications.

Ms. Quarterman is the former director of the Minerals Management Service (MMS) in the US Department of the Interior (March 1995–August 1999). In that capacity, she administered the programs to manage the mineral resources located on the nation's OCS, including leasing, exploration, development, and production of oil, natural gas, sulfur, and other minerals, and to collect and distribute revenues for oil, gas, and mineral development on Federal and Indian lands. As Director, she was responsible for ensuring compliance with many environmental laws, including the National Environmental Policy Act, the Clean Air Act, the Coastal Zone Management Act, and the Endangered Species Act. From 1992–1995, Ms. Quarterman served in various capacities at DOI, including as Acting Director of MMS, as Deputy Director of MMS, and as a member of the Office of Surface Mining’s Interim Management Team.

Prior to her appointment to federal service, Ms. Quarterman was an attorney with Steptoe & Johnson LLP involved in challenges to the royalty valuation of Alaska North Slope oil, cases at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the then-Interstate Commerce Commission (now the Surface Transportation Board), the FERC’s disclaimer of jurisdiction over an anhydrous ammonia pipeline, challenges to the prudence of corrosion repair costs on the Trans Alaska Pipeline System, and multiparty hazardous waste clean-up litigation.

Ms. Quarterman previously practiced at a law firm in Kansas City, Missouri.  She obtained her Juris Doctor degree from the Columbia University School of Law. While at Columbia, she served as Executive Editor of the Columbia Journal of Environmental Law. Prior to law school, she received an Industrial Engineering degree from Northwestern University and worked as an engineer for IBM.

Ms. Quarterman has testified before Congress and spoken nationally and internationally on energy and natural resource issues.

Noteworthy

• Member, Editorial Advisory Board, Natural Gas magazine, 2000-present
• Member, Executive Committee, Institute for Energy Law, 2002-present 
• Director, Minerals Management Service, US Department of the Interior, 1995-1999
• Recipient, Department of the Interior, Unit Award for Excellence of Service, Office of  Surface Mining’s Interim Management Team, 1994
• Recipient, Certificate of Appreciation, Tahirh Justice Center, in recognition of lifesaving pro bono representation of immigrant women and girls fleeing violence, July 2006
• Member, National Council, The Shakespeare Theatre Company, 2005-present

• President, Columbia Law School Alumni Association of Washington, DC, 2004-present

• Steptoe Telecom Attorneys Win Broadcast Flag Appeal

Select News & Events

• FCC Broadcast Flag Rule Invalidated
• Recent Pro Bono Wins
• "Charting the Landscape: Open and Non-Discriminatory Movement of Oil and Gas as Required by OSCLA," American Petroleum Institute Pipeline Conference, April 18, 2007
• “Attorney Client Privilege and the Proposed Amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure,” Evolution of e-Discovery Panel, MCAA CLE, Chicago, IL, March 16, 2006
• MMS Regulations, Case Law Governing the Deductibility of Post-Production Costs on Federal and Offshore Leases in Houston, delivered at 57th Annual Conference on Oil and Gas Law, February 17, 2006
• "Public Lands: Energy and Minerals," delivered at ALI-ABA Advanced Conference on Environmental Law, Bethesda, MD, February 18, 2005
• "Law of LNG: US Terminals Offshore," delivered at Institute of Energy Law, Law of LNG Conference, Houston, TX, September 14, 2004
• “Oil and Gas Leasing and Permitting,” prepared for Advanced Conference on Federal Lands and Natural Resources Law, ALI-ABA and ABA SEER, Seattle, Washington, September 19, 2003

More Seminars & Events »

Publications

• Transparency and Change Management White Paper for Nigeria's Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative
  April 12, 2005
• MMS, Interior in Center of Debate about Production Activity, Regulation
  2002, Natural Gas & Electric Power Industries Analysis: 2002 Edition, a New Annual Series Chapter 16 (Houston-Financial Communications Co. ed. 2002) FinancialComms.com
• Sale 181—an opportunity missed?
  July 9, 2001, Oil & Gas Journal
• Previewed, Natural Gas Industry Analysis: For Gas Year 2000-2001
  2000, A New Annual Series (Robert E. Willett ed.)

Professional Affiliations

• ABA, Section on Environment, Energy and Resources, Global Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Committee, Vice Chair, Technology, 2006-present