Profile
Hannes D. Zetzsche is an energy and environmental attorney. He helps clients to secure land rights, zoning approval and federal, state and local permits for energy, infrastructure and other commercial and industrial projects throughout Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Oregon and Wyoming. He has experience developing renewable energy, including wind, solar and battery storage, electric-vehicle charging stations, hydrogen, carbon capture and storage, pipelines, mineral rights and water rights.
After attending college, Hannes managed a 1,500-acre hay farm in central Oregon. He then moved to Nebraska to attend law school and concentrate in real estate and water law. Before joining the firm, Hannes worked as a judicial clerk to the Chief Justice of the Nebraska Supreme Court, Hon. Michael G. Heavican.
Areas of Practice
Education
- University of Nebraska College of Law, J.D., with high distinction, concentrations in real estate and water law, 2020
- University of Denver Sturm College of Law, visiting student with emphasis in natural resources law, 2019
- University of Portland, B.A., cum laude, Rhetoric and German, 2016
Bar & Court Admissions
- Colorado, 2022
- Iowa, 2022
- Kansas, 2024
- Nebraska, 2020
- Oregon, 2022
- US District Court, District of Nebraska, 2020
- Wyoming, 2024
Professional & Civic Affiliations
- Habitat for Humanity of Lincoln, Board Member
- Kids Can Community Center, Board Member
- Nebraska State Bar Association’s Agriculture, Natural Resources, Environment, and Energy Law Section, Executive Committee Member
- The Foundation for Natural Resources and Energy Law, Programs Committee Member
- American Bar Association’s Cannabis Law and Policy Committee, Vice Chair
- American Bar Association’s Water Quality and Water Resources Committees, Vice Chair
- American Bar Association, Young Lawyers Division Liaison
Selected Recent Publications
- “Whose Pore Space Is It? Carbon Capture and Storage Prompts New Questions in Property Law,” American Bar Association Natural Resources & Environment Magazine, July 2024
- “How to address water rights in an agricultural transaction,” Progressive Cattle, January 2024
- “Nebraska’s Groundwater Law Turns 90,” The Nebraska Lawyer Magazine, November 2023
- “Seven Best Practices for Making Mixed Use of Cattle Grazing Land,” Progressive Cattle, July 2023
- “After AltEn Spill, Legal Claims Sink In,” Nebraska Lawyer, June 2022
- “Severance: Ownership of Land and the Right to Withdraw Groundwater in Nebraska,” 23 U. Denv. Water L. Rev., 2020
- “Engineering a Water Case and Ethical Considerations,” 22 U. Denv. Water L. Rev. 847, 2019
- “Not All Aguais Caliente: Proposing the Winters Groundwater Test,” 98 Neb. L. Rev. 220, 2019
Recent Speaking Engagements
- “Agricultural, Natural Resources, Environmental, & Energy Law Section Seminar,” Nebraska State Bar Association Annual Meeting, La Vista, NE, October 2024
- “Permitting a Carbon Capture, Transportation and Storage Project,” The American Coalition for Ethanol Biofuels Conference 2024, Aug. 2024
- “Environmental Permitting a Carbon Capture and Storage Project,” National Carbon Capture Conference & Expo, Des Moines, IA, November 2023
- “What Real-Estate Agents Should Know about Environmental Law,” Omaha, Nebraska, November 2023
- Moderator, “Everything Everywhere All At Once: Updating Your Transactional Toolkit for Managing Expanding Environmental Risks,” ABA Fall Conference, Washington, DC, October 2023
- “PFAS: How Are They Regulated and Where Are They Headed,” Nebraska State Bar Association Annual Meeting, La Vista, NE, October 2023
- “Why Water, Wastewater and Solid Waste Utilities Should Care About New PFA Regulation,” 2023 League of Nebraska Municipalities Utilities/Public Works Management Conference, Lincoln, NE, November 2022
