Course Descriptions - The 5th Annual Agenda is currently in development. Please check back for updates.
1. Forest Sustainability
Course Description: This topic could include discussions on the state of Georgia's forest resources encompassing forest health issues, impacts from proposed (or by that time passed) climate change legislation, impacts from growth of bioenergy, and could also hit on forest certification. Georgia is home to just over 24 million acres of forest land and has been referred to as the "Silicon Valley of Bioenergy" so this would a very relevant topic as we consider renewable energy, etc.
Moderator: TBA.
Speakers: TBA.
Topic Coordinator: Lauren Newsome Bush
Offered: TBA
2. Sustainable Agriculture Solves Environmental Problems
Course Description: Moderator will give an introduction - Learn how the large swaths of agricultural land can help solve some of the pressing environmental issues such as climate change, carbon sequestration, and soil fertility while producing nutritious food. 1st speaker - Grazing management systems return nutrients to the soil and produce a more nutritious food than conventional systems. 2nd speaker - Conservation tillage for row crops sequesters carbon, reduces irrigation needs, prevents soil erosion. 3rd speaker - Sustainable vegetable production.
Moderator: Julia Gaskin - Coordinator - Sustainable Agriculture, University of Georgia.
Speakers: Julia Gaskin - Coordinator - Sustainable Agriculture, University of Georgia. Relinda Walker - Owner, Walker Farms.
Topic Coordinator: Susan Varlamoff
Offered: TBA
3. Tougher Air Quality Standards and their Possible Implications
Course Description: Implementation strategies are speculation at this early stage, so we have people addressing what could happen, rather than what will happen. What does seem to be coming is some tougher air quality standards – ozone maybe going to 65 ppb down from 76 ppb which was down from 85 ppb just a few years ago and 125 ppb a little more than a decade ago – and a roadside NOx standard, but not so clear how that might be implemented yet..
Moderator: TBA.
Speakers: Dr. Michael Chang - Georgia Tech. EPD Branch Chief - GA EPD. EPA.
Topic Coordinator: David Mook
Offered: TBA
4. The Clean Air Act and CO2 – new tricks for an old dog?
Course Description: Without any climate legislation in place, the courts defining CO2 as a pollutant that can be regulated under the clean air act makes this a totally new animal to deal with.
Moderator: TBA.
Speakers: Dr. Michael Chang - Georgia Tech.
Topic Coordinator: David Mook
Offered: TBA
5. Georgia State owned Herty Advanced Materials Development Center / PET Wanted
Course Description: Ross Harding with Energy Launch Partners and who is a consultant to Georgia State owned Herty Advanced Materials Development Center. / The panelists in this session are not looking for “Fluffy” or “Rover” they are looking for your beverage containers. Representatives from Coca Cola Recycling, Mohawk, and Shaw Industries will discuss their plans and efforts to recycle PET beverage containers into usable products. Panelist will discuss their efforts to work with local governments and others to boost the recovery rate of beverage containers and how these efforts support the Green initiatives of their respective companies.
Moderator: TBA.
Speakers: TBA.
Topic Coordinator: Randy Hartmann
Offered: TBA
6. The Business Case for Sustainability
Course Description: DNR's Sustainability Division helps Georgia businesses achieve better environmental results and a better bottom line. Case studies of Georgia companies going green and sharing the costs, benefits, best practices and lessons learned will demonstrate the business case for sustainability. Companies will include members of the Division's Partnership for a Sustainable Georgia, plus others.
Moderator: TBA.
Speakers: TBA.
Topic Coordinator: Marlin Gottschalk
Offered: TBA
7. Sustainable Economic Development / Keys to the Green Economy
Course Description: Sustainable economic development as growth / economy returns.
Moderator: TBA.
Speakers: GA Economic Development Commissioner. Randy Cardoza, Atlanta Gas Light.
Topic Coordinator: Vickie Foster Potter
Offered: TBA
8. Climate Change Awareness & Adaptation planning in Georgia / Update on Climate Change - The FACTS / Update on Federal Climate Change Legislation
Course Description: TBA.
Moderator: TBA.
Speakers: Chuck Mueller - GA EPD.
Topic Coordinator: Jonathan Wells
Offered: TBA
9. EPA Greenhouse Gas Initiatives
Course Description: TBA.
Moderator: TBA.
Speakers: Dr. Ken Mitchell, EPA.
Topic Coordinator: Connie Dempsey
Offered: TBA
10. Wetlands Regulatory Update
Course Description: AVATAR, Mitigation Banking Guidelines / New SOP, JD Field Guidance, Changes to In Lieu Fee Program, Agricultural Pond / Silviculture Exemptions.
Moderator: TBA.
Speakers: Russ Kaiser - Regulatory Division Chief, US Army Corps of Engineers. Carol Bernstein - Chief of Coastal Branch, US Army Corps of Engineers. Richard Morgan - Special Projects Section Chief, Coastal Branch, US Army Corps of Engineers. Bill Sapp - Senior Attorney, Southern Environmental Law Center.
Topic Coordinator: Jeff King
Offered: TBA
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11. Regional Comprehensive Plan - Coastal
Course Description: TBA.
Moderator: TBA.
Speakers: TBA.
Topic Coordinator: Randy Hartmann
Offered: TBA
12. Atlanta Beltline Program
Course Description: Presentation on what the program is about, its progress to date, its challenges ahead, and what it means to future development in the Atlanta area.
Moderator: Jim Kutzman.
Speakers: Brian Leary - President & CEO, Atlanta Beltline, Inc. Dan Grogan - Environmental Division Manager, MACTEC Engineering & Consulting. Matthew Robbins - Land Revitalization Coordinator, US EPA Region IV.
Topic Coordinator: Jim Kutzman
Offered: TBA
13. TBA
Course Description: TBA.
Moderator: TBA.
Speakers: TBA.
Topic Coordinator: David Mook
Offered: TBA
14. Developing Power in Georgia
Course Description: Presentations on how power sources are being developed will be given. Implementation of specific projects will be discussed.
Moderator: Jim Kutzman.
Speakers: Dean Alford - President & CEO, Allied Energy Services, Inc.. Rich Marotte - Project Manager, MACTEC Engineering & Consulting. Les Oakes - Attorney, King & Spalding.
Topic Coordinator: Jim Kutzman
Offered: TBA
15. Energy Efficiency and GHG Reduction / Carbon Footprinting
Course Description: Improving energy efficiency is the first and most important step toward achieving sustainability in buildings and organizations. Energy efficiency helps control rising energy costs, reduces environmental footprints, and increases the value and competitiveness of buildings. Leaders across all kinds of organizations – municipalities, universities, schools, hospitals, and corporations – are increasingly trying to get their arms around the principles of sustainability, and to develop the best plans to improve their performance on this important metric. Developing a sustainability plan requires understanding the range of possible options, deciding what dimension of sustainability to pursue, accepting some trade-offs, and moving the organization forward. / (DNR's Sustainability Div. and others).
Moderator: Michael Migliaccio - Johnson Controls.
Speakers: TBD - Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority. Clay Nesler - Johnson Controls. TBD - Private Sector. TBD - Local Government.
Topic Coordinator: Michael Migliaccio
Offered: TBA
16. Georgia E-85 Retail Infrastructure Grant Program Update / Georgia E-85 Retail Infrastructure Grant Program Update / Update on Alternative Energy - MOBILE
Course Description: TBA.
Moderator: TBA.
Speakers: TBA.
Topic Coordinator: Vickie Foster Potter
Offered: TBA
17. Renewable Energy at MSW Landfill Facilities - STATIONARY
Course Description: This topic will address: Landfill gas-to-energy projects (generation of electricity; conversion to compressed natural gas) Integration of solar power for closure strategies Regulatory Drivers (EPA Rules on greenhouse gases) Regulatory impediments
Moderator: TBA.
Speakers: TBA.
Topic Coordinator: Terry Cheek
Offered: TBA
18. Sustainable Energy: Harvest a crop or go directly to the source? / Benefits of building efficiency and incentives for residential and commercial energy upgrades / Georgia's Renewable Energy Resources
Course Description: This panel will discuss the economic and environmental benefits of capturing solar and wind energy directly from the source vs. growing biomass material and converting it to energy. The panel will quantify the solar, wind, and biomass energy potential for the state and discuss the benefits to local governments and energy independence. A model ordinance for local governments to include wind turbines in their planning and zoning codes will be discussed and presented. / The benefits we can derive from making all state, county, and city buildings more efficient and incentive residential and commercial energy upgrades. Tybee Island just finished a grant to take Tybee's Memorial Park off-grid with a combination of efficiency and renewable generation. / The potential for developing wind and solar generation systems and how much of the state's power needs could be met. From what I've learned, we could do without any new coal or nukes if we just started harnessing the renewables.
Moderator: Paul Wolff - Tybee Island.
Speakers: Jack Starr - Solar Savannah. Mary Hunt - Georgia Wind Working Group. Ervan Hancock - Georgia Power. Liz Philpot - Southern Company.
Topic Coordinator: Randy Hartmann
Offered: TBA
19. Environmental Management & Compliance at Federal Facilities
Course Description: I believe this would be a new topic for the conference and focus on hot button issues relevant to Georgia's large federal facilities; e.g., Robins AFB, Ft. Stewart, Ft. Benning, etc.) A variety of issues would be addressed including recent new EPA Section 438 Guidance to help federal agencies minimize the impact of federal development projects on nearby water bodies. This is a hot topic...the guidance was issued in response to a change in law and an Executive Order signed by President Obama, which calls upon all federal agencies to lead by example to address a wide range of environmental issues, including stormwater runoff.
Moderator: TBA.
Speakers: TBA.
Topic Coordinator: Terry Cheek
Offered: TBA
20. Environmental Program Financing / Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program / Environmental Funding Opportunities
Course Description: Update on how Georgia's economic downturn has impacted environmental programs and services. Alternative funding mechanisms. Pros, Cons, short & long term impacts.
Moderator: TBA.
Speakers: Representative Ken Harbin.
Topic Coordinator: Alison Wall
Offered: TBA
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21. Impacts of Stimulus Funds in GA / Stimulus Act - "ARRA" / U.S. DOE Approves State Plan for Appliance Rebate Program
Course Description: This session would describe the energy related stimulus programs and where they stand in their implementation - what has been accomplished in terms of jobs created and energy saved/generated. $63M in State Facilities retrofits, $120M in Weatherization, $9M in appliance rebates, $22M in Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants, $16M in clean energy rebates and grants.
Moderator: PJ Newcomb - GEFA.
Speakers: David Gipson - GEFA. Mandy Mahoney - City of Atlanta. James Marlow - Georgia Solar Energy Association / Radiance Solar.
Topic Coordinator: David Mook
Offered: TBA
22. Economic Impacts of Locally Grown Food to Georgia's Economy
Course Description: 1st speaker - Study will reveal the dollar amount of locally food grown to Georgia's Economy 2nd speaker - Barriers to selling local food 3rd speaker - Policy and regulations needed to foster local food systems.
Moderator: Alice Rolls - Executive Director, Georgia Organics.
Speakers: Kent Wolfe - Agricultural Economist, University of Georgia. Chef Matthew J. Roher - Owner, Cha Bella, Savannah, Georgia.
Topic Coordinator: Susan Varlamoff
Offered: TBA
23. Organics Needed
Course Description: Whether it is fighting a draught, enhancing soil productivity, or diverting over 60% of what is disposed in Georgia landfills -- composting is a sustainable alternative to landfill disposal. Georgia's Environmental Protection Division has developed new permitting requirements for composting facilities. Communities across the state are developing zero waste zones in their restaurant and entertainment districts, all which rely upon a composting infrastructure. Learn how local governments and private industry are working together to “grow” the composting industry in the state. Jennifer Szabo, topic organizer and session moderator, 3-4 panel speakers discussing what it takes to site and operate a composting facility and how compost products can be used to enhance water quality and soil productivity.
Moderator: Jennifer Szabo - Georgia Recycled Organics Council.
Speakers: TBA.
Topic Coordinator: Randy Hartmann
Offered: TBA
24. Conservation Programs in Georgia State Government / State Action Wildlife Plan
Course Description: (assistance programs available to include GEFA, DCA, DNR, etc.) / (addresses conservation needs of the state's wildlife species and their habitats may include Georgia Conservancy, DNR's Wildlife Resources Division)
Moderator: TBA.
Speakers: TBA.
Topic Coordinator: Sarah Dearman
Offered: TBA
25. Reduce your carbon footprint the easy way – recycle!
Course Description: Implementing a recycling program in your business is one of the easiest ways you can effectively reduce your carbon footprint. Presenters will discuss how they have successfully implemented a recycling program in their business, including how they trained their employees and promoted their efforts to their customers. Learn how easy it is to recycle and support your efforts to be a Green Business. Gloria Hardegree, Executive Director of the Georgia Recycling Coalition topic organizer and session moderator; 3-4 panel speakers who have implemented commercial recycling programs who will discuss the ‘how to's' and provide hands-on examples from a range of businesses.
Moderator: Gloria Hardegree - Georgia Recycling Coalition.
Speakers: TBA.
Topic Coordinator: Randy Hartmann
Offered: TBA
26. Environmental Business Ethics / Environmental Justice / Environmental Ethic Case Law and Studies Update / Environmental Ethics and Politics / Liability & Ethics for the Environmental Lawyers and Professionals
Course Description: TBA.
Moderator: TBA.
Speakers: TBA.
Topic Coordinator: Lewis Jones
Offered: TBA
27. Environmental Justice Programs in GA - What Are the Results
Course Description: TBA.
Moderator: TBA.
Speakers: TBA.
Topic Coordinator: Jonathan Wells
Offered: TBA
28. TBA
Course Description: TBA.
Moderator: TBA.
Speakers: TBA.
Topic Coordinator: David Mook
Offered: TBA
29. TBA
Course Description: TBA.
Moderator: TBA.
Speakers: TBA.
Topic Coordinator: David Mook
Offered: TBA
30. Regional Transportation Initiatives & Plans / Livability Forum Update
Course Description: An update from Washington regarding the livability meeting. Discusses the big transportation/environmental push from the feds.
Moderator: TBA.
Speakers: Sam Olens.
Topic Coordinator: Michael Halicki
Offered: TBA
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31. Groundwater Sustainability in Georgia
Course Description: This session will focus on the availability and sustainability of groundwater as a resource in Georgia, and will review groundwater resource assessments as part of the State-wide Water Management Plan, and summarize municipal/industrial and agricultural groundwater uses throughout the Georgia Coastal Plain. Speakers will tentatively include Georgia State Geologist, Dr. Jim Kennedy and Georgia Water Planning and Policy Center Executive Director, Doug Wilson.
Moderator: Nils Thompson - Leggette, Brashears & Graham, Inc.
Speakers: Dr. Jim Kennedy - State Geologist, Georgia EPD. Doug Wilson - Executive Director, Georgia Water Planning & Policy Center.
Topic Coordinator: Nils Thompson
Offered: TBA
32. Metro District Water Plan
Course Description: Metro North Georgia Water Planning District Plan and Implementation.
Moderator: TBA.
Speakers: Matt Harper - Atlanta Regional Commission.
Topic Coordinator: Jeff Larson
Offered: TBA
33. Multi-State Watershed Planning
Course Description: Tri-State Water Waters and / or water management in Georgia. Case Study - SRB drought and water management. Focus on how USACE worked collaboratively with both states to meet watershed scale objectives for conserving reservoir storage during a new drought of record and still met downstream minimum flow requirements. Seven users of the Apalachicola, Chattahoochee, and Flint Rivers met to discuss the possibilities of a grassroots organization that would provide a different path to solving 20 year old water conflict. Represent about 60 different stakeholders. Role and responsibilities of ACF stakeholders in developing sustainable management practices. ACT - Alabama, Coosa, and Tallapoosa Basins.
Moderator: TBA.
Speakers: Gil Rogers - Senior Attorney, Southern Environmental Law Center. Jason Ward - Hydrologist, Savannah District, US Army Corps of Engineers. Wilton Rooks - Representative of ACF Stakeholders, ACF - Apalachicola, Chattahoochee, Flint Rivers.
Topic Coordinator: Jeff King
Offered: TBA
34. New Developments in Stormwater Management
Course Description: This topic would capture recent developments in stormwater regulations particularly new regulations for managing stormwater from construction sites. For example: In November 2009 USEPA issued a final rule to help reduce water pollution from construction sites. The rule takes effect in February 2010 and will be phased in over four years. The final rule requires construction site owners and operators that disturb one or more acres to use best management practices to ensure that soil disturbed during construction activity does not pollute nearby water bodies. In addition, owners and operators of sites that impact 10 or more acres of land at one time will be required to monitor discharges and ensure they comply with specific limits on discharges to minimize the impact on nearby water bodies.This is the first time that EPA has imposed national monitoring requirements and enforceable numeric limitations on construction site stormwater discharges. Related subjects: Implications of new nutrient criteria on stormwater management Removal/control of nutrients in stormwater EPA/EPD enforcement of stormwater regs (apparently being emphasized)
Moderator: TBA.
Speakers: TBA.
Topic Coordinator: Terry Cheek
Offered: TBA
35. Northwest Georgia Regional Water Resources Partnership
Course Description: Presentations on what the partnership's purpose is and how it functions will be given. Discussions on the accomplishments to date and future issues will be included.
Moderator: Jim Kutzman.
Speakers: Mark Marlow - Vice Chairman, Northwest Georgia Regional Water Resources Partnership. Dave Howerin - Northwest Georgia Regional Commission. Dean Trawick - US Army Corps of Engineers. Margaret Tanner - Project Manager, MACTEC Engineers & Consultants.
Topic Coordinator: Jim Kutzman
Offered: TBA
36. Southeastern States Water Allocation Programs
Course Description: TBA.
Moderator: TBA.
Speakers: TBA.
Topic Coordinator: Rob McDowell
Offered: TBA
37. Tackling Water Issues from a Local Prospective / TMDLs and What You Need To Do
Course Description: Learn from some of the best in the state about what if takes to address the numerous water issues facing our communities. Who knows better how to face these challenges of addressing TMDLs, impaired streams, safe and reliable drinking water supplies, flood control, etc then local government staff and officials? Through the WaterFirst Program, many communities have jumped out ahead of legal requirements and tackled these issues head on, being both proactive and innovative. Learn from the best as water professionals and elected officials discuss how they are tackling the difficult water issues in their communities.
Moderator: Deatre Deaton - Georgia Department of Community Affairs.
Speakers: TBA.
Topic Coordinator: Randy Hartmann
Offered: TBA
38. Water Plan #1
Course Description: Water Plan topics that will be presented by planning contractors involved with individual Water Councils.
Moderator: TBA.
Speakers: TBA.
Topic Coordinator: Jeff Larson
Offered: TBA
39. Water Plan #2
Course Description: Water Planning Council Chairs and Co-Chairs discussing their particular council deliberations and issues.
Moderator: TBA.
Speakers: TBA.
Topic Coordinator: Jeff Larson
Offered: TBA
40. Water Contingency Planning in Georgia / Where are we going to get water in 2012?
Course Description: TBA.
Moderator: TBA.
Speakers: TBA.
Topic Coordinator: Lewis Jones
Offered: TBA
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F. Allen Barnes was appointed Director of the Environmental Protection Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources on Oct. 28, 2009.