Session Descriptions
Click the title of your desired session to download the presentation materials.Monday, December 7
7:15 AM - 8:25 AM
EB1) Cleanup Technologies and Applications RoundtableGroundwater Recirculation for Anaerobic Dechlorination of Chlorinated Solvents - Brian Timmins, ETEC, LLC
Mycoremediation - Thomas O'Dell, The Remediators
Evaporative Desorption - Patrick Brady, Brady Environmental
In Situ Reductive Dechlorination Options for Bioremediation of Chlorinated Solvents - Craig Dockter, Hart Crowser, Inc.
Phytoremediation - Annette Dietz, Geosyntec Consultants
In-Situ Electrical Resistance Heating - David Flemming, TRS Group, Inc.
In-Situ Anaerobic Biodegradation of Petroleum Hydrocarbons - Clint Jacob, Landau Associates
Please join us for this roundtable discussion with speakers covering the pros and cons of remediation technologies for contaminated sites.
8:45 AM - 10:15 AM
M01) Survival Kit for the New Environmental ManagerJason Smith, Blount
Aaron Leritz, Bridgewater Group Inc.
Let's talk reality. Environmental compliance isn't easy. It is a challenge to meet all the permit and legal requirements...monitoring, sampling, training, reporting, responding to issues, keeping up with new regulations, evaluating new chemicals, conducting audits...and so forth. This session will kick-off the 101 track with survival tips from someone who's been there. Get suggestions on how to tame this challenging position, stay on top of emerging issues, and get the job done. The most important advice: Tips on how to construct a simple, yet effective, Environmental Management System.
M02) Renewable Energy: Potential and Incentives
Lee Rahr, Solar Program Coordinator with City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability
Stephanie Stoppenhagen, Critigen
Andy Solberg, IDC Architects
Margie Gardner, Bonneville Environmental Foundation
The renewable energy sources available to us here in the northwest are just beginning to be realized. This session will present tools for identifying the renewable energy potential of your site, how renewable energy sources are currently being implemented as well as some of the incentives currently in place to encourage the investment into renewable energy.
M03) Greenhouse Gases: Product Supply Chain and Life Cycle Considerations (Part I)
Comparison of Greenhouse Gas Reporting Programs: State, Regional, and Federal Requirements, Maren Seibold, Trinity Consultants
The purpose of this session is to provide a clear summary of the current status of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) reporting programs that affect industrial sources in the Pacific Northwest. A comparison of reporting requirements under the Oregon GHG reporting rule (OAR 340-215), the proposed Washington GHG reporting rule (WAC 173-441), and EPA's proposed mandatory GHG reporting rule will be provided to assist attendees with determining their compliance obligations on both a state and federal level. The implications of the Western Climate Initiative's regional reporting guidance will also be discussed, as the regional program may influence future state rule-making efforts. Specific reporting elements of the various programs, such as applicability (reporting threshold), scope of emissions reporting, effective date, verification requirements, and treatment of de minimis sources will be addressed. Emission calculation methodologies prescribed by each program will also be compared.
Developing an Overall CO2 Footprint for Semiconductor Products, Scott Stewart, Senior Environmental Engineer, Intel
This presentation covers the relative CO2 impacts of the various aspects of semiconductors including manufacturing operations, product use and scope 3 impacts such as supply chain, logistics and employee travel. It will present what Intel believes to be a realistic definition of boundaries for scope 3 emissions and procedures for performing this type of assessment. Discussion will include potential focus areas for reducing impacts based on the study and will identify remaining data gaps and areas for future study.
M04) What happened in the 2009 session and what looms ahead
Greg Aldrich, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
Craig Smith, NW Food Processors Association
Jon Isaacs, Oregon League of Conservation Voters
Jim Craven, Jim Craven Consulting
John Ledger, Associated Oregon Industries
What important environmental bills were enacted in 2009? What new proposals can we expect in the coming months? Hear the gory details about what happened and why from those directly involved.
10:45 AM - 12:15 PM
M05) RCRA/Dangerous Waste BasicsDave Kunz, DEQ
Briana Drummond, PSC Environmental Services
This session will cover the basics of hazardous waste regulation and what it means to you as a generator of hazardous waste in Oregon and Washington. We will cover some of the nuts and bolts of hazardous waste management. We will briefly look at the RCRA statute and its structure and quickly move on to more practical aspects, e.g.; generator status; accumulation, labeling and emergency preparedness requirements. We will spend some time discussing waste identification and helping you answer the sometimes difficult question "is this stuff a hazardous waste?"
M06) Vapor Intrusion
Vapor Intrusion Continues to Mature: Legal, Regulatory and Technical Updates
Tom Lindley, Attorney and Chair, Environment, Energy & Resources Group at Perkins Coie
Henning Larsen, Senior Hydrogeologist, Oregon DEQ
Craig Rankine, Hydrogeologist/Site Manager, Washington DOE
Robert Ettinger, Associate, Geosyntec
Heidi Yantz, RG, PBS Engineering + Environmental
In the Northwest, technical guidance for conducting vapor intrusion assessments is beginning to gel, as HUD announces that all multi-family Phase I ESAs will require a vapor intrusion screen. The real or assumed threat of vapor intrusion at a contaminated property presents financial and legal risks to owners, tenants and prospective purchasers. Further compounding the issue, variations in data quality and interpretation have resulted in a perception of unacceptable uncertainty in vapor intrusion evaluations. Assessing vapor intrusion risk can be an expensive venture. Our panel will explore the various financial and legal risks; present key elements of new guidance documents; and provide tips to improve data quality and techniques to interpret vapor intrusion investigations.
M07) Greenhouse Gases: Product Supply Chain and Life Cycle Considerations (Part II)
The Role of Products in Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventories, Kathryn Thomsen, Senior Auditor and Manager, SGS North American, Inc. and David Allaway, Senior Policy Analyst, Oregon DEQ
This panel will explore greenhouse gas emissions and emissions inventories through the lens of materials and products. The emissions resulting from consumption of materials are often large and go overlooked, but understanding these emissions is important both for managing business risk, and for the development of carbon management strategies. Kathryn Thomsen will explore corporate greenhouse gas inventories and the use of emerging standards and approaches to estimating indirect emission in the supply chain purchases. David Allaway will discuss an assessment of consumption-related greenhouse emissions for Oregon, focusing on the role of materials and products, and differences in emissions intensity between production in Oregon vs. other regions and nations with different energy profiles. Both speakers will present case studies of business and other organizations that have included the emissions associated with materials consumption in their greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories.
M08) Environmental Leadership
Brent Foster, Oregon Department of Justice
Edward Kowalski, US EPA Region 10
Dick Pedersen, DEQ
Christopher Rich, Perkins Coie LLP
The Oregon Department of Justice has established an environmental crimes enforcement unit and now joins the EPA in pursuing criminal penalties for those intentionally violating environmental laws. But where is the line between a civil offense and a criminal offense, and who decides? How do DEQ, EPA, and DOJ balance their authorities? What are the motivations for a "get tough" approach, when does it work best, and what are the potential downsides? Panelists will explore these and other issues involved with taking a criminal approach to environmental enforcement.
12:15 PM - 1:45 PM
GS1) Lunch / AOI Award Presentation1:45 PM - 3:00 PM
M09) Stormwater Management BasicsRecent Changes to the Industrial Stormwater General Permit and How to Respond, Nathan Graves, Vice-President and Principal Environmental Scientist with Kennedy/Jenks Consultants
The session will describe the changes to the new ISGP that is expected to be finalized in the fall of 2009. We will provide an insider's view of what issues are most contentious and what permittees should consider as most important for action. We will present a step wise approach to prioritize and schedule facility and SWPPP changes to address the new requirements. In addition, we will provide some practical solutions that permittees can implement to limit permit coverage and their overall exposure.
Key Issues in Revising Oregon's General Stormwater Permits, Michael Campbell, Partner, Stoel Rives LLP
To address legal challenges to Oregon general stormwater discharge permits, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality is considering substantial revisions to the permits. The revisions will address thorny legal and technical issues including water quality standards compliance, discharge monitoring, and the development and enforcement of stormwater plans. This presentation will describe the issues involved in revising the permits and how the issues are likely to be resolved.
New EPA Effluent Limitations for Stormwater Runoff, Jason Ziemer, Principal Environment Consultant, Clean Water Technologies
On December 1, 2009, the EPA will issue new regulations which strengthen the existing National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program for stormwater runoff from construction and development (C&D) sites. The proposed technology-based Effluent Limitations Guidelines (ELGs) will change the way that the C&D industry and municipalities manage stormwater. The EPA estimates that the proposed rule will cost $1.9 billion dollars per year to implement and reduce stormwater pollutants by 27 billion pounds annually. This presentation will describe the ELGs, required technologies and methods that engineers, consultants and municipalities can utilize to achieve compliance with NPDES stormwater permits.
M10) Using LEAN to Get Green
Debra Taevs, Pacific Northwest Pollution Prevention Resource Center
John Valachovic, Oregon Manufacturing Extension Partnership
Bill Cummins, Givaudan
Mark Sheppard, Givaudan
The focus of Lean is to eliminate any non-value added activity, or waste, from production. It would be hard to find another business initiative that is more complimentary to the goals of pollution prevention, sustainability, and greening. By expanding the Lean definition of "waste" to include wasted raw materials, wasted energy, and environmental wastes, Lean methods become powerful tools for identifying environmental opportunities. Learn how to include environmental aspects into your Lean activities, and hear a case study from a company who has successfully used Lean tools to improve their environmental performance. If you aren't already using Lean, see how these Lean tools can help you identify environmental wastes and cost savings opportunities.
M11) Green Cleanup
Sean Sheldrake, US EPA Region 10
Ross Dunning, Kennedy / Jenks Consultants
Everything seems to be green focused these days, but green cleanup? Join us as we explore green cleanup and hear how EPA Region 10 is promoting and implementing this option in the site cleanup decision making process. We will also look at how green cleanup has been implemented at various sites and discuss some of the benefits of using this option to address contaminated sites.
M12) Students/Professionals in Transition: Overview of Environmental Job Opportunities
David Livengood, DEQ
Kevin Considine, Vestas (moderator)
Jennifer Allen, PSU Center for Sustainable Processes and Practices
You've always wanted to do something to in the environmental/clean energy sector and you just got your college degree or in the midst of a mid-course correction. Now what? What types of jobs are out there and how do you get them? Today, while we are surrounded with economic turmoil and countless layoffs, including many in the green sector, the questions continually being asked are : "Who can help me connect with the connectors?" What sector is growing and what are they looking for?" "Where are the GREEN jobs and how do I get one?"
The panelists have worked in the public and private sector as well as academia and nonprofits, and will discuss their experiences and suggestions.
3:30 PM - 4:45 PM
M13) Air Permiting BasicsTom Wood, Stoel Rives LLP
Few regulatory areas are as intimidating as the Clean Air Act. In this session participants will learn the basics that they need to know in order to navigate the air permitting world.
M14) Green Chemistry
Biomimicry - Nature as Model, Measure, and Mentor, Dawn Lesley, Corporate Sustainability Leader, Kennedy/Jenks
While we are justifiably proud of our progress toward sustainability, we still have a lot to learn. And there are so many teachers, all around us. A concept called 'Biomimicry,' developed by Dr. Janine Benyus of the University of Montana, encourages us to seek inspiration and knowledge from the natural world. In Dr. Benyus' own words: 'Biomimicry is an innovation method that seeks sustainable solutions by emulating nature's time-tested patterns and strategies. The goal is to create products, processes, and policies---new ways of living---that are well-adapted to life on earth over the long haul.' This presentation introduces the basic concept of Biomimicry and several examples of how nature is inspiring innovative approaches to planning and design of products and infrastructure. We are smart enough to exploit Nature's riches nearly to the brink of ecosystem collapse - are we smart enough to learn from her wisdom before it's too late to save ourselves?
Using Gray Matter to solve Green Matters - Enabling Action through Data Mining, Jeremy Johnson, Director, Product Development, IHS
Even as government regulators, shareholders and the public are demanding greater scrutiny around the use of hazardous chemicals, many businesses and municipalities feel unprepared to move their operations toward sustainability. A common organizational misconception is that there isn't enough information available to start an effective chemical greening program. Alternatively, there are others who are overwhelmed by the volume of data and sorting through it all is simply too onerous, resulting in little or no action to improve. While that assertion may have been true years ago, in recent times, data-mining tools and industry agnostic best practices have evolved. Today, using these tools and strategies, virtually any entity, regardless of size, can dip into their data to initiate a prudent, chemical sustainability program that yields measurable results.
Green Chemistry: Opportunities and Challenges for Manufacturing Sector Collaboration, Colin Price, Research Director, Oregon Environmental Council
Green chemistry involves the reduction or elimination of hazardous substances by utilizing a set of principles in the design, manufacture, and application of chemical products. The northwest is home to leading researchers and companies that have successfully used green chemistry principles to generate environmental and economic benefits. OEC is working to identify opportunities and challenges associated with expanding the use of green chemistry in manufacturing and will present preliminary project findings.
M15) Understanding Environmental Crimes: Practical Information for Your Business
Dean Ingemansen, US EPA
Leah Koss, DEQ
Per Ramfjord, Stoel Rives LLP
Renewed attention to environmental laws at the federal and state level translates into increased focus on environmental crimes. Join panelists from the US EPA, DEQ and Stoel Rives' environmental defense group for a primer on criminal environmental enforcement. This section will cover the basics of environmental crimes and penalties, and provide practical information about what to do if your company becomes the target of a criminal investigation. Our panelists will rely on real-world examples and anecdotes to prepare you to safeguard your company from criminal environmental risk.
M16) Students/Professionals in Transition: Resume and Interview Tips to Get Your Dream Job
Jill Corona, DEQ
Karol Ford, Metro
Mark Havighorst, AECOM Environmental
Sarah Keirns, Clark County Public Works
Mark Read, Business Education Compact
Today's job market is more competitive than ever. How can YOU stand out in the midst of hundreds of applicants for one position? Join us for this panel discussion with experts from a Human Resources perspective, as well as some experts at "getting the job." We'll get into the nitty gritty with some resume and interview tips that will help you put your best foot forward. Bring your questions for the panel, as we embark on this timely discussion. This session builds on the previous roundtable session on Environmental Job Opportunities.
Tuesday, December 8
7:15 AM - 8:25 AM
EB2) Sustainability and Energy EfficiencyHow to Make Strides in Office Sustainability: A Success Story, Kelley Martin, Integral Consulting
The Green Team: Benefits of an Employee-driven Sustainability Program, Kristina LeVelle, Associate EHS Consultant, Environmental and Occupational Risk Management, Inc. (EORM)
Resource Conservation Projects with Results, Mike Bach, Frito-Lay
This session will provide a review of case studies that can be applied in your organization, including office sustainability, formation of a site Green Team, and implementation of effective conservation projects.
8:45 AM - 10:15 AM
T01) Identifying False Positives in Environmental AssessmentsFalse Positives in Environmental Analysis - can (should) you believe that result?, Richard Burrows, TestAmerica, Inc.
Identifying and Managing False Positives in Organic Analysis, Sean Gormley, AMEC
T02) Conserving Energy while Saving the Environment
Energy Auditing - Optimization for Conservation, Daniel Schall, Engineering Staff AMEC
Energy Audits are an evaluation of a buildings energy usage to identify processes, behaviors, and efficiency measures to reduce energy consumption (input) without negatively affecting the bldg's performance (output). This presentation focuses on an overview of energy conservation opportunities that will optimize a buildings energy performance with respect to capital investment and paybacks. The presentation will also provide an overview of low cost/no cost energy conservation opportunities and what building components to look for including: building envelope, lighting, plug loads, and HVAC.
Creating and Trading Building Carbon Credits on the Voluntary Market, William Jones, Director, Climate Solutions Environmental Consultant, Earth Advantage Institute
Built environment GHGs (greenhouse gases), estimated to be 30% of the nation's total annual GHGs (2.2 billion CO2e, EIA 2006 ), represents an under utilized opportunity for the US to help mitigate climate change. Developing tradable, high quality carbon credits (CC) from building energy efficiency improvements creates multiple benefits from reducing GHGs and improving building performance, to investment stimulation in the moribund construction sector. Presentation covers EAI's methodology creating CCs in the built environment that avoids problems other programs have encountered. It addresses GHG accounting using EAI's EPS (Energy Performance Score), specific GHG reduction measures, and market resistance and uncertainty.
Innovative Approach to Improving Air Quality while Reducing Energy Consumption Proves Cost-effective, John Duby, Director of Engineering, SERBACO, Inc.
Actual case study of an upgrade project to five dust collection systems at a large grain terminal facility that significantly improved air quality, greatly reduced energy consumption, reduced scheduled & unscheduled downtime and maintenance costs all while substantially improving productivity. Using off-the-shelf components, a custom designed filter system modification enabled the switch to high efficiency fans and motors. Through a program offered by the local utility, a cash incentive was secured. The combination of this incentive, labor savings, and energy tax credits made this successful project very cost effective for the client. The ROI was less than 24 months!
Improving the Sustainability of Advanced Technology Buildings, Sigurd Anderson, IDC Architects and Phillip Reese, PhD, Stanford University
This presentation will present proven methodologies for enhancing the sustainability of advanced technology buildings based on 25 years of experience gained by a leading designer and builder of mission critical facilities. In recent years the sustainability expectations for advanced technology research and manufacturing structures has inspired many innovative approaches regarding reduction of energy consumption using new strategies for airflow management, airside/waterside economizers, advanced control systems, lighting, recycling of heat and water, and many other sustainable design features. This presentation will share experience gained in advanced technology and R&D facility design that directly applies to design strategies for a new class of sustainable structures.
T03) Stormwater Case Studies
Drew Gilpin, Evraz Oregon Steel
Merv Coover, AECOM Environmental
Greg Will, Calbag Metals Company
Calvin Noling, StormwateRx
Want to know more about the latest industrial stormwater treatment technologies, and add to your toolbox of BMPs? This session on stormwater case studies is for you! We will hear from industrial facility owners and consulting firms about how they have approached stormwater characterization, source control, treatment, and compliance at facilities located in both Oregon and Washington.
T04) Need to Change Oregon's Chemicals Policies: Real or Perceived?
Senator Mark Hass, Oregon State Legislature
Gail Shibley, ODHS/Environmental Public Health
Kathryn VanNatta, Northwest Pulp and Paper Association
Renee Hackenmiller-Paradis, OEC
As the possible public health impacts of chemicals used in everything from baby bottles to lipstick make news headlines, state lawmakers across the United States are debating chemical ban bills attempting to address these perceived chemical threats. The policies being considered take different approaches ranging from addressing a single toxic chemical to covering small groupings of toxic chemicals to significantly overhauling or revising current chemicals policies. The question the panelists in this Roundtable will try to answer is: Is it time for chemicals policies reform in Oregon - or is there really a need? Talented professionals from the Oregon Legislature, public health, industry, and a public interest group will help attendees understand the issues, challenges, and what is being done to answer the question. The options discussed may eventually touch all Oregonians in some way.
10:45 AM - 12:15 PM
T05) Audits and InspectionsEnvironmental Audits 101, Brian King, Environmental Attorney, Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt
This presentation will provide the basics on enviornmental audits and inspections for a beginning audience or those who need a refresher.
Managing the Audit Process to Avoid Unintended Exposure, Randy Rees, Principal Consultant, SLR Corp., and Hong Huynh, Environmental Attorney, Miller Nash
Internal environmental audits have long been a useful tool for the environmentally responsible company to evaluate internal environmental practices. Unfortunately it is not uncommon for such good deeds to result in exposing such companies to unintended liabilities if the audit process and information is not carefully managed. The national movement towards 'Greening America' has resulted in an increase of public interest in the environmental impact of companies. The Department of Justices' recently created Environmental Action Group is evidence of such increased interest in Oregon. These presentations address ways to manage information obtained during internal environmental audits to avoid the information being used in an unintended manner in light of this increased public interest.
T06) Green Building and Low Impact Development
Building Green with LEED, LID and Clean Construction Stormwater, Jason Ziemer,Clear Creek Systems
Today, building green centers on the principles of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and Low Impact Development (LID). One of the primary focuses of both programs is preserving and improving long-term, non-point source, water quality in stormwater runoff. Seattle Public Housing Authority's High Point project, in Seattle, WA, is located within the Longfellow Creek watershed (one of Seattle's few remaining native salmon spawning habitats) and has incorporated several LID and LEED techniques to minimize the impacts of stormwater runoff. This presentation will evaluate construction and post construction techniques to limit stormwater pollution and will compare their relative effectiveness.
Sustainable Site Planning to Reduce Stormwater Impacts to Watersheds, Maria Cahill, Green Girl Development Technologies and Derek Godwin, Oregon State University
Building on the conventional site analysis process to manage stormwater, we'll navigate the steps to incorporate non-structural best management practices into any project from early site planning to the technical and economic feasibility assessment of proposed BMPs. We'll evaluate the opportunities and constraints of a real world site and evaluate a number of non-structural best management practices through a checklist approach. Learn how non-structural best management practices can reduce initial construction costs, optimize ecosystem services, and provide long-term economic and wellbeing benefits to the community.
T07) Oregon Toxics Reduction Strategies
Kevin Masterson, DEQ
Cheryl Grabham, DEQ
Bruce Hope, DEQ
Mark Yeager, ACWA
Gregg Bryden, Kennedy / Jenks Consultants
Overview of Oregon's Toxics Reduction Strategies with a focus on Senate Bill 737 and its potential impact on municipal, industrial and commercial wastewater sources.
T08) The Great Debate: Carbon Emissions in 2010
Bill Bradbury
George Taylor
Kyle Davis, PacifiCorp
Join a lively discussion on the causes and impacts of climate change and (looking forward) the challenges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The panel includes Bill Bradbury, candidate for governor, and his Al Gore-inspired presentation; George Taylor, the controversial former state climatologist for Oregon; and Kyle Davis, PacifiCorp's environmental policy director and a key player in the technology, legislation, and costs associated with climate change. Well-known environmental lawyer and former Chair of the Port of Portland Commission, Jay Waldron, will moderate.
12:15 PM - 1:45 PM
GS2) Lunch / Plenary Speaker: Peter DonaldsonEveryone Knows How the Real World Works
with Peter Donaldson
Strategic storyteller, Peter Donaldson, unwraps a whopping good story about the assumptions we make in how we see the world. The lesson in this hilarious and original piece of theatre, excerpted from Peter's nationally touring stage production, SALMONPEOPLE, pretty much sums up the first rule of community engagement: "Find the sweet spot where mission overlap is greatest." Peter will step in and out of character to facilitate a dialogue about our own assumptions as we try to answer the question now and for the future of our communities, "How does real world work?" And, if we can figure that out... are we telling our collective story effectively?
About Peter Donaldson
Peter is a strategic storyteller, educator and community facilitator with 26 years experience in supporting learning communities, managing non-profits, designing curriculum, building partnerships, and promoting new forms of organizational learning. Peter has catalyzed community and school sustainability campaigns throughout the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia and is now speaking and touring nationally, including Princeton University, New Jersey, Lake Tahoe, Oklahoma, and a recent six week appointment as Distinguished Scholar to the Dan Evans Chair for the Liberal Arts at The Evergreen State College.
Peter has taught at all levels from teens to teachers. He received the national award for Youth Theater Director of the Year from the American Alliance for Theater and Education. He has written over 500 poems, authored seventeen plays, produced some sixty others and tours two one-man shows, Salmonpeople and The Life and Times of Leonardo da Vinci. A third one man show, Eagle Eye, was filmed before a live audience in a First Nations pit house and produced with Canadian partners as an educational DVD and web-based inquiry into biodiversity, systems thinking and sustainability issues. Visit www.peterdonaldson.net
1:45 PM - 3:00 PM
T09) Emergency Response PlanningTerry Wolfe, Oregon State Fire Marshal
Dan Cutugno, PBS Engineering + Environmental
Emergency response planning is required at most industrial facilities by a variety of federal and state regulations, most of which fall under the jurisdiction of the USEPA and OSHA. Regulations driving these requirements have many similarities but important differences as well. This poses considerable challenges when developing emergency response plans that effectively address emergencies within a facility's fence line, typically driven by OSHA regulations, as well as emergencies which pose potential threats to the environment beyond a facility's boundaries, typically covered by USEPA rules.
For obvious reasons it is desirable to have a single emergency response plan that can adequately address all the various regulatory drivers to the maximum extent possible. Multiple federal agencies forming the "National Response Team" released guidance for such a plan, referred to as an Integrated Contingency Plan (ICP), in 1996.
This presentation provides an overview on how an ICP can address multiple emergency response regulations and help to eliminate deficiencies and/or redundancies in emergency planning programs. It also offers suggestions on how facilities can go about consolidating their emergency response planning activities into a "One Plan" approach that can save money, reduce liability and enhance emergency preparedness and response.
T10) Underground Injection Control and Other Emerging Issues
Andrew Swanson, Clackamas County Water Environment Services
Mary Shaleen Hansen, Washington Department of Ecology
Kevin Crosby, The Avogadro Group
Underground Injection Control (UIC) structures are common components of our stormwater management infrastructure, yet they are not covered under the NPDES permitting program and have historically received little regulatory attention. Oregon and Washington regulators have recognized the need for greater oversight and have recently instituted new rules and procedures for ensuring that these systems do not pose a significant risk to ground or surface water resources. The first part of this session will explore the risks associated with on-site infiltration of stormwater through UICs, engineering considerations in UIC implementation, the different regulations in place in Oregon and Washington, and the obligations of property owners and facility managers under these regulations.
The second part of this session will look ahead to new EPA rules expected in 2011 that will require accounting for PM2.5 emissions, including condensable particulate matter that has not been counted before in many areas. We will discuss how PM2.5 non-attainment might impact the Pacific Northwest, how different test methods might change your facility's monitoring results, and how you can prepare your operation for these potential impacts.
T11) Product Life Cycle Analysis
Introduction to Environmental Life Cycle Analysis, Abby Boudouris, Household Hazardous Waste Coordinator, and David Allaway, Waste Prevention Specialist, Oregon DEQ
Life cycle analysis (LCA) is a powerful method for understanding the environmental impacts of a process or product. This panel will provide an introduction to LCA, including a brief history of LCA, reasons for conducting an LCA, an overview of the ISO standards, guidelines for being an informed user of LCAs, and information resources for participants wanting to learn more. Both traditional (process) and input/output LCAs will be introduced. A case study will be provided using an LCA the Oregon DEQ is currently developing of drinking water delivery systems. This LCA evaluates the environmental impacts of a wide variety of methods for delivering drinking water. Variables include water bottles (with different resins, recycled content, recycling rate, size, transport distance), reusable water coolers and tap water.
T12) Sustainability Principles in Regulatory Decision-making
Len Farr, AMEC Earth & Environmental
Mark Morford, Stoel Rives LLP
Tom Roick, DEQ
Environmental laws and regulatory agencies are structured to achieve goals for reducing environmental impacts within a single medium. Sometimes such singular goals are achieved at the expense of adverse impacts within other media. Application of sustainability concepts to regulatory decisions should move us toward goals of net environmental benefit--considering the full range of environmental and resource implications of agency decisions: air, water, waste, land use, energy, greenhouse gas emissions, mineral resources, and renewable resources (e.g., agricultural and forestry). This session will explore the potential for introducing net environmental benefit principles into agency decision making within the bounds of existing laws.