Re: [CPEO-BIF] How frequently should the National BrownfieldsConference take place?

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Submitted by Norella Huggins <NorellaH@aol.com>
        
Dear Lenny,

I am a member of the Missouri Hazardous Waste Management Commission.  I 
attended last year's Brownfields Conference and thought it was
wonderful, not  least because the best and brightest in the Missouri
Department of Natural  Resources, Jim Werner and Ed Galbraith, were
presenters and I was a cheerleader for  them.  But it did seem to me
that the attenders were mostly consultants and  government employees. 
It was a wonderful showcase for our Missouri Voluntary  Cleanup Program,
which I think is very well-run, but underutilized - only 450  sites
active or complete in over 10 years.  There must be many more sites out 
there, but no money to clean them up.  The EPA money goes to a very few
showcase  sites in the Metro areas where they can get good PR.  I guess
if you think  about it, why should it be otherwise?  Who has the most
vested interest in  going?  If government employees are subsidized, of
course they will go.  If  consultants can network, of course they will
go.  Private parties simply won't spend  the money to go.  And I can't
go again, because I can't afford to go where I  don't live.  I suspect
that every other year is probably enough now.  Of  course, I am
something of a novice, so my opinions are not terribly informed.  

Thanks for listening.

Sincerely,

Norella Huggins



-- 


Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org
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