Re: [CPEO-BIF] The value of the annual National Brownfields Conference

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Submitted by Evans Paull EPaull@baltimoredevelopment.com

I would add a couple points to those made by others. My comments are 
from the point of view of the experience-level of the participants.

First, I would start from the point of view of rookie or 
less-experienced brownfields staff - the national conference is an 
extraordinary educational opportunity for those who have been recently 
assigned to a brownfields-related job.  I would speculate that almost no 
one is adequately prepared for brownfields work by virtue of their 
college or grad school education.  Brownfields is very 
inter-disciplinary, involving environmental protection, 
business/economic development, real estate, public policy, geology, and 
law.  A newly-assigned brownfields staff person may have strength in one 
or two of these disciplines, but they will find much to learn in the 
other areas, and the national conference is a really important way to 
get that exposure.

Second, from the point of view of the more experienced brownfields staff 
(myself included), the conference never fails to get my creative juices 
flowing.  No, I don't need the primer on environmental insurance, but 
every conference produces some new ideas, new contacts, new ways to 
address old problems.  Let me offer up just one example: through the 
conference I have met and exchanged cards with a number of businesses 
that offer products/services related to fixed price/insurance-backed 
remediation. I am now organizing a meeting of local brownfields 
interests, and I'm inviting each of the these service providers to make 
short presentations - a little match-making exercise that just might 
lead to a project getting done that otherwise would have failed.

To generalize from this, the conference is a way for us to become aware 
of resources, programs, and policies that we may not be aware of, but 
that help us do our jobs better.

KEEP IT ANNUAL!!!!

Ev Paull, Director of the Brownfields Initiative
Baltimore Development Corp.
36 S. Charles St - suite 1600
Baltimore, MD 21201
410-837-9310, ext 317
epaull@baltimoredevelopment.com
visit the brownfields section of the BDC website:
www.baltimoredevelopment.com/initiatives_brownfields.html


--
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
http://www.cpeo.org


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