[CPEO-BIF] EJ and the Gulf Coast - sessions at November Brownfields conference

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

[Please excuse the multiple postings. - LS]

Each year, at the national Brownfields Conference, CPEO convenes the 
Environmental Justice/Community Caucus. This year, we will devote Caucus 
sessions to "Environmental Justice and the Rebuilding of New Orleans and 
the Gulf Coast."

The 2005 Conference will take place Wednesday-Friday, November 2-4 in 
Denver, Colorado. For information about the entire conference, as well 
as on-line registration, go to http://www.brownfields2005.org.

Caucus sessions will take place from 8 pm to 10 pm on both Wednesday, 
November 2 and Thursday, November 3, in rooms 109/111 of the Convention 
Center.

The rebuilding of portions of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, following 
the devastation caused by hurricanes Katrina and Rita, will likely be 
the largest redevelopment effort in U.S. history. Evidence thus far 
suggests that all flooded areas of New Orleans were contaminated, and 
given the presence of oil wells, refineries, other chemical plants, and 
petrochemical transportation and storage facilities in the region, it is 
likely that many other areas also suffered petroleum or hazardous 
substance releases.

Thus, the redevelopment of the Gulf Coast will be a "Brownfields" 
challenge of unprecedented magnitude. However, it raises many of the 
same issues with which the EJ Caucus has grappled for years, including:

Resident exposure to hazardous substances
Community involvement in planning
Worker training and local hiring
Hazardous substance and waste facility siting
Gentrification and other relocation issues

Local, state, federal, and private rebuilding programs for the Gulf 
Coast have a great deal to learn from the Brownfields experience. The 
purpose of the Caucus will be to discuss and develop ideas for applying 
those lessons to the enormous effort ahead.

We are still attempting to locate (literally) potential speakers, but 
here is our tentative plan:

WEDNESDAY:

Presentations by environmental justice leaders from the impacted areas.

Opportunity for federal and state agency officials to respond.

Open discussion

THURSDAY:

Open discussion, with the objective of developing a brief statement of 
principles or recommendations.

Lenny

--
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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