May 3 Perchlorate workshop in Las Vegas

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Information and Education Workshop
.
PERCHLORATE  IN AMERICA'S GROUND WATER

What is it? (nasty compound)
Where is it? (in 49 out of 50 states)
Why is it there? (decades of contamination)
Do agencies agree about the problem? (no)
How to fix it? (there are technologies available)
Do scientists agree about the health risk? (no)
Who is to fix it? (this is one of the big questions)
Who will pay? (perhaps the most crucial question)
What will it cost? (some of the estimates are huge)
When will it be fixed? (this is another big question)
Your state's likely ppb level? (1, 6, 14, 200, more?)

Presented by
American Ground Water Trust




NEVADA - Monday May 3, 2004
Alexis Park Resort, 375 E Harmon Avenue
Las Vegas, Nevada 89109

...

Who Should Attend?

* State agencies involved with contamination regulations
* Water Utility Managers l Landowners and major water users
* Land owners and companies with water rights where perchlorate
contamination is proven or suspected
*  Regulatory authorities concerned with water management and public
health
* Environmental organizations and concerned citizens
* Manufacturers / suppliers of treatment technologies that may provide
clean-up and treatment solutions
* Geologic and engineering professionals involved with quantifying and
managing water resources
* Legal professionals involved with water supply and environmental issues

Purpose Of The Workshop

The mission of the American Ground Water Trust is to protect ground
water, promote awareness of the environmental and economic importance of
ground water and provide accurate information to assist citizens,
communities and decision makers in water resource issues.

Per chlorate's presence in surface water and ground water is a real,
emerging and controversial issue.  The regulatory and water management
responses to "solving" the problem are likely to have a significant
impact on future water availability and water costs in many parts of the
country.  The American Ground Water Trust believes that this perchlorate
workshop will provide an opportunity for information and opinion
exchange among all parties with an interest in the issue.  The issue
won't go away.  In the absence of a federal standard for perchlorate in
drinking water states are setting their own standards. Policy decisions,
which will impact citizens and communities, are potentially too
important to be left to any one segment of society or any one group of
professionals.  These workshops are intended to be inclusive, and to
represent a starting point for debate and discussion.

Workshop Program

8:00 am to 8:30 am	Registration  (Coffee & Donuts)

Morning Program Moderator
Steven Hoch, Hatch & Parent, Los Angeles, CA
8:30 to 8:45
Andrew Stone, American Ground Water Trust, Concord, NH
Introduction (Role of education non-profits in water resources issues)
8:45 to 9:15
Dr. James Clark, Soil Water Air Protection Enterprise, Santa Monica CA
Perchlorate - Introduction and Background (Chemical properties - fate
and transport in the environment - potential for contamination of
drinking water and agricultural products)
9:15 to 9:45
Kevin Mayer, Regional Perchlorate Coordinator, US EPA, Region 9, San
Francisco, CA
Perchlorate standards (The development of perchlorate health advisories
-recommended standards for drinking water - forecast of future standard setting)
9:45 to 10:15
Robert A. Howd, or  David Ting, Water Toxicology Unit, Office of
Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, Cal/EPA, Los Angeles, CA
Public Health Goal for Perchlorate in Drinking Water

10:15 am to 10:30 am 		Break

10:30  to 11:00
Matt Hagemann, Soil Water Air Protection Enterprise, Santa Monica, CA 
Sources of Perchlorate Contamination Potential impacts to regional water supplies
11:00 to 11:30
James Strock,  James Struck & Associates, representing, Council on Water
Quality, Sacramento, CA
Science as the basis for decision-making on perchlorate
11:30 to 12:00
Department of Defense/ Military Representative (Invited)
Perspective on the environmental implications of perchlorate

Noon  to 1:00 pm 		Lunch

Keynote Speaker: Perspective on the Perchlorate issue
Kay Brothers, Deputy General Manager Engineering / Operations, Southern
Nevada Water Authority, Las Vegas, NV
Afternoon Program Moderator:
Tony Daus, Geomatrix, Costa Mesa, CA
1:00 to 1:30
Greg Zlotnick, Director, Santa Clara Valley Water District, San Jose, CA
Case Study (Awareness, concern, action - water supplier response to
perchlorate contamination in Silicon Valley)
1:30 to 2:00
Natural Resources Defense Council (invited)
Concerns about the nationwide extent of Perchlorate contamination
2:00 to 2:30
Lenny Siegel, Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight,
Mountain View, CA
Environmentalists Perspective on the Perchlorate Issue

2:30 pm to 2:45 pm		Break

2:45 to 3:15
Anthony Brown, Komex, Newport Beach, CA
Treatment technologies and costs (bioremediation - anion exchange systems)
3:15 - 4:15
Victor Sher, Sher Leff  LLP, San Francisco, CA and,  Scott Summy, Baron
& Budd, Dallas, TX
Legal Implications (What liabilities do water purveyors face? - Legal
theory regarding liability of responsible parties - potential for
recovery of costs of treatment - case studies from litigation involving
other ground water contaminants)

4:15pm			Adjourn


Workshop Presenters

Kay Brothers, Southern Nevada Water Authority
Ms. Brothers helped develop the recharge program using Colorado River
water. Formerly director of SNWA Resources, she is now Deputy General
Manager Engineering/ Operations.  She is President of the Nevada Water
Resources Association. and is a director of Water Education Foundation
and Water for the West Foundation.

Anthony Brown, Komex
Anthony is the CEO and Principal Hydrologist at Come.  Anthony has
testified as an expert on behalf of water utilities throughout the
country impacted by groundwater contamination, particularly MTBE,
perchlorate and solvents.  Come is the technical consultant for most of
the water utilities in California impacted by perchlorate contamination.

James Clark, Soil Water Air Protection Enterprise
Jim is a senior toxicologist at SWAPE. He has a PhD from UCLA and has
been involved in numerous risk assessments on pathway exposure to a wide
variety of contaminants including perchlorate and MTBE.

Tony Daus, Geometric
Anthony Dais is President and Chief Executive Officer at Geometric. Tony
is working on several major perchlorate projects in the Southwest.  The
company provides services ranging from seismic analysis and remediation
engineering to water resources management, air quality permitting, and
decision analysis.

Matt Hagemann, Soil Water Air Protection
Matt Hagemann is a former Senior Science Policy Advisor with U.S. EPA
Region 9 and, since 1997, has assisted EPA and other federal agencies
and municipalities in their response to perchlorate contamination.

Steven Hoch, Hatch & Parent
Steven Hoch is an environmental lawyer with 30 years of experience in
groundwater cleanups and toxic torts.  He has been and currently is
involved in several perchlorate groundwater and toxic tort suits.

Robert A. Howd, Water Toxicology Unit
Bob Howd is a senior toxicologist for the State of California, with over
twenty year's of experience in toxicology and risk assessment.  He is
head of the state's program for risk assessment of chemicals in drinking water.

Kevin Mayer, US Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9
Kevin Mayer is a biologist and environmental engineer.  In 1997 he
became the Regional Coordinator for Perchlorate. He participates in
national perchlorate research and technical advisory groups.  His
Superfund experience includes cleanup of large groundwater contamination
sites in Southern California.

Victor Sher, Sher Leff LLP (Attorneys)
Shelf specializes in representing public water suppliers and other
public agencies in lawsuits against the manufacturers of chemicals that
pollute water.  Mr. Sher's prior experience includes 11 years with the
nonprofit environmental law firm Earthjustice, including four as its
President. Mr. Sher has successfully litigated many cases involving
toxic chemicals.

Lenny Siegel, Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight,
(CPO),
Lenny Siegel has been Executive Director of the CPEO since 1994 and
director of the Pacific Studies Center, since 1970. He is one of the
environmental movement's leading experts on military facility
contamination. His organization runs Internet forums both on military
environmental issues and brownfields.

Andrew Stone, American Ground Water Trust
Mr. Stone has a professional background in hydrogeological research,
university teaching and ground water consulting. At the Trust he
develops education programs for the general public, teachers, water
professionals and decision-makers.

James Strock, Council on Water Quality
The Council on Water Quality is an industry-funded organization
providing information about perchlorate. Mr. Strock was California's
first Secretary for Environmental Protection and served in President
Bush's sub-cabinet as Assistant Administrator for Enforcement of the
U.S. EPA

Scott Summy, Baron & Budd, (Attorneys)
Baron & Budd specializes in lawsuits involving major community
contamination by a variety of chemical pollutants.   Mr. Summy, who
filed the first MtBE case in the United States, is involved in complex
environmental litigation nationwide. He currently represents 145 public
water providers in 15 states who are pursuing claims against the major
oil refiners who added MtBE to gasoline.

David Ting, Water Toxicology Unit
David Ting is a toxicologist for the State of California, with
particular expertise in risk assessment.  He is the author of the
perchlorate Public Health Goal document fro California..

Greg Zlotnick, Director, Santa Clara Valley Water District
Mr. Zlotnick is an attorney specializing in environmental policy and a
Board Member of the SCVWD since 1997. SCVWD is the primary water agency
for Silicon Valley and one area it serves has been impacted by
perchlorate contamination.



AMERICAN GROUND WATER TRUST

The American Ground Water Trust is a not-for-profit organization.  Its
mission is to protect America's ground water, promote awareness of the
environmental and economic importance of ground water, and provide
accurate information to assist citizens, communities and decision makers
in water resources issues.
The participation of speakers at this workshop from specific private
sector companies does not imply that the Trust is endorsing or
recommending particular companies, products, services or commercial
applications of technology.
All presenters at Trust Programs are volunteers and receive no payment
for their participation.  Revenue from registration fees and sponsors is
applied to support the Trust's ground water education programs.
For more information about the Trust, or to become a Trust member, visit
www.agwt.org, or call (603) 228-5444.

CONTINUING EDUCATION


Employee Development University is a learning partner with the Trust and
0.6 CEU credits are available for conference attendees who complete the
sign-in and sign-out sheet at registration and who submit a conference
evaluation form.
Visit www.eduniv.com for more information about this CEU program.

HOTEL

Attendees are responsible for their own accommodation arrangements.  Ask
the Alexis Park hotel about group rates for this Perchlorate Workshop event.
Las Vegas, Nevada, May 3
Alexis Park Resort, 375 E Harmon Ave. Las Vegas NV 89109
[Telephone 800-582 2228;  web: www.alexispark.com]

Details at www.agwt.org (conferences/workshops)
Register On-Line: www.agwt.org (Click On Conferences/Workshops)


--


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