Thursday, January 11, 2007
12:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. (Eastern Time)
This session is sponsored by the Section’s Site Remediation; and Superfund and Natural Resource Damages Litigation Committees

Program Description:
Natural Resource Damage (NRD) represents a significant environmental liability concern to all parties involved in the generation, transportation, and disposal of oil or hazardous substances. Energy, mining, transportation, manufacturing and disposal companies increasingly find themselves concerned with liabilities for restoration of the environment to “background” or “but for the release” conditions. This presentation will help orient attorneys to some of the technical and scientific issues associated with the following key NRD activities: injury assessment, economic valuation, and restoration. The three panel members, each nationally renowned experts in their specific area, will identify and explain the scientific principles and techniques used to implement those activities. Practicing attorneys must understand these activities, scientific principles, and techniques to participate effectively in the various phases of an NRD program.

Moderators:
Arthur P. Mizzi, Ph.D., J.D. Senior Regulatory Specialist, Walsh Environmental Scientists and Engineers, LLC, Boulder, CO
Ron Jarman, Ph.D., Senior Environmental Manager, Apex Companies, Oklahoma City, OK

Featured Speakers:
Dr. Gordon Robilliard, ENTRIX, Inc., Gig Harbor, WA
Dr. William Desvousges, WH Desvousges and Associates, Inc., Raleigh, NC
Paul Fuhrmann, Ecology & Environment, Inc., Lancaster, NY

Thursday, February 8, 2007
12:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. (Eastern Time)
This session is sponsored by the Section’s Water Resources; and Water Quality and Wetlands Committees

Program Description:
This session will provide an overview of the scientific aspects of wetland delineation, assessment and restoration and will highlight federal and state wetland policy initiatives and the variations in methods currently used by different branches of government to complete their wetland assessments and impact studies. Major technical areas that will be included in the discussion are how wetlands are defined, identified and delineated; what procedures are used to assess wetland function and value; types of wetlands; the assessment of threats to wetlands and the determination of impacts associated with those threats; and the standards and criteria used to assess the need for and success of restoration activity, with particular attention paid to the underlying science and evolving monitoring procedures that are defining industry practice in this area.

Moderator:
Kenneth F. Whittaker, Adorno, Yoss, Fitzhugh, Parker & Alvaro LLP, Boston, MA

Featured Speakers:
Jon Kusler, Associate Director, Association of State Wetlands Managers and President, J. A. Kusler Associates, Berne, NY
Jennifer Pluhar, Senior Natural Resources Consultant, Enercon Services, Inc., Oklahoma City, OK
Clint Porter, Senior Wetland Scientist, Enercon Services, Inc., Oklahoma City, OK

Thursday, March 22, 2007
12:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. (Eastern Time)
This session is sponsored by the Section’s Environmental Transactions and Brownfields; Site Remediation; and Superfund and Natural Resource Damages Litigation Committees

Program Description:
This session will provide a fast-track guide to understanding the use and limitations of risk-based remediation approaches. If you need to work with or understand risk-based remediation programs and the science on which decisions and standards are based, this program is for you. In this session, our speakers will help you understand how human health and ecological risk assessment standards are developed and integrated into agency guidance and regulations and will discuss relative comparisons of the U.S. EPA programs and some of the more recently emerging state programs. The use and limitation of risk-based criteria in performing remediation activities action will be discussed and commonly encountered issues will be highlighted such as default assumptions, data usability and limitations, misinterpretation of data, and the reliance upon human health and ecological risk assessments in litigation. Strategies for successfully utilizing a risk-based remediation approach will be demonstrated by using select case studies.

Moderators:
Jerry V. DeRosa, CHMM, Senior Manager, Environmental Programs, KU Resources, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA

Featured Speakers:
Penny Hunter, MS, Senior Ecological Risk Assessment Scientist; Geomega, Inc., Boulder CO
Atul M. Salhotra, Ph.D., President, RAM Group, Inc., Houston, TX

Thursday, April 5, 2007
12:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. (Eastern Time)
This session is sponsored by the Section’s Site Remediation; and Superfund and Natural Resource Damages Litigation Committees

Program Description:
This session is intended to provide an overview of various technical and scientific aspects of bio-remediation, the most frequently applied technology today for contaminated soils and groundwater. The presentation by one of the foremost experts in this field, will address the microbial systems of bio-remediation and the chemical conditions that support degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons and halogenated compounds. Emphasis will be placed on the above topics and a review of the emerging technologies.

Moderators:
Virgil W. (Chip) Duffie, Assistant General Counsel, Environmental, Safety-Kleen Systems Inc., Plano, TX

Featured Speakers:
John T. Cookson, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Xpert Design and Diagnostics, LLC, and adjunct professor, Johns Hopkins University, Annapolis, MD

Thursday, May 10, 2007
12:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. (Eastern Time)
This session is sponsored by the Section’s Pesticides, Chemical Regulation and Right-to-Know and Science and Technology Committees

Program Description:
Over the last ten years, there has been much discussion as to whether, and to what extent, manmade substances (both in products and in the environment) may cause adverse endocrine effects in humans or wildlife. In 1996, Congress passed the Food Quality Protection Act, which requires screening of chemicals for estrogenic effects in humans and allows the U.S. EPA to require screening/testing for other endocrine effects. That testing likely will commence when EPA completes validation of endocrine screens and tests. This session will provide an overview of the science underlying the “endocrine disruption” issue. The discussion will focus on defining endocrine disruptors and describing their potential sources and effects. Examples of endocrine active substances will be provided and a case example of human estrogens in surface waters will be discussed. Panelists will review the different types of endocrine effects and the assays that may be used to test for those effects. Issues relating to the interpretation of endocrine screening assays will also be addressed.

Moderators:
Terry F. Quill, J.D., M.S., Silver Spring, MD

Featured Speakers:
Paul D. Anderson, Ph.D., Vice President, Risk Group, AMEC, Boston, MA
Kathryn R. Mahaffey, Ph.D., Senior Toxicologist, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC
Gary E. Timm, Office of Science Coordination and Policy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC

Thursday, June 7, 2007
12:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. (Eastern Time)
This Session is sponsored by the Section’s Environmental Litigation and Toxic Torts; Environmental Transactions and Brownfields; Site Remediation; and Superfund and Natural Resource Damages Litigation Committees

Program Description:
Environmental Forensics is the application of science to address legal concerns. It often is used to address legal and liability issues and has broad implications for environmental litigation involving natural resource damage, toxic tort and insurance claims. A number of scientific disciplines are involved in environmental forensic activities and technological advances have and continue to enhance the scope and accuracy of forensic analyses. This session will address two areas where emerging techniques and technology are providing enhanced forensic tools.

1. Analytical Fingerprinting of Various Chemical Constituents. This presentation will address the strengths and weaknesses of various chemical fingerprinting methods in environmental and toxic tort cases, to define such things as the types, sources and timing of contamination. A number of practical applications will be discussed in the context of cases involving marine oil spills and terrestrial and sediment contamination involving creosote, PCB, dioxin and heavy metals; and
2. Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for Environmental Forensics. This presentation will include an introduction to remote sensing and GIS including sensors, wavelengths, satellite and aerial imagery and the acquisition, processing, interpretation, and analysis of data. Case studies of domestic and international projects will be reviewed to illustrate practical applications and the value of this approach for establishing environmental baselines and detecting changes over time.

Panelists:
Moderator:
Mary Ellen Ternes, McAfee & Taft, Oklahoma City, OK

Featured Speakers:
Gary Bigham, Principal, Environmental Services, Exponent, Inc., Bellevue, WA
Walt Shields, Ph.D., Director, Environmental Sciences Practice, Exponent Inc., Bellevue, WA
Tony Gale, GIS Director, Ecology & Environment, Inc., Austin, TX
Fred H. Groth, Director of GeoSpacial Technologies, Walsh Environmental Scientist and Engineers, LLC, Boulder, CO

You may choose to save money by registering for these programs as a complete package. Alternatively, for your convenience we have also created an ala carte package allowing you to select only the sessions you are interested in attending.

Online registration is encouraged for immediate confirmation and billing receipt. You may also complete this form and fax it to (760) 931-0079. Once your registration and payment have been processed, you will receive a confirmation with the toll-free telephone number and security PIN number. Registration will not be confirmed until ConferTel receives payment in the form of credit card, check or Purchase Order. The registration fee covers the cost of the phone connection and your CLE credits.

Registrants (excluding law students) in both the package plan and the individual programs may request a refund of $35 per cancelled program (package pricing refund not to exceed $210). Refund requests must be submitted in writing to ConferTel. Substitutions are acceptable but must be submitted to ConferTel in writing (via fax at (760) 931-0079) at least 24 hours prior to the program in order to ensure appropriate MCLE accreditation. Law students may request a full refund as long as written cancellation is submitted at least 24 hours prior to the start of the program. Refunds to programs as part of package pricing will be pro-rated.

CLE Credit
CLE Accreditation has been requested for each of the teleconference programs from every state with mandatory continuing legal education requirements for lawyers. Please be aware that each state has its own rules and regulations, including its definition of “CLE.” Attendees from Indiana, Delaware, Kansas, Ohio and Pennsylvania May have difficulty obtaining credit for teleconference programs. Please verify with your state agency for confirmation of this program’s approval before registering. CLE credit will only be provided to paid registrants who dial into the telephone conference and who return the required affidavit to the American Bar Association. No exceptions will be made. If you have questions about CLE, please call the Section office at (312) 988-5724.

CMP Credit
The Institute of Hazardous Materials Management (IHMM) assigns Certification Maintenance Points (CMPs) to specific educational programs to enable Certified Hazardous Materials Managers (CHMMs) to maintain their CHMM status. The IHMM has recognized the ABA Environmental Science Speaker Series as a pre-authorized program for .75 points for participating in the entire program or 0.125 Certified Hazardous Materials Manager (CHMM) CMPs for each 2 hour session. If you have questions relating to the CMP credits, contact the IHMM at (301) 984-8969 or visit them on the web at www.IHMM.org.

Planning Chair:
George Rusk, Ecology & Environment, Inc., Lancaster, NY

Committee:
Jerry V. DeRosa, CHMM, KU Resources, Inc., Duquesne, PA
Virgil W. (Chip) Duffie, Environmental Safety-Kleen Systems, Inc., Plano, TX
Michael W. McLaughlin, SCS Engineers, Reston, VA
Arthur P. Mizzi, Ph.D., Walsh Environmental Engineers, LLC, Boulder, CO
Dan Mueller, P.E., Exponent, Inc., Dallas, TX
Terry F. Quill, THE WEINBERG GROUP, INC., Washington, DC
Mary Ellen Ternes, McAfee & Taft, Oklahoma City, OK
Kenneth F. Whitaker, Adorno, Yoss, Fitzhugh, Parker & Alvaro LLP, Boston, MA