Conference Looks At

Economics Vs Environment

STAMFORD – On Wednesday, October 27, SACIA, the Business Council, will host a conference on the interplay between the desire for economic redevelopment and the assurance of environmental protection.  The conference will be held from 8:30 am until noon at Norwalk Community-Technical College.

This conference will focus on how the “environmental justice” movement might affect the development environmental protection balance.  It will also try to explain why and how “environmental equity” might come to be as important a consideration in obtaining environmental permits as the quality of a facility’s pollution control equipment. The conference will also provide practical suggestions for businesses faced with the challenge of effectively managing environmental equity/environmental justice issues.

The conference speakers will include Christopher Foreman, senior fellow in governmental studies at the Brookings Institution and author of The Promise and Peril of Environmental Justice, who will address the historical context of the Environmental Justice movement.

Ngozi Oleru, environmental equity coordinator, EPA New England and Edith Pestana, Environmental Equity Program, CT DEP, will provide an overview and present implications of environmental permitting.

Richard Brownell, vice president, and Robert Moore, senior associate, Malcolm Pirnie, Inc. will model the EPA’s determination of disparate impact on a hypothetical Brownfield site.

A panel discussion will follow on the implications for future growth and will include a discussion on legal and regulatory issues presented by attorney Reed Rubinstein of Pepe & Hazard LLP; an overview of the economic and public health implications will be provided by Julie Belaga, former director and COO, Export-Import Bank and former regional administrator of EPA New England; Nancy Kafka, New England urban program director for the Trust for Public Land will present actual economic development projects that were impacted by environmental justice issues.

Reservations may be made by calling SACIA at 203/359-3320.  Reservations are $25 for SACIA members and $35 for non-members.