Agenda Set for Second Annual Pennsylvania Environmental Council Policy Conference

Contact: John Walliser
Date:
Sept. 22, 2015
Phone:
(412) 481-9400
Email:
[email protected]

Pittsburgh – A comprehensive list of environmental issues will be the focus of the second annual Pennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC) Policy Conference, set for Oct. 13 in Harrisburg, Pa.

A complete list of speakers and panelists was announced that includes a keynote address by Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary John Quigley.

The all-day forum will focus on the biggest environmental opportunities and challenges facing Pennsylvania, including state implementation of the Federal Clean Power Plan, achieving 2017 pollution reduction goals for the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and the implementation of community stormwater management programs.

“We are excited to be able to bring such a wide range of environmental leaders together to promote discussion on how Pennsylvania can best approach the important environmental issues of today,” said PEC President and CEO Davitt Woodwell.

David Hess, former DEP Secretary and current Director of Policy and Communications at Crisci Associates, will moderate a legislative panel featuring Senator Gene Yaw (Majority Chair, Senate Environmental Resources & Energy Committee), Senator John Yudichak (Minority Chair, Senate Environmental Resources & Energy Committee), and Representative Greg Vitali (Minority Chair, House Environmental Resources & Energy Committee).

That will be followed by a panel on the Clean Power Plan, moderated by Robert McKinstry, a partner at Ballard Spahr LLP. McKinstry will be joined on the panel by Patrick McDonnell (Policy Director, Pennsylvania DEP), Reid Harvey (Director, Clean Air Markets Division, US Environmental Protection Agency), and Kathleen Robertson (Environmental Fuels and Policy Manager, Exelon Corporation).

“The state has begun 14 listening sessions on how Pennsylvania can achieve compliance with the Clean Power Plan,” said John Walliser, PEC Vice President of Legal and Government Affairs. “The conference panel will provide a lot of insight on where the state is headed and how Pennsylvania’s energy future may shape out in the years and decades to come.”

After a lunch break, the conference will feature a panel discussing the challenges and opportunities facing the Chesapeake Bay. The panel will be moderated by Lee Ann Murray, Assistant Director and Staff Attorney for the Pennsylvania Office of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. Joining her on the panel will be John Brosious (Deputy Director, Pennsylvania Municipal Authorities Association), Kelly Heffner (Deputy Secretary, Water Management, Pennsylvania DEP), Jennifer Reed-Harry (Assistant Vice President, PennAg Industries Association), and Kelly Shenk (Agriculture Advisor, US Environmental Protection Agency).

The final panel of the day will examine stormwater management and municipal separate storm sewer systems. Moderated by Jack Ubinger, the panel will feature Representative Kate Harper (Pennsylvania House of Representatives), Patrick Starr (Executive Vice President, Pennsylvania Environmental Council), John Schombert (Executive Director, 3 Rivers Wet Weather), and Felicia Dell (Director, York County Planning Commission).

For more information about the conference, including an agenda visit https://pecpa.org/event/pecpolicyconference.

About the Pennsylvania Environmental Council

Founded in 1970, the Pennsylvania Environmental Council is the leading environmental organization in the state, and was instrumental in the passage of nearly every major piece of legislation and regulatory initiative affecting clean air, clean water, land use and conservation, hazardous materials, and other major public policy actions since that time. Today, the organization is heavily engaged in a number of critical initiatives surrounding the development of the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania, trail and green space development, green energy and climate change programs, water quality, and watershed protection projects.

PEC serves the entire state with programs and staff spanning the Commonwealth.

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