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Watertech 2015 An Information Service for Alberta’s Environment Industry The Week Ending February 27th, 2015 U WaterTech 2015 - 40 Delegate Spots Remaining Inside this Issue: April 20-22, 2015 Alberta Waste Control Delta Lodge at Kananaskis Regulation Review and Update With the smaller venue for 2015, there are now only 40 spots remaining for WaterTech Environmental 2015. Have you registered? Protection Order Issued to Leduc County AEMERA Appoints April 20-22, 2015 Science Advisory Delta Lodge at Kananaskis Panel New CCME ESAA is pleased to announce that the program for WaterTech 2015 is now available Document online: www.esaa.org/watertech. The 2015 program includes 53 technical presentations New Member that include Upcoming Events and much more …. Special Oil Sands Session U 12 other technical sessions focusing on Pipelines, Wetlands, Groundwater, Municipal, Water Management, Modelling, Wastewater, and more. The ESAA Weekly WaterTech 2015 will also feature three keynote presentations: News is published weekly by: Opening Keynote Environmental Services Association of Alberta "Hydroclimatic Change" 102, 2528 Ellwood Drive SW Robert Sandford Edmonton, AB T6X 0A9 Director of the Western Watersheds Research Collaborative, and an associate of the (P) 780.429.6363 Centre for Hydrology at the University of Saskatchewan (F) 780.429.4249 [email protected] UTTTH T www.esaHTTTU Tuesday Lunch Keynote a.org UTTH T Bob McDonald Comments & submissions Host of CBC's Quirks and Quarks are welcome! Please submit your Wednesday Lunch Keynote announcement via e-mail to: Philippe Cousteau [email protected] UTTTH T Co-Founder and President, EarthEcho International ...environmental integrity through Sponsorship Opportunities: A limited number of sponsorship opportunities are still innovative available. For additional details visit: http://www.esaa.org/watertech/sponsors/ business solutions Registration: To register visit: www.esaa.org/watertech/ Already 50% Sold Out! October 14-16, 2015 Fairmont Banff Springs, Banff REMTECH 2015: CLOSING KEYNOTE SPEAKER ANNOUNCEMENT ESAA is please to announce that Erin Brockovich will be the closing keynote speaker at RemTech 2015. Today everyone knows all about Erin Brockovich’s unique life story because of the movie “Erin Brockovich,” for which Julia Roberts earned an Academy Award for portraying Erin Brockovich. Born in Lawrence, Kansas, Erin Brockovich initially attended college at Kansas State University before ultimately earning an associates degree from Wades Business College. At that point, she began working at Kmart before leaving the company behind to compete in beauty pageants. Erin Brockovich appearances on the beauty pageant circuit proved to be pretty successful, and she won the 1981 Miss Pacific Coast title. At that point, she moved to California and has lived there ever since. Despite not having a law degree, Erin Brockovich eventually got a job working as a clerk at a law firm. While at that job, Erin Brockovich appearances at her office and out working with the public helped her firm build a case against the Pacific Gas and Electric Company for damaging the water supply. Although the most famous Erin Brockovich appearances came in the form of Julia Roberts playing her in the film “Erin Brockovich,” the real Erin Brockovich has also seen her profile skyrocket. Since the film opened, there have been Erin Brockovich appearances on the ABC show “Challenge America with Erin Brockovich” and on the Zone Reality television show “Final Justice.” Erin Brockovich appearances as a consultant have also been in high demand, and many high profile law firms have been eager to work with her or keep her on as a consultant on retainer. In addition, the Thursday lunch keynote speaker will be Mireya Mayor, National Geographic Emerging Explorer. National Geographic Emerging Explorer Mireya Mayor is a primatologist and conservationist reporting on wildlife issues for more than a decade. As a correspondent on National Geographic’s Ultimate Explorer television series, she has gone underwater with six-foot-long Humboldt squids, tracked gorillas in Central Africa, and worked with leopards in Namibia. In 2000, Mireya co-discovered a new species of mouse lemur in Madagascar, and convinced the nation’s leaders to declare the species’ habitat a national park. Her study of other rare and endangered primates has helped to unravel their mysteries and guide conservation efforts. A Fulbright scholar and National Science Foundation Fellow, Mireya has been featured in numerous publications and on MSNBC, CNN, and NBC’s Today Show. Registration is currently 50% sold out for RemTech 2015. To register visit: www.esaa-events.com/remtech RemTech 2015 Delegate Rates Will Not Rise for the 5th Consecutive Year! ESAA works hard to keep costs for delegates at a minimum. Even though our costs have increased dramatically over the past 5 years we are holding delegate fees for the 5th consecutive year. ALBERTA WASTE CONTROL REGULATION REVIEW AND UPDATE Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development has announced that work is currently underway to review and update the Waste Control Regulation. This will involve a phased approach. • Phase one involves making administrative updates and adding an expiry date to the Waste Control Regulation in 2015. • Phase two will consist of undertaking a detailed policy review of the regulation; this will also incorporate feedback from the consultation conducted in 2008. • Phase three will include targeted stakeholder engagement on specific issues. This is anticipated to take place in 2016. More information will be available shortly on the Waste Section of the Environment and Sustainable Resource Development website at: http://esrd.alberta.ca/waste. If you have any questions in the meantime, please contact department staff by email at [email protected] or by phone at 780-427-3081 (for toll free access anywhere in Alberta, first dial 310- 000). ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ORDER ISSUED TO LEDUC COUNTY TO REMEDIATE SITE OF FORMER LANDFILL The Alberta government has ordered Leduc County to carry out reclamation of the Kavanagh Landfill site. Incident details • In 1976, the County of Leduc received grant money from the Alberta Environment Land Conservation and Reclamation Council to fund reclamation work on four sites (including the Kavanagh Landfill). • There is no record of reclamation work having been carried out at the Kavanagh Landfill. • A 2013 site inspection found that previously deposited waste, including rusted metal car parts, glass, plastic and cinder blocks, was coming to the surface across the site. • These substances can harm to the environment, human health or safety or property. Terms of the Environmental Protection Order • Leduc County must: o Prepare and submit a report to assess and delineate the landfill; o obtain a qualified third party consultant to assess both soil and groundwater contamination, and submit a report of the findings to the Compliance Manager; o prepare and submit a remediation plan to reclaim the surface area and to remediate the soil and groundwater contamination identified in the report; o submit an implementation plan for remediation for the Compliance Manager’s approval; and o provide the Compliance Manager with a final report within 30 days of the completion of the work outlined in the remediation plan. Environmental Protection Orders are used to prevent or remediate the effects of a substance release that may cause an adverse effect on the environment under the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act. They are one of many tools – including education and prevention – used by the Alberta government to ensure all Albertans can continue to enjoy a safe and healthy environment. APPOINTMENT OF AEMERA'S SCIENCE ADVISORY PANEL At the Oil Sands Science Symposium in Edmonton this morning, it was my pleasure to announce that six internationally recognized environmental science experts have been appointed to serve on a Science Advisory Panel to provide peer review and validate AEMERA’s provincial environmental monitoring, evaluation and reporting programs and activities. The six panel members include: Dr. Jill Baron, Chair – Founder & Co-Director of the John Wesley Powell Centre for Earth System Science Analysis and Synthesis at Colorado State University Fort Collins, Colorado Dr. John Giesy – Faculty Member in the Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of the Toxicology Centre and Emeritus Distinguished Professor of Zoology at Michigan State University; and Professor and Canada Research Chair at the University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Dr. Joanne Nightingale – From the National Physical Laboratory in the United Kingdom, and a Research Scientist, Sigma Space Corporation Contractor in the Terrestrial Information Systems Branch at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Centre in Greenbelt, Maryland London, UK Dr. Reed Noss – Provost’s Distinguished Research Professor, Davis-Shine Professor of Conservation Biology, and Pegasus Professor in the Department of Biology at University of Central Florida; and President of the Florida Institute for Conservation Science Orlando, Florida Dr. Russell Schnell – Deputy Director of the Global Monitoring Division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Boulder, Colorado Dr. Alexander J.B. (Sascha) Zehnder – Founder and director of triple Z Ltd. and former president of the ETH Board and Professor emeritus of ETH Zurich, Switzerland; Visiting Professor and member of the Board of Trustees
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