2010 Symposium

2010 Earth Day Symposium: Planning for Clean Water and Healthy Communities

October 14 : Mississippi River Barge Trip
October 26 : Approaches to Stormwater Management, technical workshop
October 27 : Planning for Clean Water & Healthy Communities, conference & evening lecture

Download Event Flier | View/Download Schedule Only & Full Program | Symposium Photos

Thursday, October 14: Missouri River Barge Trip
An Earth Day tradition, back by popular demand! On October 14^th, St. Louis Earth Day and the St. Louis District Corps of Engineers partnered to host a Mississippi River Barge Trip. Participants learned about river transportation, channel maintenance, levees and flood protection, businesses that use the river, and about the efforts to protect and improve natural areas, habitat and recreational opportunities in the confluence region. Route highlights included Chain of Rocks low-head dam, Mosenthien Island, Chain of Rocks Canal, Missouri River Confluence and locking through Lock 27. Follow these links to view Passenger Information & Logistics and Barge Trip Agenda.

Route: Depart from the St. Louis Riverfront, between the legs of the Arch. Head North passing the Eads Bridge, Riverview Park & Laclede Power Building,and Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing, up to Mosenthein Island and the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge. From the Chain of Rocks Bridge, return South and take the channel to lock through Lock 27 and travel up to the Missouri/Mississippi Confluence for views of the Columbia Bottom Conservation area and Jones-Confluence Point State Park. Return to the Gateway Arch through the channel and Lock 27.

Tuesday, October 26: Technical Workshop
Alberici Corporate Headquarters, 8800 Page Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63114

Approaches to Stormwater Management
Communities of all sizes benefit from incorporating the best science to protect stream health and avoid flooding, erosion and water quality problems that frequently accompany development.  In response to the EPA’s “Phase II” stormwater permit requirement, many communities have adopted new stormwater ordinances to bring them into compliance with their state and county permits.  Phase II criteria are designed to protect water quality, and the Best Management Practices (BMPs) necessary for improving water quality are often useful in controlling runoff as well. But too often, municipalities are failing to adopt improved stormwater management techniques and criteria to deal with flooding and erosion. In some cases, they even fail to incorporate criteria that recognize the basic hydraulics and hydrologic issues necessary to avoid those problems. This workshop will help participants “catch up” with those improved techniques while providing expert perspectives on proven models and avoidable pitfalls. View and download schedule only & full program with speaker biographies.

8:00 Breakfast and Registration

8:30 New Directions in Stormwater Regulation: “Small MS4 Stormwater Permit Regulatory Outlook”
Jay Hoskins, P.E., Civil Engineer, Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District

9:30 Catching Up with the Basics: “Simple points that shouldn’t be overlooked in stormwater design (BUT ARE)”
Gene Rovak, P.E., C.F.M., Senior Project Manager, Horner and Shifrin

10:30 break

10:45 Comparing Approaches: Selecting the Best Components of Existing Local Ordinances
Mike McDowell, City Manager, City of Olivette
Jeff Kaestner, P.E., CPESC, Project Manager, RJN Group
Martin Toma, Director, Jefferson County Department of County Services and Code Enforcement
Byron Guertzgen, Stormwater Technician, Jefferson County Department of County Services and Code Enforcement
Moderator: Gene Rovak, P.E., C.F.M., Senior Project Manager, Horner and Shifrin | photo of panel

11:45 Lunch and Panel Discussion: Fighting Inertia and Pushback
Jim Heins, Director of Public Works, City of Creve Coeur
Elise Ibendahl P.E., Senior Watershed Services Technologist, CH2M-Hill | Triple Bottom Line
Jeff Kaestner, P.E., CPESC, Project Manager, RJN Group
Jay Hoskins, P.E., Civil Engineer, Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District | Fish Diversity=Stream Health
Moderator: J. Tracy Boaz, AICP, Community Conservation Planner, Missouri Department of Conservation | photo of panel

1:15 Working Within Tight Constraints: Proprietary BMPs and Other Solutions
Michael Buechter, P.E., Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District

2:00 Sustainable Design Showcase: Tour of Alberici Corporate Headquarters Facilities

Wednesday, October 27: Conference Agenda
Missouri Botanical Garden, Ridgway Center, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63110
Join local government officials, planners, council members, mayors and development-related professionals representing cities, counties, companies, universities and agencies throughout Missouri and Illinois as presenters speak about watershed planning and environmentally responsible approaches to stormwater management. View and download schedule only & full program with speaker biographies.

8:00 Registration and Continental Breakfast

8:30 Welcome by Dr. Peter Wyse Jackson, President, Missouri Botanical Garden

9:15 ABCs of Water Resources: “Regulatory Role of Stormwater Management”
Refaat Mefrakis, P.E., Chief of Permits and Engineering, Water Protection Program, Missouri Department of Natural Resources

10:00 Recess

10:30 Grading our Regional Water Quality Progress
Steve Kovak, Branch Chief for the Watershed Planning & Implementation Branch US EPA Region VII

11:15 Model Approaches for Implementing Green Infrastructure in US Cities
Brian Marengo, P.E., Senior Water Resources Technologist, CH2MHill
Video 1 | Video 2

12:00 Lunch

Option 1: Ask an Expert: Dine with agency representatives – ask all of the regulatory questions you like! Spink Pavilion
Missouri Department of Natural Resources – Refaat Mefrakis, Chief of Permits and Engineering, Water Protection Program
Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District – Jeff Theerman, Executive Director and John C. Grimm, P.E. Civil Engineer
USEPA Region VII – Steve Kovak, Branch Chief for the Watershed Planning & Implementation Branch
United States Army Corps of Engineers – Danny McClendon, Chief of the Regulatory Branch, St. Louis District
Illinois EPA – represented by Rick Macho, Madison County Soil and Water Conservation District

Option 2: Basic Lunch and Garden Exploration Beaumont Room

1:30 Commentary on Pending Court Ruling – Impervious Surface Charge
Jeff Theerman, Executive Director, Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District

2:00 Moving from Detention to Head of the Class: Removing Barriers to Green Infrastructure
Gail Choate, Land Use Manager, St. Louis County Department of Planning
Mike McDowell, City Manager, City of Olivette
Bruce Litzsinger, Division of Environmental Compliance, Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District
Moderator: Scott Harding, Vice President and Director of Natural Resource Services, SCI Engineering, Inc.

3:00  Recess

3:15 Incentives and Resources for Clean Water and Healthy Communities
Rich Rusnica, Business Development Manager, Ameren Missouri Business Energy Efficiency Program
Gene Rovak, P.E., C.F.M., Senior Project Manager, Horner and Shifrin

3:45 Show and Tell: Local Planning Success Stories – The Confluence, Deer Creek and Kaskaskia River
Laura Cohen, Program Manager, The Confluence Partnership
Doug Eller, Director, Grace Hill Settlement House, Grace Hill Clean Air Project
Deborah Chollet Frank, Vice President of Sustainability, Missouri Botanical Garden
Ed Weilbacher, Southwestern Illinois Resource Conservation & Development
Moderator: Steve Nagle, Director of Community Planning, East-West Gateway Council of Governments

5:00 Conference Concludes – Dinner/Happy Hour on Your Own

Evening Public Lecture: Humanitarian Water Projects, Locally and Abroad
Missouri Botanical Garden, Ridgway Center, 4411 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63110
7:00 p.m – 8:30 p.m. Free and Open to the Public.
Starting in 2008, the Gateway Professional Chapter of Engineers without Borders began assessing issues and design solutions for basic sanitation and water supply challenges faced by some of the neediest residents in the town of Pimienta, Honduras. In the St. Louis region, Habitat for Humanity has embraced new construction regulations for retaining stormwater on-site by installing rain gardens at each home within their 2009 and 2010 sites. What’s the connection? Water! While the challenges may be different, the solutions are similar: implementing sustainable methods for ensuring clean water and healthy communities.

Engineers Without Borders – Jennifer D. Meyer, P.E., Senior Project Engineer, Kaskaskia Engineering Group
Habitat for Humanity – Kyle Hunsberger, Director of Construction, Habitat for Humanity St. Louis
Moderator – Jean Ponzi, Green Resources Manager, Missouri Botanical Garden’s Earthway’s Center

Symposium Speakers’ Contact Information