For more information please click the following link:  http://www.chemicalright2know.org/tri-conference/2012-tri-national-conference/2012-tri-national-conference-registration-page/

Click here to go to the registration page.

2012 TRI Conference Speaker Bios

Please see our Vimeo page for the TRI Winter Webinar recording.  The file will be processed by Vimeo shortly.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Here are the slides with contact information, resources, and details on the webinar:  TRI Winter Webinar Slides

Attached are the presentations.

Mike Walker- 25yrs of EPCRA Presentation

Steve DeVito-Past Present and Future Directions of the TRI Program

The agenda can be found at the following link:   TRI Winter Webinar Agenda 1_26_12

The presentations and recording will be uploaded soon after the webinar ends.

“The 25^th Anniversary of the Emergency Planning and Community

Right to Know Act (EPCRA) of 1986”

MICHAEL J. WALKER

Mike Walker serves as the Director of the National Enforcement Training Institute in the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, U.S. EPA, Washington, D.C.  Mr. Walker has been involved in the litigation and negotiation of many high profile environmental enforcement actions since he began his career in EPA’s Chicago, IL, Regional office in 1979.  Mr. Walker is the author of numerous articles including: “High Stakes on a Fast Track: Administrative Enforcement at EPA,” “Introducing the Environmental Data Police,” “Attitude is Everything – Dealing With EPA’s Enforcement Program,”  “How to Handle Difficult Chemicals: The Unused Tool in EPA’s Chemical Toolbox -TSCA Section 7 of the Toxic Substances Control Act,” “Alternate Dispute Resolution in EPA Enforcement Proceedings,” The Use of the Toxic Release Inventory in Low Income and Minority Communities,”  and “EPCRA Citizen Suits: An Evolving Opus with a Discordant Note.”  Mr. Walker serves as Adjunct Professor of Law at  William & Mary College of Law teaching Natural Resources Law,  and at both the University of Toledo and Maryland School of Law,  where he teaches: “Federal Commercial Chemical Regulation: TSCA, FIFRA, EPCRA & RCRA.”

STEVE DEVITO

Steve was born and raised on Long Island, New York, is married and has two children.  He holds a Ph.D. degree and M.S. degree in Medicinal Chemistry, and a B.S. degree in Pharmacy (all from St. John’s University, New York City, NY).  Steve is an experienced pharmacist, and is licensed to practice pharmacy in New York and Virginia.

Steve joined the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1989 as a chemist in EPA’s Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT). Here he used his background in medicinal chemistry to characterize the chemistry, hazards and risks of new chemicals submitted to EPA as required prior to commercial marketing.  While in EPA’s OPPT Steve was extensively involved with the establishment of green chemistry as a new field of study to achieve sustainability. To this end he organized many scientific symposia related to green chemistry.  He is the founder of the Gordon Research Conference on Green Chemistry, and has served as vice chairperson and chairperson at these conferences.

Steve is currently a senior scientist in the U.S. EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) Program, where he provides scientific and other technical support, and has been directly involved in most of the TRI Program’s major rulemaking activities. Steve also coordinates all of the TRI Program’s international activities, and represents EPA in many international fora. He currently represents the EPA as a member of the North American Commission of Environmental Cooperation’s Pollutant Release and Transfer Registry Working Group.  He is both a member of the bureau of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD’s) Pollutant Release and Transfer Registry Task Force, and an EPA representative on this OECD Task Force.

Steve is the recipient of many EPA awards and honors, has written three books, and has published many scientific articles and book chapters that deal primarily with the design of safer commercial chemicals as well as other areas of green chemistry and sustainability.   Steve has an active interest in U.S. military history.  In his spare time, Steve likes to look for Civil War artifacts near his home in Virginia.

One TRI representative from each state is eligible for a travel scholarship to cover travel, hotel, and registration costs.  A limited number of representatives from tribes, non-profit organizations, and local government officials are also eligible for travel scholarships that may cover travel, hotel, and registration costs.

How do I apply for a travel scholarship?

E-mail Bryan Shipley of the Environmental Council of the States (ECOS) at bshipley@ecos.org to request a travel scholarship by March 1^st, 2012.

In this email, please provide travel scholarship funding needed (e.g.; airfare, hotel and registration; only airfare; only hotel; airfare and registration, etc).  Also, please provide a preliminary assessment of costs broken out by transportation (airfare/train, shuttle, metro, parking, etc), hotel-number of nights, and registration fee).

You will be notified in writing (by e-mail) if you have been awarded a scholarship.  Only those conference participants who have written confirmation of a scholarship will be able to receive reimbursements following the conference.

You can now register to attend the TRI Winter Webinar.   All are encouraged and welcome to participate!

To register for the webinar see:  https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/202935064.

The Environmental Council of the States (ECOS) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) invite you to attend the 2012 TRI Webinar on January 26, 2012 from 2-4 pm (EST).  This Webinar, titled “The 25^th Anniversary of the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act (EPCRA) of 1986” will celebrate the 25^th anniversary of EPCRA, and more specifically, the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), which was created in large part to increase the public’s knowledge and access to information on toxic chemicals at individual facilities and releases of the chemicals into the environment.

The focus of the Webinar will be background on EPCRA, an overview of the TRI program, a history of enforcement and compliance efforts, and a look at future directions of the TRI program and how TRI has impacted regulatory programs in many countries around the world.

Featured speakers include Mike Walker, Director of the National Enforcement Training Institute and Steve Devito, a Senior Scientist with EPA’s TRI Program Division.  We look forward to your participation!

If you have any questions please contact us at:

Bryan Shipley (ECOS) at bshipley@ecos.org

Mavis Sanders (EPA) at Sanders.Mavis@epa.gov

2012 Conference Agenda_1-31-12

Note:  This is a working draft agenda and is subject to change prior to the Conference start.  We will provide a finalized version as we near April 11th, 2012.