FULL SCHEDULE
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Click the  icon to download speaker handouts. Please check back often as we continue to add items. Monday, June 27, 20111:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. | | Sustainable Portland Stormwater Workshop / Tour | Advanced registration required --- TOUR IS NOW FULL.
A not-to-be-missed opportunity to visit some of Portland's innovative green infrastructure projects and earn .35 CEUs in the process. This tour will be led by GreenWorks, a Portland landscape architectural firm and the Portland Bureau of Environmental Services.
Expect to see innovative green infrstructure projects including new private development, existing private property retrofits and public right-of-way retrofits, raingardens, Green Street curb extensions and bike boxes, pervious pavers, green roofs, stormwater infills, parking lot swales, planters, stormwater art, flow-through planters, etc.
A special thank you to Mike Faha, ASLA, LEED AP, Principal and David Elkin, Senior Associate, GreenWorks PC, Portland OR, and Bill Owen, Senior Engineer, Portland Bureau of Environmental Services, Portland, OR for planning and leading this tour of innovative green infrastructure projects. |
5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. | | Exhibit Opening & Welcome Reception | | Network with representatives of leading-edge products and services that can assist you in providing the best and most sustainable future for your community. |
Tuesday, June 28, 20117:30 a.m. - 8:30 a.m. | | Continental Breakfast, Exhibits, and Registration | Registration Open at 7:30 a.m.
Visit the Exhibit Floor - network with representatives of leading-edge products and services that can assist you in providing the best and most sustainable future for your community. Continental Breakfast available. |
8:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. | | Opening General Session: The Evolution of the Public Works Manager in the 21st Century | Opening Remarks and Welcome
D. Michael Mucha, Chair, APWA Center for Sustainability, Chief Engineer and Director, Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District, Madison,WI
Special Appearance by Congressman Earl Blumenauer (OR-3). Served on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee 1996-2007, Vice Chair of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming 2007-2010, currently a member of the Ways and Means Committee and the Budget Committee.
Keynote Presentation
George R. Crombie, MPA, BCEE, APWA President, Senior Faculty, Public Works Administration, Norwich University
Our world around us is changing in dramatic fashion. Energy demand, a growing population, water resource needs, and diminishing natural resources will require the public works manager of the future to adopt the principles and practices of sustainability in the 21st Century. |
9:30 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. | | Refreshment Break and Exhibits | | Network with representatives of leading-edge products and services that can assist you in providing the best and most sustainable future for your community. |
10:15 a.m. - 11:05 a.m. | | Case Study for Using the APWA Framework for Sustainable Communities: City of Spokane, Washington Project Sustainability Evaluation Protocol | | The City of Spokane Wastewater Management Department (WMD) has implemented an innovative evaluation protocol that enables them to incorporate sustainability goals, strategies, and Sustainability Action Plan recommendations with the Department's mission and day-to-day operations. Using this Project Sustainability Evaluation (PSE) protocol, WMD and Riverside Park Water Reclamation Facility staff can choose and implement projects with optimized sustainability features and integrate project evaluation with existing policies, programs, and practices. This protocol can be extended to and adapted by other City departments to further the Mayor's comprehensive sustainability initiative. |
| | How to Improve Your Department and Budget by Gradually "Greening" Your Operations and Facilities | | Being Green doesn't stop with design or facilities. While it's nice to talk about the tons of carbon dioxide that you're no longer causing, discover how you can plan a multi-year approach to reduce your overhead costs, improve your staff efficiency and provide better service to your community by gradually making improvements that "Green Up" your department. The end result? Improved efficiency, better staff moral and a great public relations story to make the elected officials look good. Not to mention the opportunity to be a better steward of the earth. |
| | Public Works Partnering for Sustainability and Stormwater Management | | The City of Stillwater, Oklahoma partnered with Oklahoma State University, the public school system, and various private donors to fully install a self-contained sand cistern. This cistern functions as a self-sustained, solar-powered system for irrigation at the school facility. The project serves as an outdoor classroom for student education and irrigation source for student gardens. Equally important, it set the precedent for a solid partnership among key players in the community for future sustainable endeavors. |
11:10 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. | | Big Solar Strategies for Small Communities | | Explore financing, procurement and management strategies for making solar power work for small communities.We'll discuss: *Regional Collaboration: By working together, smaller jurisdictions can take advantage of economies of scale to lower costs and accelerate project completion; *Portfolio Assessment: Single site projects are often too small to interest solar installers/developers. Systematically evaluating the solar and economic potential for all relevant municipal properties could maximize project value; *Project Economics: Assess the pros and cons of solar financing options for smaller scale projects that have already adopted solar power. |
| | Sustainability for Public Works: What Do We Need to Know About and Manage? | | Public Works and infrastructure management is a complex undertaking. Take advantage of this opportunity to examine how public works assets and activities can be explicitly managed for improved community well-being. We'll explore lessons learned from state and municipal transportation, waste, and utility systems and offer recommended intervention strategies to reduce environmental, financial, and social impacts for your residents and employees. |
| | Transforming a Region --Transit, Sustainability and Affordability | | The 12-county Piedmont Triad Region in North Carolina is undergoing fundamental economic change with traditional industries declining and the need for new investment increasing. Focusing on "regionalism" as a key to future sustainability, they have developed a Regional Transit Development Plan to connect employment centers to residential areas, and enhance land use, affordability, and equity. The benefits expected from the planned sustainable transportation applications are improved air quality, lower greenhouse gas emissions, fuel and energy savings, improved water quality, and increased access to employment and training opportunities and affordable housing. |
12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. | | Lunch & Exhibits | | Network with representatives of leading-edge products and services that can assist you in providing the best and most sustainable future for your community. |
1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. | | Community Environmental Centre: Contributing to Waste Diversion Goals in the Region of York | | Residents of Richmond Hill have one convenient location to drop off reusable and recyclable materials. The layout and design of this centre mirrors the 4R hierarchy for promoting waste reduction, and maximizing waste diversion and recycling. Zone 1 - "Reduce" (environmental promotion and education); Zone 2 - "Re-Use" (Goodwill Industries and Habitat for Humanity collect reuse items); Zone 3 - "Recycling" (both blue box and bulk items) Zone 4 - "Recover" (non-re-usable and non-recyclable materials). |
| | Energy Trust New Buildings Program | | The Energy Trust of Oregon is a third-party non-profit company that gives energy incentives (cash) to residential, commercial, industrial, public sector, and non-profit customers. Funded through a small charge on the investor-owned electric and natural gas companies, Energy Trust also offers outreach and technical assistance. In response to Oregon's new energy code, Energy Trust has developed enhancements to its program. As public works professionals are responsible for the specification, contracting, monitoring and inspection of public construction projects, insight into the Energy Trust's best practices and performance measures will be of great benefit to you. |
| | Measuring, Reporting, and Rewarding Sustainability in Public Works: City of Indianapolis' Annual Sustainability Report & Awards | | Find out how the City of Indianapolis Office of Sustainability determines the metrics for sustainability in public works and how goals and priorities are established and communicated to residents through annual reports and other tools. Also, to create a prominent presence and foster partnerships with entities like the Chamber of Commerce, they identified an opportunity for recognizing citizens, businesses, and non-profits for their activities in advancing the goal of making Indianapolis one of the most sustainable cities in the Midwest. Examine their process for establishing award partnerships, categories, and criterion. |
2:30 p.m. - 3:15 p.m. | | Refreshment Break & Exhibits | | Network with representatives of leading-edge products and services that can assist you in providing the best and most sustainable future for your community. |
3:15 p.m. - 4:05 p.m. | | Reducing Net Energy Consumption at an Energy Intensive Public Works Facility | | The Town of Barnstable, Massachusetts is in the construction phase of three energy initiatives projected to reduce the carbon footprint of the energy-intensive Hyannis Water Pollution Control facility. They are installing a 790 kW ground-mounted solar array, 200 kW wind turbine system, and several energy efficiency improvements projected to cut net electrical consumption in half. These project components also will allow the facility to reduce its carbon footprint, projecting to offset 506 tons of carbon emissions annually. Find out if these projects could serve as models for facility planning for your jurisdiction. |
| | Sustainability Challenge: How to Motivate Your Design Staff to Think Sustainably | | Design staff, from both consulting firms and city/county agencies, are being challenged to think in new ways. Instead of staff who say "tell me what to do and I'll do it," we need professionals who challenge themselves to come up with new and innovative solutions. Learn how one firm challenged and motivated the design team for a project involving a major arterial reconstruction and widening project in Dallas, Texas to come up with several out-of-the-box and sustainable features for the design. |
4:10 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. | | Electric Vehicles: Charging Up Your Sustainable Transportation Network | | Electric vehicles are here! The up-sides include zero tailpipe emissions, low overall emissions, low operating costs per mile, and zero reliance on imported fuel. The down-sides -- battery disposal, costs, vehicle range, and the complexities of establishing charging stations are more manageable than you might think. Evaluate the barriers to setting up an electric vehicle network and how they can be overcome. We'll explore potential grants and other financial incentives to pay for the set-up and provide information on the state of the technology and its benefits and costs. |
| | Localizing Livability: Developing Community Level Mechanisms to Promote Livability | | Explore recent and on-going research regarding locally relevant mechanisms intended to promote livable and sustainable communities. Conducted by APWA, NARC, NLC, NACo, and ICMA, this research seeks to identify and disseminate tools and practices that local governments and regional planning organizations can integrate into their planning processes. You'll be asked to review and comment on this research, as well as provide ideas and suggestions for further avenues of study. |
| | Transforming Wastewater Treatment Plants to Regional Resource Recovery Centers: Barriers and Opportunities | | Here is the paradigm shift pending for the wastewater treatment industry - transforming wastewater treatment plants into resource recovery centers. This shift will require unparalleled cooperation between public agencies and community and industry partners . Join us for this important exploration into how to remove barriers and maximize opportunities to change the treatment plant "out on the edge of town" into a resource recovery center that represents progress to a sustainable future. |
Wednesday, June 29, 20117:30 a.m. - 8:30 a.m. | | Continental Breakfast & Exhibits | | Network with representatives of leading-edge products and services that can assist you in providing the best and most sustainable future for your community. |
8:30 a.m. - 9:20 a.m. | | Creating a Sustainable Public Works Agency | | Examine the steps and tools needed to transition from a "traditional" public works agency to an informed and effective "sustainable" agency. Learn how to develop a process to assess all agency functions, processes, standards, and specifications against a sustainable agency model and then take steps to address carbon footprint of operations, public service levels, cost effectiveness, operations/maintenance issues within a sustainable framework. |
| | Developing Local Climate Action Plans | | The City of Oakland, California is developing a landmark Energy and Climate Action Plan (ECAP) with a target of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 36% below 2005 levels by 2020. Public works staff are leading the development of Oakland's ECAP, managing the project, performing core research, analysis and writing tasks, and engaging a variety of city departments and external stakeholders to create one of the boldest and most comprehensive climate action plans to date. Oakland is a shining example of how public works departments can step into a strong sustainability leadership role. |
| | Sustainability Management Plans: Realizing a Return on Your Green Investment | | The public transit system in Volusia County, Florida (Votran) recently developed its Integrated Sustainability Implementation Plan with an initial investment of $30,000 and an anticipated return of $1.7 million in cost avoidance and revenue generation over the next five years. The plan has brought not only environmental benefits and public goodwill to the organization, but Votran is now uniquely positioned to serve as a leader in educating and promoting sustainability to the communities it serves. |
10:20 a.m. - 11:05 a.m. | | Effective Techniques for Public Participation and Consensus-Building | | Public meetings have become more contentious than ever. Residents distrust government plans and initiatives, they fear the impacts of growth and development, and they are more vocal and adamant regarding their individual needs. Traditional public participation models and processes are failing to build trust and consensus and projects are becoming mired in politics and personal agendas. Attend this session to explore a new model for public participation that is based on "high touch" and includes techniques like interviews, workshops, web-based surveys and interactive web sites. |
| | Green Streets: Lessons Learned in Retrofitting Portland's Urban Watersheds | | A "Green Street Toolbox" has been developed as part of the watershed retrofits in the Portland Metro region. The tool box covers a variety of facility types, all adapted to different situations in the city and includes simple green street facilities, curb extensions, stormwater planters, and urban re-use basins. There are even more designs on the drawing board. Attend this discussion of the applications and range of elements and considerations critical to the design of green streets. |
| | You Have Been Told to Write a Sustainability Action Plan -- Now What? | | Examine the processes two cities used to develop and write sustainability action plans. Public works professionals excel at identifying what's needed for implementation and the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches. Discover how to leverage these public works leadership competencies and ask the type of questions that will lead you to a comprehensive and effective sustainability action plan. |
11:10 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. | | Federal Highway Administration Sustainable Highways Initiative | | The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) view is that a sustainable highway should satisfy life cycle functional requirements of societal development and economic growth while reducing negative impacts to the environment and consumption of natural resources. The sustainability characteristics of a highway should be assessed from conception through construction and in maintenance and operations throughout its life cycle. Attend this session introducing FHWA's Sustainable Highways Self-Evaluation Tool which will help evaluate sustainability tradeoffs and improve decision-making. |
| | The New Green is Blue: Water, Wastewater, Stormwater Sustainable Design Strategies | | Water will be the 21st century's oil. Yet, a world without oil is possible; a world without water is not. Droughts and severe water shortages currently affect over one billion people worldwide and that number is projected to double by 2050. Examine the overarching questions that lay before us: Can net-zero water / energy projects integrate with existing infrastructure? How can we balance our communities' needs for essential services as budget pressures persist? Is water independence in buildings possible? How do we overcome the regulatory, behavioral, and technological barriers to sustainable systems? |
| | The Power of Sustainable Partnerships | | How can local governments strike a balance between sometimes costly sustainable initiatives and economic prudence? The answer lies in leveraging existing partnerships, forming new ones, and tapping an often overlooked resource --- everyday citizens. Learn how Elgin, Illinois undertook a truly collaborative and community-based planning process to developing a sustainability master plan. The plan addresses alternative energy, economic development, urban/green design, transportation, waste management, green infrastructure, water resources, and community outreach. |
12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. | | Lunch & Exhibits | | Network with representatives of leading-edge products and services that can assist you in providing the best and most sustainable future for your community. Exhibits close at 1:30 p.m. |
1:30 p.m. - 2:20 p.m. | | The Life and Times of a Municipal Sustainability Initiative: Plans, Progress, Pitfalls and Other Stories | | Learn from the City of Virginia Beach's experience in how to overcome significant political and community resistance to sustainability initiatives. Their list of successes include the establishment of an Environment and Sustainability Office, creating a City Sustainability Plan, an interdepartmental team that works on fiscal responsibility and water quality issues, ordinance approval, and the establishment of the nation's first LEED Gold convention center. You have to make time for this story! |
1:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. | | MicroWorkshop: Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure | | The American Public Works Association, the American Council of Engineering Companies, and the American Society of Civil Engineers are working together to develop a web-base sustainable infrastructure project rating system that will enhance sustainability in the design, development, construction, and operation of infrastructure. The rating system will be unveiled in May, 2011. Attend this workshop and be among the first to take advantage of the benefits of this ground-breaking tool. |
2:30 p.m. - 3:20 p.m. | | Sustainability - How Does It Apply to Winter Operations? | | Environmental concerns regarding air and water quality are directly impacted by winter operations. Evaluate innovative best practices for proper salt storage, pre-wetting, anti-icing treatment options, and determining levels of service. Discover what other agencies have experienced, the changes made, and new methods introduced to ensure sustainability in winter operations and maintenance. |
| | The More You Pave ... The More You Pay ... A Canadian Perspective on Stormwater Rate Setting in Kitchener, Ontario | | As a first in Canada, the City of Kitchener, Ontario recently approved the implementation of a "tiered flat fee" stormwater rate structure based on a property's impervious area. This rate structure enables a shift in overall stormwater program costs from residential users to the non-residential sector, where both taxable non-residential and tax-exempt non-residential properties pay their fair share for stormwater services based upon the amount of run-off from their properties. |
3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. | | A Renewed Role For Waste-to-Energy (WTE) In Sustainable Solid Waste Management | | While more than 80 WTE projects were built in the 1980-90's, it has been 15 years since a new green-field WTE opened in North America. During the same time, 100 new projects were developed in Europe in response to demands for land conservation, reducing greenhouse gases, and expanding renewable energy resources. Attend this panel representing currently operational WTE development projects to compare the different approaches used and discover the characteristics that allow these projects to be environmentally, financially, and organizationally sustainable in both large and small communities. |
| | The Public Works Leader's Role in Leading Sustainability Planning and Development | | The public works profession has a proven history of success in the identification and implementation of sustainable solutions. The nature of public works service delivery requires the ability to identify and frame the issue, gather together key stakeholders to explore and evaluate solutions, and implement successful measures. Listen to this panel of public works leaders who have successfully grabbed the bull by the horns and established themselves as the go-to experts in the initial problem identification and project development phases. |
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