*
This seminar was originally scheduled
for March 31, 1998, but because it conflicted
with an important local
seminar on Texas Senate Bill #1, we have re-scheduled
and expanded this seminar for presentation on:
Thursday
April 16 1998
Houston, Texas
Holiday Inn - North
I - 45 North, Near FM 1960
8:00 AM - 12:00 Noon
To
meet and deal with problems before they:
To
look at your water-supply system in terms of:
To hear what the Harris County Health Department does to protect our water supply,
To hear what the Texas Natural Resources Conservation Commission (TNRCC) does to protect our water supply, and
To
consider what the CCL and SDWA mean to MUDs, large and small.
Who Should Attend Seminar:
Decision Makers
MUD Directors
Utility Operators and Contractors
Supporting Attorneys
Laboratory Management
Local and State Regulators
Seminar Program:
8:00 am
Introductions:
Michael D. Campbell, P.G., P.H.
Principal,
Environmental Litigation Associates
8:05 am
Presentation:
Jose A. Berlanga, J. D.
Partner,
Gardere Wynne Sewell & Riggs
"Ground-Water
Supply Systems: Hydrogeology and the Delivery of a Water Supply."
*
Aquifer Productivity
*
Well-Site Selection
*
Well Design and Installation
*
Well Operation and Maintenance
*
Contaminant Transport
"Hydrochemistry
and the Contaminants Candidate List (CCL)."
*
Classes of Compounds on the CCL
*
Realistic Objectives for Chemical Analyses
*
Potential Problems with Chemical Sampling & Analyses
"Microbiology
and the Potential Impact on Water Quality."
"The Toxicological Significance of Chemical in Water Supplies
(or What is Clean Water?):"
*
Human Health and the Environment
*
Toxicity and Human Health
10:10 am
Coffee Break
10:25 am
Presentation:
Marilyn Christian, B.S.
Section Chief, Environmental Engineering,
Harris County Health Department
"What
the Harris County Health Department Does to Protect Our Water Supply
and the Impact of Recent Regulations."
10:40 am
Presentation:
Sally C. Gutierrez, M.A., R.S.
Director, Water Quality Division,
TNRCC, Austin
"What the TNRCC does to Protect Our Water Supply and the Impact of Recent Regulations."
10:55 am
Presentation:
Jose A. Berlanga, J. D.
Partner,
Gardere Wynne Sewell & Riggs
"Potential Litigation Areas in Providing
and Operating a Water-Supply System:
Case Histories in Water-Quality Issues."
12:00 Noon
Summary Remarks and Close of Seminar
Holiday Inn - North
I - 45 North, Near FM 1960
April 16, 1998
8:00 am to 12:00 Noon
Cost: $ 25.00 (Paid at Door)
Cash or Checks (Payable to Environmental
Litigation Associates)
Please let us know you are planning
to attend by registering as follows:
RSVP by Phone:
(281) 440-7665, or
RSVP by Fax:
(281) 583-9730, or
RSVP by Email:
ela1@ela-iet.com
Please provide your name, telephone number, and number in your party so that we can accommodate those in attendance with appropriate space. Space is available for a maximum of 75 persons so register early, if possible. Additional seminars have been planned for other parts of the county and state to be held sometime in the future.
Note:
1) The charge is to cover the costs of the seminar site, handbook, and coffee, etc.
2) Also please note
that the TNRCC has approved this seminar for four (4) hours of credit
for certified drinking-water operators. The seminar will be of interest
to MUD Directors, Operators and others interested in ground water as
a source of water supply.
Environmental Litigation Associates
Environmental Litigation Associates
(ELA) consists of a group of seven senior environmental professional
scientists and engineers who provide litigation support and expert witness
services to the legal community in the Texas and the U.S.
ELA Principals conduct investigations
and evaluations on a range of environmental conditions, from the development,
testing, and operating and maintaining public and private ground-water
supply systems to the assessment of potential ground-water contamination
and remediation of industrial and natural contamination. For additional
information on how ELA approaches water supply and related issues, see
the Water Supply web page.
ELA's objective is to sponsor training through the Institute
of Environmental Technology (IET) and other forums in the environmental
field, which will result in the reduction of unnecessary litigation
. For additional information about ELA, see the group's web site:
http://www.ela-iet.com/elsassoc.htm
Something about the Seminar Speakers:
Michael D. Campbell, P.G., P.H. is the Principal Hydrogeologist for Environmental Litigation Associates, Principal Hydrogeologist in the environmental consulting firm of Campbell and Associates, and Principal Lecturer for the Institute of Environmental Technology, which has provided technical environmental training in the Houston area since 1992. Mr. Campbell was the Director of Research for the National Ground Water Association's Research Facility at Rice University, has worked on numerous EPA and rural water supply projects, and produced the now classic text: Water Well Technology (McGraw-Hill) and other water supply related publications. He has provided services to MUDs and related groups with litigation support and expert witness testimony. Additional information on Mr. Campbell's background, publications and present affiliations is available through the ELA web site: http://www.ela-iet.com/el01001.htm
José A. Berlanga, Esq. is a partner in the law firm of Gardere Wynne Sewell & Riggs, L.L.P. and maintains a litigation practice with an emphasis in toxic tort litigation. Prior to joining Gardere Wynne, Mr. Berlanga practiced with an insurance defense law firm. He has previously served as an Assistant United States Attorney and as in house counsel for the Shell Oil Company in Houston, Texas. Mr. Berlanga has a background in civil litigation and has participated in a variety of cases. Mr. Berlanga's environmental experience began with his employment at Shell Oil Company where he handled cases In the area of toxic torts. Mr. Berlanga was involved the first challenge to jurisdiction over foreign claims brought by Costa Rican banana workers. This decision began a long and complicated legal struggle, which eventually lead to the amendment of Texas law relating to the forum non-convenience doctrine. His environmental experience also extends to matters involving CERCLA. Additional information is available through the firm's web site at: http://www.gardere.com/
William S. Hitchcock. Ph.D. is a Principal Chemist for Environmental Litigation Associates, and a Principal of Hitchcock and Associates, an environmental consulting firm located in Houston, TX. Dr. Hitchcock is also a Primary Lecturer for the Institute of Environmental Technology. Dr. Hitchcock has more than 20 years of experience in environmental chemistry, including teaching, conducting research, consulting in support of environmental litigation. His principal activities in the water supply field range from assessing laboratory data, procedures, and anomalous raw water quality to monitoring water treatment options and effectiveness. Additional information on Dr. Hitchcock's background is available through the ELA web site at: http://www.ela-iet.com/el05001.htm
Richard E. Woodward, M. A. is the Principal Microbiologist for Environmental Litigation Associates, President of Sierra Environmental Services, Inc., a firm that specializes in evaluating microbiological problems in water supplies and in the biological destruction of organic wastes by stimulating, then managing, indigenous microorganism populations. Mr. Woodward is also a regular guest lecturer for the Institute of Environmental Technology. He was formerly Vice President of ENSR Consulting and Engineering where he directed the national bioremediation effort for five years. Prior to that, he served as Director of Research and Development for Stoller Chemical Co., a fertilizer and pesticide manufacturer. He has over 24 years of experience as a senior scientist and consulting microbiologist managing microbial systems in soils, sludges and aquifers. Additional information on Mr. Woodward's background, publications and present affiliations is available through the ELA / IET web site: http://www.ela-iet.com/el04001.htm
F. Ben Thomas, DABT, Ph.D. is the Principal Toxicologist for Environmental Litigation Associates, the Executive Vice President of Compliance Solutions, Inc., and a Regular Guest Lecturer for the Institute of Environmental Technology. Dr. Thomas is a Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology. He has 22 years of experience in toxicology, risk assessment, regulatory negotiation, litigation support, strategic planning, program development, and program management. He has supervised large multidisciplinary projects using risk-based methods to establish remedial priorities and to achieve closure under RCRA or Superfund. He was appointed as a member of the Science Advisory Panel of the National Urban Air Toxic Research Center (NUATRC) which was created by the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. He has served as a consulting and/or testifying expert in a number of toxic tort and environmental litigation cases. Additional information on Dr. Thomas' background is available through the ELA web site at: http://www.ela-iet.com/el06001.htm
Marilyn Christian, B.S., is Section Chief, Environmental Engineering, Harris County Health Department. Her responsibilities include assessing the various public health risks of waterborne disease and implements programs which will reduce the risk of transmission of the various diseases. Over the past 13 years she has served as Sanitarian in the Environmental Engineering Department, which included duties related to the prevention of the spread of waterborne diseases by conducting field inspections and by providing education on such prevention. For the City of Houston, Health and Human Services, Ms. Christian provided food inspections, and was the Quality Assurance Coordinator. She also conducted training programs for new employees. Additional information on Harris County Health Department activities is available through their web site located at: http://www.hd.co.harris.tx.us/env/
Sally C. Gutierrez, M.S., R.S. is Director of the Water Quality Division of the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC) in Austin, Texas. Over the past 5 years she has served the TNRCC in a number of functions, such Director of the Water Utilities Division, Acting Deputy Director for the Office of Water Resource Management, Leader of the Drinking Water Monitoring Operations Team, and other positions within the TNRCC. Mrs. Gutierrez began her career in public health at the City of Houston Health Department where she worked in the regulatory programs for food and drugs, water hygiene and occupational health. Mrs. Gutierrez is a Registered Sanitarian in Texas and is a Past President of the Texas Environmental Health Association. Additional information on TNRCC activities is available through the TNRCC web site: http://www.tnrcc.state.tx.us/water/quality/
Information on the other Principals
of Environmental Litigation Associates is available through the ELA
web site: http://www.ela-iet.com/elsassoc.htm
The presenters for the Seminar held
in April were as follows (left to right):
Mr. Campbell, Dr. Thomas, Mr. Berlanga,
Mr. Woodward, Ms. Christian,
and Dr. Hitchcock.
Useful Internet Links:
For links to useful information on water supply issues via web sites, see the Institute of Environmental Technology's Internet Resources page by clicking here.
For useful information on ground-water technology and related documents and texts, see the Institute of Environmental Technology's page offering publications distributed by IET, technical book reviews, and Bookstore by clicking here.
Date Last Changed: July 8, 1998