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Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Join Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association at the City Club on June 10

In conjunction with the annual State of the Great Lakes forum on June 10^th, The City Club of Cleveland  will host the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association’s Great Lakes Symposium.

The City Club’s lunch presentation, Ninth Coast Guard District: Ensuring the Safety, Security and Stewardship of Our National Treasure, will feature a conversation with Rear Admiral June E. Ryan, Commander of the U.S. Coast Guard Ninth Guard District.  

The 2016 Great Lakes Symposium will tackle critical concerns for the region including the so-called “toxic blob,” algal blooms that threaten drinking water, and the ability to maintain shipping through the Great Lakes. Craig Butler, Director of Ohio EPA, will deliver the opening address with the State of Ohio’s perspective on the vitality of the Great Lakes.   

In addition to Director Butler’s address, Symposium highlights include:

• The economic importance of shipping in the Great Lakes, the success of the Cleveland-Europe Express, and dredged materials management are the morning focus when Former Congresswoman Betty Sutton, now administrator of the U.S. Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corp, joins Jade Davis, Cuyahoga County Port Authority, Mike Piskur, Conference of Great Lakes Governors and Premiers, and James Weakley, Lake Carriers Association, to kick off this important conversation.

• Green infrastructure and the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District’s $3 billion Consent Decree will be at the forefront when Kellie Rotunno, COO of NEORSD, Mark Pollins, Director of Water Enforcement Division Office of Civil Enforcement, U.S. EPA HQ, and others discuss combatting Combined Sewer Overflows.  

• Drinking water issues, including the national-headline grabbing so-called “toxic blob” in Lake Erie, will be tackled on a panel including Karl Gebhardt, Ohio EPA Deputy Director for Water Resources, while expert scientist Dr. Chris Winslow of The Ohio State University Stone Lab will address the complex issues underlying algal blooms in the Great Lakes. 

• U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office Director Chris Korleski and Alliance for the Great Lakes CEO Joel Brammeier will join the Symposium at the end of the day for the Great Lakes Restoration and Recreation panel where they will discuss the delisting of the Cuyahoga, the US-Canada water quality agreement, and other issues affecting the health of Great Lakes Ecosystems.

The Great Lakes Symposium is presented by the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association’s Environmental Law Section.