On February, 21, the University of Georgia School of Law will host the 32nd annual Red Clay Conference starting at 9 a.m. in the Larry Walker Room of Dean Rusk Hall. This year’s daylong conference is called “Overcoming Toxic Relationships,” since it will focus on toxic contaminants, which include coal ash disposal, brownfield redevelopment and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water.
Each year the conference focuses on emerging environmental issues in Georgia and if not Georgia, then the region, according to Chris Bertrand, conference organizer, second-year law student and president of the Environmental Law Association at the UGA School of Law.
The subject of this year’s conference, toxic contaminants, has a major impact on people’s health and the environment. If they aren’t properly regulated or cleaned up, then they can end up in our food webs and contaminate the food and water we ingest.
“They could also just be in the soil of the backyards where our children might play,” Bertrand said.
The conference will consist of three different panels, each with their own quirky title. The first panel will cover coal ash, a “pertinent new issue in the Southeast,” Bertrand said. The panel is titled “What’s up with coal ash?”.
The second panel will cover brownfield redevelopment. The panel is called "Happy birthday, Superfund," since this year marks the 40th birthday of Superfund, a trust fund set up by Congress to tackle the cleanup of toxic wastes.
The third panel will cover PFAS, a group of emerging chemicals that Bertrand said will become a more pertinent issue in Georgia and nationwide. The panel is called "PFAS, PFOA and PFOS, so am I".
This year’s Peter Appel honorary keynote speaker will be Lois Gibbs, an environmental activist who is known for her work with New York’s Love Canal. She helped fight for the creation of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, commonly referred to as Superfund. Gibbs is also the founder and executive director of the Center for Health, Environment, and Justice.
Most of the people who attend are practicing attorneys, law students, UGA undergraduate students and Athens community members. Bertrand hopes people who attend the conference can leave the conference with more than just a simple understanding of the environmental issues that face our community.
“I'd love them to learn about each and every issue and … what the next steps are we can go about as a legal community and as a greater Athens community in solving these issues and making sure that we keep our water clean, our air clean, and try to keep all our areas uncontaminated,” Bertrand said.
People interested in attending the conference can sign up by following a link to tickets on the UGA Law School website. UGA students, faculty and staff can register to attend the event for free.
