PRESS RELEASE: NATURAL GAS, STORMWATER RUN-OFF, LEGAL TOPICS CREATE AGENDA FOR CONFERENCE ON ARKANSAS WATER
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NATURAL GAS, STORMWATER RUN-OFF, LEGAL TOPICS CREATE AGENDA FOR CONFERENCE ON ARKANSAS WATER
Former FEMA director to speak on water issues and disaster preparedness
LITTLE ROCK - James Lee Witt, former Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) director, will offer the keynote speech "Preparedness: Sinking or Swimming when Disaster Strikes," as part of a Nov. 17 conference on the complex water issues facing Arkansas. The conference will take place at the C.A. Vines Arkansas 4-H Center in Ferndale. Witt is currently CEO of James Lee Witt Associates, a part of the GlobalOptions Group based in Washington, D.C. with offices in Little Rock.
"As Arkansas continues to grow, water use and quality issues continue to grow," said Tom Riley, Director of the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture's Public Policy Center. "This conference will provide discussion of the latest legal and scientific developments in terms of water usage, water rights and water quality."
The effects on water from gas exploration and drilling in the Fayetteville Shale formation will also be discussed, as will stormwater run-off, watersheds and phosphorus.
This event is open to the public. Elected officials, city and county government personnel, teachers, attorneys and landowners are all encouraged to attend.
Registration cost is $25 per person and includes lunch and conference materials. Course materials are being considered for continuing education credits for attorneys, crop advisers and professional engineering groups.
Registration forms are located on the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service Web site at http://www.uaex.edu. Participants may call in or e-mail their registration to Debbie Henry at (501) 671-2299, or dhenry@uaex.edu.
The Public Policy Center and the Cooperative Extension Service are part of the U
of A Division of Agriculture.
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