2010 Public Service Conference

Water & People

presented by Marquette Law School

Friday, February 26, 2010
8:30 A.M. - 4:30 P.M.

Alumni Memorial Union Marquette University
14th & Wells Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
View a campus map.

Milwaukee Riverfront The Law School’s 2010 public service conference, “Water and People,” will be held February 26, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. in the AMU Monaghan Ballroom. Cameron Davis, senior advisor to the United States EPA administrator for Great Lakes Restoration, will deliver the keynote address, “Water and People: How to Rehabilitate the Great Lakes as a Global Resource.” Additional panels and presenters will address water issues in Wisconsin, development and the environment, regulation, and water ethics. Marquette employees and students can attend for free. Cost is $40 all others. CLE applied for.

Registration for this event has been closed.

From the Great Lakes to the Upper Mississippi River watershed, Wisconsin is home or adjacent to more fresh water than many countries in the world. Increased pressures for the use of this natural resource, entrepreneurial designs to harness its value, and creative measures to preserve its availability have brought together a diverse coalition of interests.

This conference will explore the development of a water ethic in Wisconsin and its influence and limits in achieving multiple interests: economic development, environmental protection, irrigation, recreation, and potability.

8:30 – 8:45 • Breakfast & Registration

8:45 – 8:55 • Welcome
Joseph D. Kearney, Dean and Professor of Law, Marquette University Law School
Master of Ceremonies: Mike Gousha, Distinguished Fellow in Law and Public Policy, Marquette University Law School

8:55 • Introductory Video – What Does Water Mean to You?

Ripples of a Water Ethic in Wisconsin
9:00 – 9:30 • Curt Meine, Ph.D., Director of Conservation Biology and History, Center for Humans and Nature

9:30 – 10:30 • Panel Discussion
Jeff Crawford, Attorney General, Potawatomi Nation
Jame Schaefer, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Theology, Marquette University
Tom Dawson, Adjunct Professor of Law, University of Wisconsin Law School

More than sixty years ago, Wisconsinite Aldo Leopold sketched out an ethic for land conservation. Abundant in our state, fresh water has a special place in Wisconsin’s ethos. Wisconsin's rich water law tradition and the history of progressive and collaborative efforts to protect water resources serve as a possible foundation to build upon Leopold’s ethical principles and Wisconsin’s public trust doctrine. How might our society balance the demand for water today by public and private, agricultural and industrial, rural and urban interests?

10:30 – 10:40 • Break

Surface Tension: The False Dichotomy Between Economic Development and Environmental Protection
10:40 – 11:00 • Todd Ambs, Water Division Administrator, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

11:00 – 12:00 • Panel Discussion
Lynn Broaddus, Ph.D., Director of Environment Programs, The Johnson Foundation
Art Harrington, Partner, Godfrey and Kahn, S.C.
Shane Judd, Water Conservation Manager, The Kohler Company
John Andersen, Jr., President, Greenleaf Advisors LLC

Numerous Wisconsin businesses have embraced a strong regulatory framework and developed profitable industries. At the same time, they have identified a “triple bottom line”: economic performance, efficiencies in productivity, and environmental responsibility. Wisconsin is poised to become a leader in freshwater technologies and to explore the water-energy nexus. How does the present regulatory environment affect private sector innovation in managing water resources? How can environmental advocates, regulatory agencies, business, and agriculture work together more effectively to ensure that water is available and used in a purposeful fashion?

12:00 • Lunch

Water and People: How to Rehabilitate the Great Lakes as a Global Resource
12:15 – 1:00 • Keynote Address
Speaker: Cameron Davis, J.D., Senior Advisor to the United States EPA Administrator for Great Lakes Restoration

Water for All? Water Ethics in the Context of Environmental Justice
1:15 – 2:30 • Breakout Sessions
Flowing from a water ethic is the consideration that water is a valuable resource not equally available to all people. Water quantity, water quality, and water access are all under pressure. Who should have access to water and to whom does water belong? Who should pay for water and how should water treatment be priced? Who is disadvantaged by water regulation? How does the recently enacted Great Lakes Compact and Waukesha’s likely diversion application test these questions?

Water Pricing: Balancing Utility Costs, Consumer Interests, and the Environment
Moderator: Jayme Montgomery Baker, Director, Wisconsin League of Young Voters
Panelists: David Sheard, Assistant Administrator, Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, Maureen Taylor, Executive Director, Michigan Welfare Rights Organization,Carrie Lewis, Superintendent, Milwaukee Water Works
Access to Water & The Great Lakes Compact
Moderator: Karen Schapiro, Executive Director, Milwaukee Riverkeeper
Panelists: Peter McAvoy, Vice President of Environmental Health, Sixteenth Street Community Health Center
Michael Jones, Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs, Miller Coors, Karyn Rotker, Staff Attorney, ACLU of Wisconsin, Todd Ambs, Water Division Administrator, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Ground Water Use & Land Planning
Moderator: Ken Genskow, Assistant Professor of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Wisconsin
Panelists: Robert Biebel, Special Projects Engineer, Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission, Lori Grant, River Protection Manager, River Alliance of Wisconsin, Robert Nauta, P.G., Hydrogeologist & Owner, RJN Environmental Services, LLC
Water Quality & Infrastructure
Moderator: Thomas McElligott, Partner, Quarles & Brady LLP
Panelists: Kevin Shafer, Executive Director, Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District,Betsy Lawton, Staff Attorney, Midwest Environmental Advocates, Nick George, Executive Director, Midwest Food Processors Association, Jim Baumann, Bureau of Watershed Management, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

Opening the Spigot to Success: Examples from Other Jurisdictions
2:45 – 4:00 • Panel Discussion
Stewardship requires good ideas, hard work, and balanced public policy. Water quantity, water quality, and water pricing issues are addressed in innovative ways by these four jurisdictions. What can Wisconsin learn from others attending to water law and policy?

Scalable Water Pricing for Conservation
Gina Jackson, Customer Service Manager, Irvine-Ranch Water District, Irvine, California
There is no such thing as Nonpoint Pollution: Fixing Stormwater
Robert Zimmerman, Executive Director, Charles River Watershed Association, Weston, Massachusetts
Water Centric Planning in Canada
Glen Pleasance, Water Efficiency Coordinator, Regional Municipality of Durham, Ontario
Small Scale Success: Water Quality & Treatment
Douglas Malchow, Extension Educator - Water Resources Center, University of Minnesota Extension

Go With the Flow: Reflections on Water and People
4:00 – 4:45 • Panel Discussion
Moderator: Matt Parlow, Associate Professor of Law, Marquette University Law School
Panelists: Bradley C. Karkkainen, Professor of Law, University of Minnesota Law School, andDavid M. Uhlmann, Professor from Practice and Director, Environmental Law and Policy Program, University of Michigan

Considering today’s discussions regarding Wisconsin’s water ethic, how might Wisconsin continue to move forward? How can Wisconsin showcase itself as a freshwater leader and a worldwide water hub? What might Wisconsin learn from recent reports, recommendations, and examples from other jurisdictions? Professor Parlow will moderate a panel of water law experts who will reflect on the future of water in Wisconsin.

4:45 – 5:30 • Reception