This virtual roundtable dialogue between leaders from various sectors of the water and legal communities will focus on the current and evolving environmental justice (EJ) issues that the water sector is managing with respect to their legal and operational challenges and opportunities.
This discussion aims to help water utility leaders, sector suppliers, and consultants successfully navigate the various contractual, compliance, and communication aspects that EJ presents. Discussion topics amongst experts from the water utility, legal, and supplier communities will include current and evolving EJ regulations and requirements impacting water utilities and the sector that are being promulgated by (or through) EPA, the Department of Justice, and other Federal agencies; a discussion of EJ activities being successfully undertaken by utilities to meet EJ requirements; an overview of equal protection case law and legal standards impacting water utilities’ EJ activities; managing contractual, infrastructure replacement and new construction, and human resource activities through the EJ lenses; and a discussion on various federal and state resources available to water utilities and the sector in navigating EJ legal and operational challenges.
Attendees will learn to:
I. Learn ways to manage and negotiate contracts and related contractual issues with EJ issues in mind.
II. Understand the importance of proactively handling the key EJ legal, regulatory, and compliance issues and requirements that impact water utilities and the sector and how to handle these.
III. Learn about the evolving practices of water utilities that successfully navigate EJ legal and operational aspects of EJ issues and/or requirements.
IV. Understand possible federal and/or state resources to assist water utilities and the sector in meeting various legal and operational EJ requirements which impact them.
Expert Panel:
Moderator and Lead Discussant:
Yolanda Grinstead, Esq., Special Counsel, Sewerage and Water Board of the City of New Orleans
I. Alexandra (Alex) Dapolito Dunn, Esq., Partner, Baker Botts LLP
II. Christopher P. Luning, Esq., General Counsel, Essential Utilities’ Aqua