Fall Symposium 2015 – Clean Water Act

The CWA dictates the framework for regulating pollutant discharges and setting quality standards for surface waters of the United States.  As one of the nation’s most robust environmental policies, the CWA has widespread implications for city utilities, agricultural infrastructure, and ecological health.

To better understand the importance of the CWA and the recent revisions imposed by the 2015 EPA Clean Water Rule, the Duke Water Network (DWN) is hosting a panel discussion with leading experts in the field.  The event will enable students, faculty, and local professionals to discuss the intricacies, benefits, and drawbacks of the CWA.

Panelists including:

Rose Kwok – Environmental Scientist, U.S. EPA’s Office of Water in Washington, D.C.

Rose has worked for the EPA Wetlands program for nearly ten years, where she focuses on Clean Water Act jurisdiction issues, including GIS mapping and support tools. She has a B.A. from Cornell University and is a proud alumna of Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment, where she received her Master of Environmental Management.

Ryke Longest –  Professor of Water Resources Law, at Duke University School of Law.

Ryke Longest teaches Water Resources Law at Duke University School of Law.  He also directs the Environmental Law and Policy Clinic, which teaches students how to represent nonprofit environmental organizations as part of a public interest law firm. Before he became a professor, Ryke was a Special Deputy Attorney General working for the North Carolina Department of Justice.  During his career at NCDOJ, Ryke represented state agencies charged with protecting North Carolina’s environment.  Ryke’s practice has included client counseling, trial representation and appellate work at all levels.   His research interests and specialties include: water resources, water quality, air quality, fisheries, oil and gas law, administrative procedure and environmental justice.

Dr. Michael J. Paul – Senior scientist, Tetra Tech, Inc., Center for Ecological Sciences.

Michael is a freshwater ecosystem ecologist with more than 20 years’ experience in teaching, research, and public policy.  His technical skills and experience include freshwater ecosystem ecology, nutrient cycling and biogeochemistry, fluvial geomorphology, study design and analysis, causal assessment, climate change effects, and bioassessment. He has special expertise in the effects of land use, especially urbanization, on stream ecosystems. Michael also has more than 15 years’ experience in water quality standards development, has directed nutrient and biological criteria development projects across the nation for federal and state clients, and co-authored national guidance on using stressor-response analyses to derive numeric nutrient criteria. He currently leads technical analysis for the national nutrient criteria support center for EPA Office of Water/Office of Science and Technology.

Event schedule:

9:00 – 9:30am – Networking

9:30 – 11:00am – Panel discussion

11:00 – 12:00pm – Networking and refreshments

12:00 – 1:30pm – Lunch with panelists to discuss careers in government or environmental consulting (limited to 20 students total, register here)