Events

Offshore Wind and the Environmental Professional

Wednesday, November 16, 2022 (Noon) Eastern

Our shared home, planet Earth, is under growing pressure from climate change caused by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.  The US federal government, states, developers, and other stakeholders are teaming up to accelerate the transition to renewable energy in a race to reduce global temperatures. Partly driving this effort, the Biden administration announced a bold goal to deploy 30 gigawatts of offshore wind in the U.S. by 2030. Please join us for a 1-hour session to learn about offshore wind farm basics, the current status of the offshore wind industry, and the role the environmental professional plays in helping to achieve ambitious renewable energy goals.

Presenter:   Katie Eberhart is a Senior Environmental and Permitting Specialist at Orsted where she oversees a broad range of environmental issues associated with the Skipjack Wind project in Delaware and Maryland. She brings to that role more than 22 years of experience managing natural resource projects; assessing and minimizing ecological impacts; creating sustainable ecosystems through restoration, habitat enhancement, and stewardship projects; and developing practical solutions to protect biodiversity in the built environment. She joined Orsted in September 2021 after more than 20 years in environmental consulting in the Philadelphia area.

Registration Deadline:  November 11, 2022

Note:  Registration is for one entrant. Any other individuals who would like to join this session are required to complete their own registration forms. The registration fee is set per person, not per connection.

PAEP Members – Webinars are free to current members but you will still need to register.

Non-Members – the fee for the webinar is $20 per person.

Registrants will be sent an email, closer to the event date, providing information on how to join the webinar.

“The purpose of the Pennsylvania Association of Environmental Professionals is to promote environmental education, research, planning, assessment, review, and management through the formation and operation of a nonpolitical multidisciplinary professional society.” The content of our webinar series is not developed by PAEP, but by the presenters themselves.

“Repurposing” A New Frontier in Sustainability

There are a number of used and surplus materials coming from Corporate America that may have value that you might be overlooking.  The key is finding a second, unrelated industry where the materials have value.  This value-creation process is called “repurposing”.  What are some examples of “repurposing”?  It is taking a byproduct or waste stream such as a retired street sweeper brush and giving it a 2nd life as a backscratcher for horses or cattle.  It is taking a decommissioned fire hose and giving it an extended life as a boat dock fender.  It is taking an obsolete ski lift cable and giving it a second life as hand railing in a luxury condo building.  Join us for a thought-provoking session that will open your mind to new value-creating ideas with obsolete materials.

Presenter: Damon Carson is the owner and founder of repurposedMATERIALS.  With yards in Arizona, Colorado, Texas, Iowa, Ohio, and South Carolina, his company has a very unique business model focused on “repurposing” waste and obsolete materials from Corporate America.  repurposedMATERIALS is actually Damon’s second foray into the waste stream of America albeit with a very different and unique business model.  Several years back, he sold a garbage company that he had co-owned in the Colorado ski resorts of Vail and Breckenridge to Waste Management.

Registration Deadline:  January 6, 2023

Note:  Registration is for one entrant. Any other individuals who would like to join this session are required to complete their own registration forms. The registration fee is set per person, not per connection.

PAEP Members – Webinars are free to current members but you will still need to register.

Non-Members – the fee for the webinar is $20 per person.

Registrants will be sent an email, closer to the event date, providing information on how to join the webinar.

“The purpose of the Pennsylvania Association of Environmental Professionals is to promote environmental education, research, planning, assessment, review, and management through the formation and operation of a nonpolitical multidisciplinary professional society.” The content of our webinar series is not developed by PAEP, but by the presenters themselves.

The Promise of Offshore Wind Power on the US East Coast

This presentation will provide an overview of the drivers enabling the US offshore wind sector, discuss the federal (BOEM) and state regulatory frameworks, and reflect on the opportunities and challenges in siting, installing and integrating utility-scale offshore wind power on the U.S. east coast.

Presenter: Amardeep Dhanju is a Senior Project Manager at AECOM where he supports permitting and development of utility-scale offshore wind and other renewables. Prior to joining AECOM, he supported the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) as a Senior Policy Analyst. At BOEM, he facilitated the offshore oil & gas leasing program, helped streamline offshore wind regulations, coordinated the nation’s first National Ocean Policy, and supported environmental permitting of offshore wind projects.

From 2013-2017, Amardeep co-chaired an interagency group in the National Ocean Council (NOC) to coordinate Federal engagement in the National Ocean Policy and marine spatial planning. This engagement resulted in two certified regional ocean plans on the U.S. east coast to inform siting of new ocean uses such as offshore wind power. Amardeep was awarded the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) Partners in Conservation Award for leading this initiative.

Amardeep is an adjunct faculty at Johns Hopkins University Energy Policy and Climate program where he offers graduate courses and mentors’ students on their capstone projects.

Amardeep holds a Ph.D. from the University of Delaware. He is a 2010 Knauss Sea Grant fellow.

Registration Deadline:  February 17, 2023

Note:  Registration is for one entrant. Any other individuals who would like to join this session are required to complete their own registration forms. The registration fee is set per person, not per connection.

PAEP Members – Webinars are free to current members but you will still need to register.

Non-Members – the fee for the webinar is $20 per person.

Registrants will be sent an email, closer to the event date, providing information on how to join the webinar.

“The purpose of the Pennsylvania Association of Environmental Professionals is to promote environmental education, research, planning, assessment, review, and management through the formation and operation of a nonpolitical multidisciplinary professional society.” The content of our webinar series is not developed by PAEP, but by the presenters themselves.

Five Easy Steps to

Home Composting

Participants will learn ways to set up a home compost system to compost food scraps along with yard waste… to create a finished compost to use in their gardens and flowerbeds.

Presenter: Colleen Falicki, Owner & Founder of Back to Earth Compost Crew, LLC – grew up in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. She earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communications, Radio/TV, from Shippensburg University. Colleen spent the beginning of her career in Corporate Communications, Marketing & Sales. Subsequently, she spent 12 years as a realtor where she prided herself on providing an exceptional experience for each & every client. Colleen has always been concerned about the environment & looks for ways to educate herself to become more holistic & sustainable. Since having her first child in 2005, she has become deeply passionate about leaving the world a better place for her children & their children. She began composting & choosing foods & products in a different way. After having her second child, she became a volunteer co-leader of the Montgomery County Chapter of the Holistic Mom’s Network for five years. To support others on their sustainability journey, in 2017, Colleen founded Back to Earth Compost Crew. Her company provides residential curbside & commercial compost pickup, along with Compost collection sites & compost education in the Suburban Philadelphia area. Back to Earth Compost Crew is a member of the US Compost Council & Institute for Local Self Reliance. Colleen is a founding member of the Eco-Rotary Club of SEPA & is in training as Soil Advocate with Kiss the Ground. She enjoys volunteering in the community and giving back to a number of organizations.

Registration Deadline:  April 4, 2023

Note:  Registration is for one entrant. Any other individuals who would like to join this session are required to complete their own registration forms. The registration fee is set per person, not per connection.

PAEP Members – Webinars are free to current members but you will still need to register.

Non-Members – the fee for the webinar is $20 per person.

Registrants will be sent an email, closer to the event date, providing information on how to join the webinar.

“The purpose of the Pennsylvania Association of Environmental Professionals is to promote environmental education, research, planning, assessment, review, and management through the formation and operation of a nonpolitical multidisciplinary professional society.” The content of our webinar series is not developed by PAEP, but by the presenters themselves.

Sustainability Disclosure Trend Research by ERM

As the 2022 reporting season concluded, ERM conducted an analysis of sustainability/ESG disclosures published in 2022 to identify trends and best practices and inform disclosures for the following reporting year. This research described insights from a review of 100 sustainability reports from major corporations across a range of sectors, as well as associated financial reporting and investor communications.

Key topics included:

• Public goal/commitments across the full range of ESG topics
• ESG factors in executive compensation
• ESG risk disclosures in 10Ks
• Sustainability/ESG governance structures
• Evolving approaches to climate reporting
• Use of GRI Standards, SASB, TCFD, SBTi, SDGs, CDP, and other frameworks
• Reporting styles and formats

Presenter: Kim Long is a Senior Manager with ERM and a trusted sustainability and environmental professional with more than 20 years of experience in the power and government sectors, including 13 years with Exelon Corporation. She focuses on sustainability strategy development and reporting, benchmarking, and materiality assessments. Kim has extensive experience in ESG communication with investors, C-suite, and Board representatives. Kim is also well-versed in EHS management systems, ESG data management practices, and environmental compliance and permitting. Kim was instrumental in the development of a comprehensive environmental stewardship strategy to address stakeholder concerns and commitments as part of Exelon’s merger with Pepco Holdings, Inc.

Registration Deadline:  April 14, 2023

Note:  Registration is for one entrant. Any other individuals who would like to join this session are required to complete their own registration forms. The registration fee is set per person, not per connection.

PAEP Members – Webinars are free to current members but you will still need to register.

Non-Members – The fee for the webinar is $20 per person.

Registrants will be sent an email, closer to the event date, providing information on how to join the webinar.

“The purpose of the Pennsylvania Association of Environmental Professionals is to promote environmental education, research, planning, assessment, review, and management through the formation and operation of a nonpolitical multidisciplinary professional society.” The content of our webinar series is not developed by PAEP, but by the presenters themselves.

Offshore Wind Environmental Assessment and Permitting in the US

Offshore wind is poised to be an important part of the US energy mix. This second presentation in the offshore wind series will focus on the environmental assessment and permitting of the proposed offshore wind projects. Monitoring and mitigation measures required by the regulatory agencies during project construction and operation will also be discussed.

Presenter: Amardeep Dhanju is a Senior Project Manager at AECOM where he supports permitting and development of utility-scale offshore wind and other renewables. Prior to joining AECOM, he supported the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) as a Senior Policy Analyst. At BOEM, he facilitated the offshore oil & gas leasing program, helped streamline offshore wind regulations, coordinated the nation’s first National Ocean Policy, and supported environmental permitting of offshore wind projects.

From 2013-2017, Amardeep co-chaired an interagency group in the National Ocean Council (NOC) to coordinate Federal engagement in the National Ocean Policy and marine spatial planning. This engagement resulted in two certified regional ocean plans on the U.S. east coast to inform siting of new ocean uses such as offshore wind power. Amardeep was awarded the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) Partners in Conservation Award for leading this initiative. Amardeep is an adjunct faculty at Johns Hopkins University Energy Policy and Climate program where he offers graduate courses and mentors students on their capstone projects. Amardeep holds a Ph.D. from the University of Delaware. He is a 2010 Knauss Sea Grant fellow.

 Registration Deadline: May 1, 2023

Note: Registration is for one entrant. Any other individuals who would like to join this session are required to complete their own registration forms. The registration fee is set per person, not per connection.

PAEP Members – Webinars are free to current members but you will still need to register.

Non-Members – the fee for the webinar is $20 per person.

Registrants will be sent an email, closer to the event date, providing information on how to join the webinar.

Planning for the Future of Coastal Louisiana:

The 2023 Coastal Master Plan

The Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) updates the State of Louisiana’s coastal master plan every six years. In the face of continued coastal land loss and increasing flood risk, the master plan serves as a prioritization effort, utilizing numerical modeling to evaluate the effectiveness of risk reduction and restoration projects over a 50-year planning horizon. The master plan cycle allows for the incorporation of the best available science and significant stakeholder input throughout the process. This presentation will focus on the 2023 Coastal Master Plan development process and will include discussion of 1) improvements to predictive landscape modeling and the decision framework, 2) approaches to understanding and addressing uncertainty in the modeling process, 3) the development of new, large-scale restoration project concepts to address regional issues of land loss and landscape change, and finally 4) what restoration and risk reduction projects are included in the 2023 Master Plan and what the return on investment in those projects will be for residents of Louisiana.

Presenter:  Eric D. White, P.E., is an engineer in the Research and Planning Division of the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, where he works primarily with the development, integration, and application of hydrologic, hydraulic, and landscape models to assess restoration and engineering project alternatives and planning optimization. He is a licensed Professional Engineer with more than a decade of experience in the field of hydrologic and hydraulic modeling. Eric is currently a PhD candidate in River-Coastal Science and Engineering at Tulane University in New Orleans; he plans to defend his dissertation in early 2024.

Registration Deadline:  May 12, 2023

Note:  Registration is for one entrant. Any other individuals who would like to join this session are required to complete their own registration forms. The registration fee is set per person, not per connection.

PAEP Members – Webinars are free to current members but you will still need to register.

Non-Members – the fee for the webinar is $20 per person.

Registrants will be sent an email, closer to the event date, providing information on how to join the webinar.

“The purpose of the Pennsylvania Association of Environmental Professionals is to promote environmental education, research, planning, assessment, review, and management through the formation and operation of a nonpolitical multidisciplinary professional society.” The content of our webinar series is not developed by PAEP, but by the presenters themselves.

“DRCB Who?”

The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) is a federal-interstate agency formed in 1961 with broad authority to manage, protect, and improve the water resources of the Delaware River Basin. Its members include four states – Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania – and the federal government. In executing its mission, the DRBC implements a regulatory program primarily focused on water withdrawals and discharges; performs robust water quality monitoring and assessment; and conducts planning studies and modeling to ensure an adequate, equitable and resilient supply of clean water. The DRBC’s role in water resource management may be unfamiliar to some, as it is a small and specialized agency. In this presentation, DRBC Deputy Executive Director Kristen Bowman Kavanagh will provide an overview of the DRBC’s authorities and programs, with a special emphasis on how its programs are implemented in Pennsylvania.

Presenter:  Kristen Bowman Kavanagh, P.E. is the Deputy Executive Director of the DRBC. She is responsible for the Commission’s technical and managerial programs, as well as for developing and effectuating plans, policies, and projects relating to the water resources of the Delaware River Basin.  Ms. Bowman Kavanagh has more than 25 years of experience in water resources management, modeling, and engineering.  Prior to joining the DRBC in 2019, she worked as a consulting civil engineer.  She holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Civil Engineering from Stanford University. She is a registered professional engineer in multiple states including Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Registration Deadline:  June 6, 2023

Note:  Registration is for one entrant. Any other individuals who would like to join this session are required to complete their own registration forms. The registration fee is set per person, not per connection.

PAEP Members – Webinars are free to current members but you will still need to register.

Non-Members – the fee for the webinar is $20 per person.

Registrants will be sent an email, closer to the event date, providing information on how to join the webinar.

“The purpose of the Pennsylvania Association of Environmental Professionals is to promote environmental education, research, planning, assessment, review, and management through the formation and operation of a nonpolitical multidisciplinary professional society.” The content of our webinar series is not developed by PAEP, but by the presenters themselves.

Abiotic and Biotic Factors Affecting Restored

Pollinator Habitat in Solar Installations

In the United States, land dedicated for solar energy installations is increasing rapidly to meet renewable energy goals. However, multi-acre utility-scale solar energy have potential adverse effects caused by large-scale landscape transformation (Trainor et al. 2016; Hoffacker et al. 2017). An increasingly popular solution to mitigate negative environmental effects of solar sites involves using the space between panels as restored pollinator habitat. Planting and maintenance of pollinator-friendly plant communities in these spaces pose unique challenges that make consideration of both abiotic (e.g. soil type, nutrients, and climate) and biotic (e.g local pollinator community, hardiness of plant species) factors for long-term success. We investigated the roles of soil nitrogen and plant species on pollinator preference.

In one experiment, three cultivars of Brassica rapa (Brassicaceae) were grown under high and low nitrogen levels to determine the effects of soil conditions on pollen production and attractiveness to bumble bees (Bombus impatiens). A two-way, mixed model ANOVA was used to evaluate effects of nutrient level and plant type on plant biomass, pollen grain area, and number of pollen grains. When given 100% of recommended nitrogen, plants had a higher production of pollen grains than plants grown with low levels of nitrogen. Size of pollen grains was not affected by soil nitrogen, but rather by cultivar. These differences in size and number of pollen grains can be important for bee foraging preferences, although we found that genotype was only a marginally significant factor in bumble bee foraging preferences of these plants.

In a second experiment we evaluated the relative attractiveness of 10 species and cultivars of mints from two plant genera, Mentha and Pycnanthemum, at two semi-natural study sites known to support diverse a pollinator community in central Pennsylvania (Russo et al. 2013). Linear mixed effects models were used to examine the fixed effects of selected factors on abundance of visitors within an insect order, total visitor abundance, and diversity of visitors. The native M. arvensis had the greatest abundance of pollinator visitors, but all species and cultivars showed similar diversity of pollinators. The two mint genera also served as generalist plants within this plant-pollinator network, attracting pollinators from the insect orders Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Diptera, and Coleoptera. Generalist plant species are important to pollinator communities as they can attract and provide resources for generalist pollinators (those that visit a variety of plant genera/families) as well as specialists (those that visit only a select number of plant genera/families) (Martín González et al. 2010; Ollerton 2017). Thus, native Mentha and Pycnanthemum may be good additions to restored pollinator habitat at solar sites, where attractive, low-maintenance, fast-growing, hardy, and short statured plants are preferred.

The results from both studies revealed the importance of choosing the right plant species to support pollinator communities. Our results also provide better understanding into the importance of soil nutrition on pollen floral resources and ultimately the plant’s attractiveness and utility to pollinator species. Ultimately, we hope these insights will help to improve the quality of restored pollinator habitat.

Presenter:  Sarah Kania is an early career entomologist/pollination ecologist. She completed her master’s at Penn State in entomology, focusing on plant-pollinator interactions and pollinator habitat restoration. She currently works for Penn State conducting wild bee research and has more recently joined ASA as a scientist to help develop pollination-related services to ASA’s clients.

Registration Deadline:  January 13, 2024

Note:  Registration is for one entrant. Any other individuals who would like to join this session are required to complete their own registration forms. The registration fee is set per person, not per connection.

PAEP Members – Webinars are free to current members but you will still need to register.

Non-Members – the fee for the webinar is $20 per person.

Registrants will be sent an email, closer to the event date, providing information on how to join the webinar.

“The purpose of the Pennsylvania Association of Environmental Professionals is to promote environmental education, research, planning, assessment, review, and management through the formation and operation of a nonpolitical multidisciplinary professional society.” The content of our webinar series is not developed by PAEP, but by the presenters themselves.