Environmental Speaker Series Luncheon
December 5, 2012

Speaker: Lewis D. Solomon, Rinehart Professor Emeritus of Business Law at The George Washington University Law School

Topic: P3 Possibilities for Addressing Our Nation’s Water Infrastructure Backlog

The Horinko Group’s next Environmental Speaker Series luncheon features Lewis D. Solomon, Senior Advisor to The Horinko Group on Public-Private Partnerships (P3s), Infrastructure Finance & Development.

As Rinehart Professor Emeritus of Business Law at The George Washington University Law School, Mr. Solomon draws on his research regarding privatization and the P3 process in the infrastructure arena. A prolific author, his recent book, America’s Water and Waste Water Crisis: The Role of Private Enterprise, analyzes privatization, P3s, how the U.S. water and wastewater industry has operated in the past, and how it may evolve into the future.

Nuanced collaborative skills and innovative financing can come together in well-structured and effectively communicated P3s to offer unique opportunities for increasing efficiency and securing private capital to address a daunting infrastructure backlog. Successful P3s must overcome trust issues and cultural differences between partnering institutions and implement mutually acceptable contractual obligations, while understanding local challenges and obtaining proper alignment and structure between participants, risk sharing, and broad civic understanding and support.

In his luncheon presentation, Mr. Solomon will discuss opportunities where public-private ventures can advance much needed progress in the water and wastewater sector and tackle the most difficult fiscal and environmental compliant situations that many communities routinely encounter. He will provide a balanced perspective on the role privatization can play and how collaborative engagement can shape our water and wastewater future.

Join us on Wednesday, December 5 at The Horinko Group’s offices in the West End of Washington, DC. To attend, please RSVP to info@thehorinkogroup.org

The Horinko Group’s 2012 Summit: The Next Generation of Environmental Compliance and Enforcement

2012 Summit Public Sector Panel fields questions from the audience.

October 17, 2012 / Washington, DC

Our nation stands at a crossroads in anticipation of the Presidential election, and the nominees promise to bring vastly different approaches to environmental protection. This year’s invitation-only Summit comprises thought leaders with a great depth of enforcement experience in both the public and private sectors for a lively debate on the future of enforcement.

For further information, please contact Brendan McGinnis at bmcginnis@thehorinkogroup.org.

• Download 2012 Summit Agenda (PDF)
• Download 2012 Summit Program (PDF)

Energy, Environment and Politics in 2012: Expectations and Prognostications for the Next Four Years
Host: American Bar Association’s Environment, Energy, and Resources Law Summit (20th Section Fall Meeting)
Panelist: Marianne Horinko, The Horinko Group
Date: October 10-13, 2012
Location: Austin, TX

The Big Deal National Conference
Host: National Brownfield Association
Panelist: Marianne Horinko, The Horinko Group
Date: October 3-4, 2012
Location: Chicago, IL
Potential Topics: Innovative Redevelopment Policies, Incentives & Legislation; Industrial, Commercial, Distressed Property Market; Funding Brownfield Redevelopment; Renewable Energy on Brownfields; Surplus Properties

Environmental Speaker Series Luncheon
September 26, 2012
Speaker: Richard Zak, Industry Solutions Manager, State and Local Government Group, Microsoft Corp.
Sponsored by: Microsoft Corp
Location: 901 K St NW, Washington, DC

Topic: Benefits of Cloud Computing in Emergency Response

This month’s second luncheon, hosted by Kim Nelson, Executive Director for eGovernment at Microsoft, welcomes Richard Zak, Industry Solutions Manager for Microsoft’s State & Local Government group. Mr. Zak will discuss how the cloud is transforming citizen preparedness and response to environmental and other emergencies. The Wednesday, September 26 luncheon is being sponsored by Microsoft, and will be held at their offices at 901 K Street Northwest in Washington, DC.

September’s luncheon is sponsored by Microsoft and will be held at their offices at 901 K St Northwest in Washington, DC.

Join us on Wednesday, September 26 at The Horinko Group’s offices in the West End of Washington, DC. To attend, please RSVP to ichapman@thehorinkogroup.org

View the full announcement.

Environmental Speaker Series Luncheon
September 19, 2012

Speaker: Robert Golden, Ph.D., Founder of ToxLogic

Sponsor: This month’s luncheon was graciously sponsored by CTC Foundation.

Topic: The Linear No Threshold (LNT) Model — Time for Evidence-Based Cancer Risk Assessment?

Have you ever wondered why there is typically an outcry from some segment of industry following controversial EPA individual chemical assessments as part of the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) process [think dioxin or formaldehyde] or many Clean Air Act- and Safe Drinking Water Act-based regulations [think Mercury and Air Toxic Standards (MATS), or Stage 2, Drinking Water Disinfection Byproducts Rules (DBPR), etc.]? Did you know that EPA published a report on the costs and benefits of the 1990 Clean Air Act rules with the costs of compliance estimated at about $65 billion annually but the value of benefits estimated at almost $2 trillion? Did you know that a single regulatory default – the linear no threshold (LNT) model originally intended for cancer risk assessment, but now increasingly used for non-cancer effects as well, is the primary driving force behind all of the above? The history of the LNT, the lack of any scientific support for this default assumption, the regulatory and economic distortions created by this model and a process designed to challenge its continued use will be the subject of the September 19, 2012 EPG Luncheon Meeting.

Join us on Wednesday, September 19 at The Horinko Group’s offices in the West End of Washington, DC. To attend, please RSVP to ichapman@thehorinkogroup.org

View the full announcement.
Download a copy of the powerpoint presentation.
Download an archive (ZIP) of additional supporting materials.

Environmental Speaker Luncheon with Dave White
Wednesday, July 18, 2012 | Noon – 1:30 PM EDT | Washington, DC (At The Horinko Group’s Offices)

Featured Speaker

Dave White, Chief, Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture

The Horinko Group hosted a second July installment in its Environmental Speaker Series and welcomed Dave White, Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Mr. White discussed ongoing developments with the 2012 Farm Bill as well as current priorities for NRCS.

Sponsor: This month’s luncheon was graciously sponsored by Terra Altus.

View the full announcement.
Download a copy of the powerpoint presentation (40 MB).

Environmental Speaker Luncheon with Andrew Manar
Thursday, July 12, 2012 | Noon – 1:30 PM EDT | Washington, DC (At The Horinko Group’s Offices)

Featured Speaker

Andrew Manar, Senior Advisor to The Horinko Group on Public-Private Partnerships.

At July’s luncheon, Mr. Manar discussed opportunities for innovative approaches at the community-level and explored how private investment can play a significant role in rural landscapes. He also provided a fresh look at the challenges confounding innovative action at the community level and discuss the role greater regionalization and privatization will play.

At a time when public-private resource leveraging and innovation is critical to addressing our nation’s water infrastructure challenges, understanding state and local perspectives and capacity challenges is imperative to building and sustaining more workable partnerships.

As a former Midwest rural community mayor, County Chairman, and State Senate Chief of Staff, Mr. Manar brings a boots on the ground perspective on how to effectively engage local communities and state program managers. His experience in state and local governance brings valuable insights into navigating fiscally challenged state budgetary processes and understanding resource constraints of local governments.

View the full announcement.
Download a PDF copy of the presentation.

Environmental Speaker Luncheon with Betsy Southerland
Wednesday, June 20, 2012 | Noon – 1:30 PM EDT | Washington, DC (At The Horinko Group’s Offices)

Featured Speaker

Betsy Southerland, Director of the U.S. EPA’s Office of Science & Technology (OST)

June’s luncheon featured Betsy Southerland, Director of the U.S. EPA’s Office of Science & Technology (OST), part of the Agency’s Office of Water, who discussed lessons learned from her years running the Superfund program as well as trending issues and the Agency’s current priorities for water, science, and technology.

In her new role at OST, Ms. Southerland is responsible for overseeing the Agency’s water quality standards. OST is currently leading the Agency’s process for reviewing state water quality standards as well as its efforts to promote numeric nutrient criteria. Prior to joining the Office of Water in March 2012, Ms. Southerland served as Director of the Assessment and Remediation Division of the Office of Superfund Remediation and Technical Innovation. In this capacity, she oversaw the Agency’s efforts to establish cleanup standards at contaminated sites.

View the full announcement.

Environmental Speaker Luncheon with Roger Ballentine
Friday, May 11, 2012 | Noon – 1:30 PM EDT | Washington, DC (At The Horinko Group’s Offices)

Featured Speaker

Roger Ballentine, President of Green Strategies and former Senior Environmental Advisor to President Bill Clinton

May’s luncheon featured Roger Ballentine, President of Green Strategies and former Senior Environmental Advisor to President Clinton to discuss, “The Clean Tech Landscape: From Stimulus and Solyndra to Fracking and Rare Earths.”

With unprecedented stimulus funding and record private sector investment, the renewable energy and clean technology sectors were enjoying their greatest successes in 2009 and 2010. Now, with a dysfunctional and highly politicized national debate over energy and fiscal philosophy, as well as major market risks presented by cheap natural gas and longer term threats like constricted supplies of rare earth elements, will federal policy end up providing a headwind or a tailwind for the growth of these sectors?”

View the full announcement.
Download a PDF copy of the presentation.