Each year the symposium presents a unique opportunity for members of the community to interact with the regulatory agencies responsible for developing and implementing environmental policy. Attendees have an opportunity to better understand environmental goals for our community. The symposium provides valuable opportunities for communication and helps to further the goal of protecting our limited natural resources and improving the quality of life in Northeast Florida.
Details of the symposium are currently being planned. Every effort is being made to have the general and breakout sessions determined by mid June when registration opens. We are happy to share that we will have two keynote speakers for the first time. Our opening morning session will still have the release of the 12th annual State of the River Report for the Lower St. Johns River Basin. Dr. Gerald Pinto will share details of the report and identify for us any unique attributes and trends that the team identified in this years report. We are happy to share that Jim Murley, Chief Resiliency Officer for Miami-Dade County, will provide our Morning Keynote address and share some of the unique challenges of leading resiliency efforts for a large coastal community. For our Luncheon Keynote address, we are happy to share that Noah Valenstein, Secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, will give us some insights on his agency’s efforts to ensure resiliency across the state.
Plans are to continue with our interesting and informative exhibits and plenty of networking opportunities. Look forward for more details and registration information to be released in July!
This year plans are being made to hold a separate workshop focused around planning for water protection with appropriate erosion and sediment control during development and redevelopment. The workshop will provide a brief overview of the regulations, inspection and enforcement process in Duval County and a brief discussion on the impacts of turbidity impacting vegetation for water quality and sedimentation impacting flood protection in stormwater, surface waters and wetlands. The workshop will provide case studies of violations documented in Duval County and discuss the planning, engineering and implementation of erosion and sediment control perform measures for similar site conditions to help prevent impacts to the environment and avoid enforcement actions and potential civil penalties.
Final details of the sessions for the symposium are still being worked on. The session titles have all been determined and may be viewed here. A description of them will be posted at a later time.
