WEDNESDAY, 1 SEPTEMBER 

PRE-CONFERENCE

Welcome Cocktail Party

Meet the SRR presenters and fellow delegates at the launch of the Sustainable Risk Rationalisation Conference 2010.

Proudly sponsored by Enviropacific Services

THURSDAY, 2 SEPTEMBER 

DAY 1

Registration Desk Opens

The SRR 2010 Registration Desk will be open for conference registration and to collect your name tag, conference satchel and handbook.

Arrival Tea/Coffee

Proudly sponsored by Thiess Services

Welcome Address

Ken V. Loughnan AO, Chairman - OTEK Australia
Rick Marmur, CEO - OTEK Australia
Jeff Telego, President - RTM Communications, Inc.

Keynote Address

Terry Tamminen, Former Secretary of the California EPA and Chief Environmental Policy Advisor to Governor Schwarzenegger
Executive Director - Seventh Generation Advisors (USA)
Topic: The Keys to Brownfields Success — From Shakespeare to Schwarzenegger.
The secrets to success in business and public policy, especially with respect to Brownfields restoration, based on real world experiences that Terry learned from performing plays by Shakespeare, serving in the Cabinet of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and living around the world in places like Nigeria, Australia, and California.

Innes Willox, Director of International and Government Relations - Australian Industry Group (Australia)
Topic: Industry and the Sustainability Agenda – Challenges and Opportunities
Overview of the sustainability issues which have assumed centre-stage in Australian public policy; discussion of some of the key drivers and challenges of brownfields development; identifying the needs of industry in responding to challenges and taking advantage of the opportunities.

Morning Tea

Proudly sponsored by Thiess Services

Legal Panel

Robert Jamieson and Jane Hall, Partner and Senior Associate - Blake Dawson (Australia)
Topic: A legal perspective on turning brown to green in Australia.
Overview of liability for brownfields sites; Impact of the planning system; Purchasing a brownfields site: disclosure obligations of seller, the limitations of contractual risk management, and the special position in South Australia, obligation to report contamination to regulators; Some case studies where it didn’t quite go right!

Laurence S. Kirsch, Partner - Goodwin Procter LLP (USA)
Topic: Innovative Approaches to Environmental Due Diligence/Auditing for Merger and Acquisitions.
What are the kinds of cost, losses and liabilities facing buyers, sellers, lenders and investors involving distressed asset transactions. What are the environmental and occupational health issues and obligations involving environmental due diligence and disclosure of sellers to buyers, to regulatory agencies such as the US Environmental Protection Agency or Securities and Exchange Commission? What are some of the issues and potential obstacles working with government entities and public scrutiny/ communities? Suggestions for Due Diligence and Responses to Transactional Challenges. Case study of an international M&A transaction.

Jennifer Hernandez, Partner - Holland and Knight (USA)
Topic: The Legal Perspective on Approaches to Sustainable and Brownfield Redevelopment.
The role of the Redevelopment Agency, state and Federal government in structuring a brownfield program. Brownfield reforms affect on real estate transactions in California as compared with other state programs. Managing distressed assets and navigating the acquisition and sustainable development of brownfield type properties. Reflect on some of the current day issues such as entitlement risk and the role and power of local government and NGOs in the brownfield process. The synergies and obstacles of private developers and corporations working with state (DTSC and Water Board) and federal government entities. Role of climate change and energy efficiency on sustainable property transactions and brownfield redevelopment. Use of different public financing and risk management tools and the development, Implementation and enforcement of land use controls and risk based cleanups.

Beatrice M. Schaffrath, Partner - Baker and McKenzie (China)
Topic: Practical Approaches to Brownfield Management and Development - Land, Liabilities, and Changing Leverage.
In China, concerns about land contamination and other forms of environmental pollution are taking priority positions on government agendas and in public dialogue -- spurring regulatory development, more frequent enforcement, enhanced risk of liability, and shifting leverage between public and private concerns.

Legal Perspective Q and A

Networking Lunch

Sponsorship available

Finance Panel

Mark Prentice, R&D Partner - KPMG (Australia)
Topic: Australian R&D and Environmental Incentives.
Grants and Funding Opportunities. KPMG Research and Development (R&D) Incentives. R&D Tax Concession and Tax Credit. Proposed R&D Tax changes. Grants and Incentives. New program announcements.

Charlie Bartsch, Senior Program Advisor, Office of Solid Waste Emergency Response - US EPA (USA)
Topic: Challenges and Strategies Facing Public/Private Financing of Contaminated Properties in a Downturned Economy – Perspectives for Australia
Public-private finance, the historical and current market climate and challenges financing brownfields and sustainable site redevelopments. Challenges securing public financing for brownfield investigation and cleanup and working with private industry and cleanup contractors. The use of different public financing and risk management tools like Tax Increment Financing and tax incentives/new market tax credits for brownfield development. Role of public finance for energy efficiency in the sustainable development. Proposed program enhancements and opportunities to allow the brownfield market grow in a recovering economy.

Wayne Mo, Director - Natural Resources Group - ANZ (Australia/China)
Topic: Chinese investment into Australia Resources Sector and its funding sources.
Huge growing demand - Background and Rationales of Chinese investment. Recent deal flows and its analysis. How to finance those project? China Inc vs Commercial. Importance of Professional Financial Services

Jeff Telego, President - RTM Communications, Inc. (USA)
Topic: Overview of the US Picture on the Private Equity and Debt Financing for Commercial Real Estate and Brownfield Sites.
Distressed Assets and Opportunities, where are the trends in redevelopment. National perspective on market trends and issues affecting commercial real estate. Transactional trends to counter distressed assets market and alternative deal structures. Environmental due diligence/risk management for sustainable property transactions.

Finance Q and A

Afternoon Break

Proudly sponsored by Thiess Services

Insurance Risks

Mike Baker, Vice President Casualty Asia Pacific - Liberty International Underwriters (Australia/Asia)
Topic: Environmental Liability Insurance – An Overview.
Overview of Environmental Products in the Australian marketplace. LIU experience (utilising case studies). LIU Asia experience and trends.

Simone Rollason, Chartis Insurance (Australia)
Topic: Insurance options to mitigate risk for stakeholders undertaking environmental clean-ups.
The Types of Stakeholders Involved in Environmental Insurance. Professional Indemnity Insurance. Public and Pollution Liability Insurance. The Importance of QA/QC and Uninsured Risks.

Insurance Q and A

Corporate Perspective - China

Dr. DENG Xiaowen, Senior Environmental Engineer - Tianjin Academy of Environmental Sciences (China)
Topic: Development of China’s soil remediation technology
Soil remediation technology was not applied in China until recently. Preliminary research on this technology focused on plant and microbial remediation. However, its market-based application was not satisfactory due to long repair cycle and the results not garranteed. With the remediation of contaminated industrial sites in urban area, industrial remediation technologies, such as thermal desorption technology, stability and immobilization technology began to be applied. Technical limitations in the application as a result of limited economic resources call for further research in relevant fields.

Day 1 Closing Address

Rick Marmur, CEO - OTEK Australia
Jeff Telego, President - RTM Communications, Inc.

Conference Dinner

Take a short walk to the Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex along the banks of the Yarra River.
Attendees are welcomed to pre-dinner drinks followed by Melbourne’s finest cuisine and local wines.
The Conference Dinner is a significant social gathering with special guest speaker His Excellency Mr ZHANG Junsai - The Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to Australia.
The dinner also offers further opportunities for delegates, speakers and sponsors to network in a relaxed atmosphere.

Sponsorship available

FRIDAY, 3 SEPTEMBER 

DAY 2

Registration Desk Opens

The SRR 2010 Registration Desk will be open for conference registration and to collect your name tag, conference satchel and handbook.

Arrival Tea/Coffee

Proudly sponsored by Thiess Services

MCEC
Level 1 Foyer

Welcome Address

Rick Marmur, CEO - OTEK Australia
Jeff Telego, President - RTM Communications, Inc.

Regulatory Development Panel

Dr. Paul Vogel, Chairman - Environmental Protection Authority WA (Australia)
Topic: How environmental impact assessment can avoid, reduce and manage contamination risks.
Western Australia is home to both world class environmental assets and mineral and energy resources. The EPA in WA is responsible for assessing the environmental risks and impacts of proposed development and advising government of the environmental acceptability of such development. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a universally recognised, important predictive tool for identifying, characterising and managing environmental risks and impacts. Reforms to WA’s EIA process to improve certainty, timeliness and effectiveness are well advanced. Through risk-based approaches, sound policy frameworks, good science and smart regulation, contamination risks and impacts can be avoided and managed.

Andrew Pruszinski, Principal Advisor Site Contamination - Environmental Protection Authority SA (Australia)
Topic: Remediation to the extent necessary – is it cutting edge or just parochial?
The SA Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has for many years advocated risk based decision making, especially with respect to assessment and remediation. These concepts are reflected in the legislation. For many people remediation means clean-up, remove, “dig and dump” or “pump and treat” or maybe monitored natural attenuation. These approaches can sometimes be far away from risk based and is also generally not consistent with the waste management hierarchy: For the remediation of underground water, the SA EPA has developed a unique concept, being “remediate to the extent necessary” or RTEN. RTEN allows a person to treat, contain, manage or remove the site contamination to the point of necessity, based on risk assessment.

Dong Zhiyuan, Vice Director - Tianjin Environmental Protection Bureau (China
Topic: The status and challenges of environmental management of China’s contaminated soil and previous industrial sites
With the accelerating process of urbanization and industrial layout adjustment, China is faced with environmental security challenges of contaminated soil and previous industrial sites. Relevant standards and technology system need to be established, as China’s current soil management system and related environmental quality standards are based on quality of agricultural environment, nature reserves and control of industrial wastes. Tianjin, one of China's established industrial base, is also confronted with the problem of accelerating urbanization and industrial layout adjustment with a large number of manufacturing enterprises moving from downtown area to industrial parks in the suburbs. However, the assessment and remediation of the contaminated industrial sites remain a problem unsolved due to lack of relevant regulations and standards. Following the introduction of relevant regulations of the central government of China, site assessments and remediation will be carried out accordingly.

Regulator Q and A

Environmental Due Diligence

Julie Kilgore, President - Wasatch Environmental (USA)
Topic: A US National Perspective on the Use of Environmental Due Diligence for Brownfield Transactions.
Brownfield sites and the practice of risk based site cleanups of distressed assets. The development and role of industry wide standards for environmental due diligence standards. The application of environmental due diligence for Phase I and II site investigations and characterizations. Approaches to risk based cleanups, working with industry and government entities. Case study(s) of a brownfield site investigation using industry standards for Phase I and II environmental due diligence and risk based cleanup standards. Using institutional and engineered controls for site redevelopment.

Morning Break

Proudly sponsored by Thiess Services

International Brownfield Developments

Tom Graze, Infrastructure and Development Advisor - VicUrban (Australia)
Topic: From brownfield industrial to green star city - the Melbourne Docklands Story

Ignacio Dayrit, Director Programs - Centre for Creative Land Recycling (USA)
Topic: Brownfields and municipal government: Challenges and Solutions.
Brownfields challenges unique to municipal government. Case study: The City of Emeryville, California Development Agency role in structuring a comprehensive brownfield program. Financing - securing financing for investigation, cleanup and redevelopment. Regulation – working with state and federal government regulatory entities to streamline procedures and develop risk based cleanups and cleanup standards. Partnership outreach - Shared learning to discover constraints, obstacles, goals, resources and synergies. Assurance - Implementing and enforcing land use controls (LUCIP). Integration of environmental, economic and social sustainability in planning and implementation. Reflections on current issues such as entitlement risk, the role and power of local government, NGOs in the brownfields process, and GHG and brownfields connection.

SUN Yi Chao, Director of Institute of Ecology - Tianjin Academy of Environmental Sciences (China)
Topic: Demonstration project of remediation of soil mildly contaminated by DDT in Tianjin Ji County Organic Food Production Base
Due to excessive use of pesticides, farmland soil in Tianjin Ji County was mildly contaminated by DDT. Therefore, the soil quality did not meet the certification standards of organic agricultural procudtion base. Tianjin Academy of Environmental Sciences was commissioned to remediate the soil through the technology of plant and microbial directional remediation. The soil has been successfully repaired after 1 year of cultivation with lower soil DDT levels meeting the requirements of relevant standards.

Dr. John Hunt, Technical Services Manager Remediation - Thiess Services (Australia)
Topic: Managing remediation risks and achieving sustainable outcomes - a tale of two sites.
The Allied Feeds and Lednez sites on the Rhodes Peninsula in Sydney which contain scheduled chemicals such as dioxins and OCPs were remediated using thermal desorption technology. One site was cleaned up to meet published or regulatory treatment and soil reuse criteria. The other was cleaned up to meet best practice treatment criteria and site specific reuse criteria. This presentation compares the remediation outcomes for each site in terms of sustainability and project risk management.

International Brownfield Developments Q and A

Lunch With Terry Tamminen

Join us for a quality sit-down lunch and learn Terry Tamminen’s first hand experiences with the Californian Government and his role as Governor Schwarzenegger’s environmental policy advisor.
“Terry Tamminen...is probably the most brilliant guy around when it comes to the environment,” says Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Sponsorship available

Infrastructure and Redevelopment

Dr. Peter Gehrke, Australian Manager - Natural Resources - Snowy Mountain Engineering Corporation (SMEC) (Australia)
Topic: Brownfield sustainability targets: hit or myth?
The concept of sustainability has become so mainstream in recent years that its meaning has been lost, and is now used by different people to convey different messages; This presentation explores different meanings of sustainability to better define its usefulness in setting targets for redevelopment and rehabilitation of industrial sites, and to manage the risks involved; A case study will be used to demonstrate development of operational and long-term rehabilitation targets for a contaminated sand quarry lake affected by high nutrient loads, acid sulfate soils, complex groundwater interactions, and human health risks from toxic cyanobacteria.

Grant Scott, Director - OTEK Australia (Australia)
Topic: Limiting exposure from contaminated assets.
The process of managing impaired sites have many risks for the vendor and the purchaser. This presentation presents practical proven approaches to managing the environmental, legal, regulatory, economic risks associated with contaminated sites.

Innovative Building and Land Management

Willy Accame, Director Risk Management and Environment - Panattoni Development Company (USA)
Topic: International Developer Perspective on Using Environmental Risk Management Strategies for Innovative Brownfield Redevelopments.
Life of a deal, initial feasibility analysis, budgeting for uncertainties, Role of environmental due diligence, risk management planning and structuring of the transactions/removing contingent liabilities. Underwriting/manuscripting insurance coverages and structuring a comprehensive indemnity program. Integrating sustainable development in major vertical development projects. Case study of an industrial/commercial brownfield redevelopment.

Technical and Remediation

Richard Scofield, Director - Global Environmental Management (Former BP Global Remediation Manager) (Australia/USA)
Topic: Autopsy of a Petroleum Hydrocarbon Brownfield Site.
Generic History of Site: Site Layout and Geology, Summary of Remedial and Related Environmental Costs, and Legal Requirements; Site Remediation and Restoration; Free and Dissolved Residual Contamination Findings and Implications; Audit and VIC EPA Regulatory Requirements; CUTEP Summary; Sustainable Remediation at what costs?; Obtaining Site Closure – Is it Achievable? Colin Johnston, Principal Research Scientist - Land and Water - CSIRO (Australia)

Conference Closing Address

Ken V. Loughnan AO, Chairman - OTEK Australia
Rick Marmur, CEO - OTEK Australia
Jeff Telego, President -RTM Communications, Inc.