2024 ECOS Fall Meeting

Environmental Sea Change

Though only 37 miles wide and 48 miles long, the Ocean State boasts some 400 miles of shoreline along Narragansett Bay in the Atlantic. Newport offered the ideal backdrop to explore ways to bring about Environmental Sea Change, as states worked to transform environmental protection through innovative programs on water quantity and quality, microplastics, PFAS, sustainable materials management, air, offshore wind, artificial intelligence, satellites, and more. The meeting showcased lively discussions and our annual innovation video voting.

Materials

• Agenda
• Attendees
• Sponsors

Member Photo

Innovation Awards

PFAS & Water Category

• Video Presentation
• Winners
  • Iowa Septic Week
  • Arizona Community Science Program
• Honorable Mentions
  • North Carolina PFAS Treatment Assistance for Private Well Owners
  • Alabama Help Keep Our Waters Clean Initiative
  • Tennessee Modernized Subsurface Sewage Disposal System Program
  • Vermont Healthy Homes Initiative
  • Massachusetts Tackling Cultural Eutrophication in Cape Cod

Land, Air, & Cross-Media Category

• Video Presentation
• Winners
  • Washington SensWA Air Monitoring in Vulnerable Communities
  • Georgia Tech in the Field
• Honorable Mentions
  • New Jersey Shell Recycling Program
  • Louisiana Drone Program
  • Michigan Contaminated Site Risk Assessment Project
  • Indiana Clean Community Program

Agency Management Category

• Video Presentation
• Winners
  • Mississippi Environmental Classroom on Social Media
  • Arkansas Work Hard, Play Hard!
• Honorable Mentions
  • Missouri ‘Welcome MAT’ Onboarding & Mentorship Program
  • Minnesota Increasing Diversity in Environmental Careers Program
  • Montana Mentorship & Small Groups Programs
  • Maryland Employee Recruitment & Onboarding
  • Virginia OneDEQ Program

People Places Planet Podcast featuring Elizabeth Biser and Ben Grumbles

• This ELI podcast episode is titled “State of the Environment: How States Are Leading the Charge on Environmental Protection.” Over 90% of US primary environmental laws are implemented and enforced at the state level. The Environmental Council of the States (ECOS ) plays a critical role in empowering state environmental agencies and program leaders to improve human health and protect the environment. Elizabeth Biser, ECOS President and Secretary of North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, joins the podcast with Ben Grumbles, Executive Director of ECOS, to discuss the importance of state environmental programs, the challenges they face, and how ECOS is building environmental partnerships for success.

September 4

ECOS Oil & Gas Caucus: Methane Satellite Detection & Other Cutting-Edge Measurement Approaches

• Presentation: Jon Goldstein, Environmental Defense Fund
• Presentation: Angela Zivkovich, Oxy

Environmental Justice Workgroup & Steering Committee: Optimizing Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs) and Community Benefit Agreements (CBAs)

• U.S. EPA’s SEPs Webpage
• U.S. EPA’s Environmental Justice in Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Webpage

Keynote: Sailboat Racing & Leaving Sustainable Oceans in Our Wake

• Presentation: Michelle Carnevale, 11th Hour Racing

Alleviating Water Scarcity — Innovative Technologies & Solutions Every State Should Know About

• Video: Hydro Delta, New Mexico Environment Department

Turning the Tide on Microplastics & More

• Presentation: ERIS, ITRC, and U.S. EPA ORD
• Video: U.S. EPA ORD & MPCA Collaboration on St. Louis River Area of Concern
• Video: U.S. EPA ORD & UT DEQ Collaboration on Detecting HABs with the CyAN App
• Video: U.S. EPA ORD & NJ DEP Collaboration on Legionella in Drinking Water
• Video: U.S. EPA ORD & OR DEQ Collaboration on Wildfires
• U.S. EPA’s Cyanobacteria Assessment Network Application (CyAN app) and Cyanobacterial Harmful Algal Blooms Forecasting Research
• U.S. EPA’s Wildfire Smoke Air Monitoring Response Technology (WSMART)
• U.S. EPA’s Next Generation Emission Measurement (NGEM) Research for Fugitive Air Pollution

PFAS in Products & the Supply Chain

• Presentation: Kevin Fay, Sustainable PFAS Action Network

PFAS in Water

• Presentation, Phil Roos, Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, & Energy

PFAS Destruction, Disposal, & Designation 

• Presentation: Cliff Villa, U.S. EPA
• Presentation: Shalene Thomas, Battelle
• Presentation: AnnieLu DeWitt, Clean Harbors
• Clean Harbors’ Total PFAS Solution

September 5

Joint Meeting of the ECOS Climate & Energy Workgroup and Digital Business Workgroup on Leveraging GIS in Climate Action Planning 

• Presentation: Sunny Fleming, Esri
• U.S. EPA Fact Sheet on Creating Resilient Water Utilities Initiative
• Esri Brochure on Confronting the Climate Crisis: GIS for Climate Action Planning

Charting a Sustainable Course on Reduction, Reuse, & Recycling

• Presentation: Leah Feldon, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
• Presentation: Emma Pokon, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation
• Presentation: Scott Breen, Can Manufacturers Institute

Materials Management to Green Our Watersheds

• Presentation: Rob Watson, Upland Road
• Presentation: Dan Moran, Reworld Waste

What’s on the Horizon for Offshore Wind

• Presentation: Terry Gray, Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management
• Presentation: Bill Murray, Dominion Energy

Navigating Headwinds & Setting Sail on a New Agency

• Video: We are the South Carolina Department of Environmental Services
• Presentation: Myra Reece, South Carolina Department of Environmental Services

Catching the AI Wave

• Presentation: Tom Lawler, Digital Climate Alliance
• New York Information Technology Policy and Policy Summary on Acceptable Use of AI Tech
• Digital Climate Alliance’s June 2024 White Paper: Promise and Peril: Sustainability & The Rise of Artificial Intelligence
• Digital Climate Alliance’s AI White Paper Executive Summary