Among the many courses and special events that will be happening at StormCon 2012 in Denver, one will be of particular interest to those in Colorado and the many other states that have experienced wildfires this year—and to those who want to be prepared, just in case.
A new full-day course, “Fire and Rain: Rapid Assessment and Emergency Mitigation Measures Following Wildfires,” will take place on Tuesday, August 21. Its focus is how to deal with the immediate aftermath of a fire and prevent the damage from flooding and erosion that can be nearly as devastating to a community as the fire itself. The course will cover rapid evaluation of potential post-fire hazards, how to find funding for mitigation efforts, and selecting and implementing BMPs such as barriers, mulch, and seed.
Mike Harding of Geosyntec Consultants will lead the course. Mike is one of the top experts in the US on post-fire mitigation; he has played key roles in the emergency soil stabilization efforts for several major fires in California over the last two decades, and nationwide he has worked on more than 40 emergency response plans. You can find more information on the “Fire and Rain” course here.
Ask EPA
Also of interest to almost everyone attending StormCon will be EPA’s update on the stormwater program. Once again this year, Jeremy Bauer, an environmental scientist with EPA’s Office of Wastewater Management, will be on hand to discuss the current state of the program and to answer questions from the audience. EPA recently announced that it intends to propose a rule to strengthen the national stormwater program by June 2013 and to finalize the rule by December 2014. The EPA session at StormCon will take place on Wednesday, August 22, from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.
Session Moderators Needed
If you’ll be attending the conference and would like to be a moderator for one of the 60- or 90-minute sessions, please let us know. The sessions will take place Tuesday, August 21, through Thursday, August 23. You can see the full conference program here; openings are still available in most time slots on all three days. Contact me at janice@forester.net if you’re interested in moderating a particular track or session, or if you would like to see what’s available.