Annual Red Clay Conference opens discussion on current environmental topics

Wednesday, March 7, 2007 WRITER: Jessica S. McGahee, 706/542-5172, jmcg@uga.edu CONTACT: Sara Dykes, uga.ela@gmail.com Annual Red Clay Conference opens discussion on current environmental topics ATHENS, Ga. - Land use, urban sprawl and water management are some of the headlining topics of the 19th Annual Red Clay Conference, titled When Red Clay Meets Black Asphalt. The conference will be held Friday, March 23, at the University of Georgia School of Law\u27s Dean Rusk Hall. This year\u27s keynote speaker is Robert J. Glennon, the Udall Professor of Law & Public Policy at the University of Arizona Rogers College of Law and author of the book Water Follies: Groundwater Pumping and the Fate of America\u27s Fresh Waters. Glennon will discuss major environmental problems, such as threats to our water supply caused by excessive groundwater pumping. Conference panel topics to be covered include: sign ordinances, takings and inverse condemnation, new urbanism, Georgia\u27s state-wide water management plan and land use regarding coastal marshes and wetlands. Attorneys, professors and experts in water use and land conservancy will serve as panelists. The goal of the one-day conference, sponsored by the law school\u27s Environmental Law Association, is to increase public awareness of significant environmental issues by offering a series of presentations and open forum discussions. A full spectrum of views from the private legal sector, the corporate/business sector, the government and public interest groups will be represented. The event is open to the public and free of charge. Continuing legal education credit is available for lawyers. Registration information and a detailed schedule can be found on the conference\u27s Web site at www.law.uga.edu/redclay