July 12, 2023

Started 9:00 am|Ended 3:00 pm

Aligning Our Actions

Smart infrastructure. Strong communities.

On July 12, Jersey Water Works and Lead-Free NJ members gathered at Rutgers University in New Brunswick for a joint Membership Meeting. The 130 attendees came from different sectors—community organizations, grassroots groups, municipal/state government, federal agencies, education, utilities—to support the work being done to advance New Jersey’s water infrastructure and remediate lead holistically.

The agenda featured:

1. Opening Remarks from JWW and LFNJ:
   • Stephen Marks, Town of Kearny and JWW Steering Committee member
   • Rashan Prailow, THINK Group and LFNJ Co-Chair
   • Dr. Helmut Zarbl, Ph.D., Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute
   • Olivia Glenn, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 2 Office; NY, NJ, PR, USVI, and Eight Indian Nations
2. Breakout sessions:
   • Designing Climate Resilient Infrastructure, hosted by JWW Climate Resilience and Green Infrastructure Committees
     • Speaker: Michael Sheehan, NJDEP
     • Facilitated by committee co-chairs: Bill Cesanek, CDM Smith, Chris Obropta, Rutgers Water Resources Program, Rosana Pedra Nobre, New York- New Jersey Harbor & Estuary Program, Patricia Lindsay-Harvey, Willingboro Municipal Utilities Authority, Russ Dudley, Arcadis
   • Aligning Policy and Community Action for a Lead-Free New Jersey, hosted by LFNJ Steering and Advocacy Committees
     • Facilitated by co-chairs Debbie Mans, TWENTYTWENTY public affairs, and Rashan Prailow, THINK Group (Steering Committee) and co-chairs Kelvin Boddy, Housing and Community Development Network of NJ and Yvette Jordan, Newark Education Workers Caucus (Advocacy Committee)
   • Affordability, Combined Sewer Overflow Permits, and a Review of the SRF Research Study, hosted by JWW Asset Management & Finance and Combined Sewer Overflow Committees
     • Speaker: Diane Schrauth, New Jersey Future
     • Facilitated by committee co-chairs: Christine Ballard, CDM Smith, Zachary Green, Raftelis, and Michele Langa, NY/NJ Baykeeper
3. Mini-Keynotes – Speakers included:
   • Holistic Approaches to Eliminating Lead Poisoning: Kelvin Boddy, Housing and Community Development Network of NJ
   • The Power of Community Owned and Managed Research to Identify and Address Lead Hazards: Anthony Diaz, Newark Water Coalition
   • Green Infrastructure: Where We’ve Been, Where We Are Going: Christopher C. Obropta, Ph.D., P.E., Rutgers Cooperative Extension Water Resources Program
   • Water Sector Utilities as Community Anchors: Lessons Learned from 33 Years of Service: Rick Dovey, Atlantic County Utilities Authority (ACUA)
   • Aligning Our Actions: Celebrating Progress and Articulating Next Steps: Debbie Mans, TWENTYTWENTY public affairs
4. Mini-Keynote Q&A, moderated by Nicole Miller, MnM Consulting and JWW Co-Chair
5. World Café, hosted by JWW and LFNJ members and backbone staff – Small group conversations to connect and exchange information